Rays Activate Colby Rasmus, Designate Shane Peterson For Assignment

The Rays have activated outfielder Colby Rasmus from the disabled list and designated fellow outfielder Shane Peterson for assignment in order to clear a spot on the active roster, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).

The 30-year-old Rasmus inked a one-year, $5MM contract with Tampa Bay this offseason but sat out the first month of the year as he continued recovery from offseason core muscle and hip surgeries. The veteran is capable of handling all three outfield slots but will presumably work mostly in left field due to the presence of defensive star Kevin Kiermaier in center field. Rasmus joins an outfield mix that also includes Steven Souza, Peter Bourjos and Corey Dickerson.

Last season was a struggle for Rasmus, as he followed up a productive 2015 season (.238/.314/.475, 25 homers) with a woeful .206/.286/.355 slash and 14 home runs. Rasmus was plagued during the season by a cyst in his inner ear that had to be surgically removed — an issue that cost him more than a month of the 2016 campaign. Given that inner-ear issue and the offseason surgeries he had to address a hernia and a torn labrum in his hip, it’s perhaps not surprising that Rasmus had somewhat of a lost year at the plate in his second season in Houston.

Peterson, 29, appeared in 14 games for the Rays and hit fairly well, posting a .263/.317/.395 batting line over the life of 41 plate appearances. The former Brewers and Athletics outfielder has plenty of action at all three outfield slots and has a very strong .298/.383/.470 batting line in 418 Triple-A games (1808 plate appearances).