TAMPA -- The Rays have lost yet another key outfielder to the injured list, as they placed center fielder Jonny DeLuca on the 10-day IL on Tuesday morning with a right shoulder strain.
Even DeLuca isn¡¯t totally certain how he sustained the injury or how it progressed to this point. He believes it happened when he made a diving catch on Friday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington. He felt sore the next day, albeit not so sore he couldn¡¯t start, then felt his throwing shoulder tighten up as the game progressed.
¡°Those last few innings, I was like, if I have a play at home or if I have a play at third, I just wasn¡¯t confident that I could actually release the ball with anything on it,¡± DeLuca said Tuesday afternoon.
DeLuca got into Sunday¡¯s series finale as a pinch-runner for DH Yandy D¨ªaz, as the injury only affects his throwing, then underwent an MRI on Monday¡¯s off-day that he said left him ¡°in good spirits.¡± He¡¯s not putting a timeline on his return, but manager Kevin Cash said the club has been told the center fielder will miss two to four weeks.
With DeLuca down, the Rays now have three projected Opening Day outfielders on the IL: Richie Palacios (fractured right ring finger), Josh Lowe (Grade 2 right oblique strain sustained in the season opener) and DeLuca, who was off to a 10-for-23 start with four steals in nine games.
¡°It's a tough injury because we've already lost a key outfielder to our club,¡± Cash said. ¡°Jonny does so many good things defensively, on the bases. He can still hit, he can still run, but if he can't throw, it makes it a little difficult.¡±
Palacios hopes to be back soon, saying Tuesday that he is now ¡°able to swing with a lot less pain¡± in his fractured finger, but he has only hit off a pitching machine, not live pitching. Lowe¡¯s return is further off, although Cash provided an encouraging update by saying the athletic outfielder is moving around ¡°pretty pain-free.¡±
This will likely lead to even more playing time for outfielders Kameron Misner and Jake Mangum, two bright spots who have received an unexpected amount of playing time following the injuries to Palacios and Lowe.
¡°Obviously guys like Mangum and Misner have shown they have the ability to hit and do well in the big leagues, so we're still really confident in the team we have,¡± DeLuca said. ¡°Yeah, we have players down, but I think the team we have now is going to still win ballgames.¡±
Misner got the start in center field against the Angels on Tuesday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field, and the left-handed hitter figures to be Tampa Bay¡¯s primary center fielder against right-handed pitchers for the time being. Against lefties, it¡¯s possible that the switch-hitting Mangum -- who started in right field on Tuesday -- could slide over to center.
¡°I'm comfortable definitely with Kam and Jake both being out there,¡± Cash said. ¡°We're fortunate that, in theory, our system is really deep, and these guys can come up and play very good defense at all three of those spots.¡±
It also should lead to more outfield work for super-utility man Jos¨¦ Caballero, an infielder who started getting more reps in the outfield this spring, while Christopher Morel remains a regular presence in left field. The Rays recalled infielder Coco Montes from Triple-A Durham to take DeLuca¡¯s spot on the roster, and they¡¯ll see if he might also be an option in the outfield.
¡°I'll talk to Coco and see his comfort. He's played out in the outfield in the past, but it does probably get [Caballero] out there [more],¡± Cash said. ¡°It's really tough with Cabby, though, because he's so special defensively on the infield. So we'll put our heads together and see what we need to do with late-game movements and stuff like that.¡±
This will be Montes¡¯ second chance in the big leagues, as he debuted for the Rockies in 2023. The Rays signed the University of South Florida product to a Minor League deal in January and added him to their 40-man roster on March 27, as he had a clause in his contract that would have allowed him to pursue a big league opportunity elsewhere.
¡°It definitely sucks to see a teammate go down, but I'm very excited to be here and excited to help the team whenever they need me,¡± Montes said.