SUNDAY: The Rays have placed Kiermaier on the IL with a sprained thumb, Toribio tweets. He won’t need surgery, though. Heredia’s coming up to replace Kiermaier.
SATURDAY: Sour news out of Tampa tonight, as MLB.com’s Juan Toribio indicates that Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier will likely miss time after injuring his left thumb in a matchup with the White Sox this evening (Twitter link). Toribio adds that the former Gold Glove winner was escorted from Tropicana Field to a local health facility for MRI testing, and that the club should have a better idea of his status on Sunday morning.
Apparently, Kiermaier was hurt while diving headfirst into first base. This kind of athletic abandon has helped make Kiermaier a fan favorite since debuting with the Rays in 2013, and he usually draws strong marks for both his baserunning and defense. This year’s effort at the plate has produced a substandard 87 wRC+ (.245/.292/.424 slash), which is below his almost exactly league-average career offensive output (99wRC+). The outfielder has missed time in recent years with right hip, left wrist and right thumb injuries.
Though it’s possible this injury is only of the day-to-day variety, the Rays do have a few options in the event of an extended absence for Kiermaier. Tommy Pham and Austin Meadows have both played some center in their careers, and Guillermo Heredia is on hand at AAA Durham should the club need reinforcement in their pursuit of postseason entry. Tonight’s loss to Chicago marked Tampa’s fifth straight defeat.
He broke a nail too… :(
Another one…
Headfirst diving into 1B trying to “run out” a single should be an automatic suspension just because it’s such a stupid move, if that is what he did.
If that was a faster way to get to 1B, then sprinters would be diving across the finish line!
Don’t they lean their heads in??
That… is what he did. The second he did it, the White Sox announcers talked about what a stupid move it was and how he just hurt his team big time if he actually hurt himself. And then he did.
That sounds just like the White Sox announcers.
Billy Hamilton could be had for a very affordable price I have no doubt. And even if it is a short term injury to the Outlaw, BH can still serve at the 4th outfielder/late inning base running specialist
It was only a matter of time….5 year contracts are a beautiful thing……especially when you can be a “hero” for your “hustle”….and take 2 months off every year…
Not to worry; he’ll stay healthy the year the contract runs out…..Next up is Snell, who likely will learn a lot from KK……he has 50 million reasons to, and it’s already begun……
That’s a joke of a comment, What exactly are you basing this on? Are you seriously implying that KK is faking? Or just that he isn’t trying to come back fast because he already has his cash? Either way it is a completely unfair take.
That’s just Bob being Bob. He obsesses over the Rays just so he can come here and troll the comments. Definitely a Yankees or Red Sox fan in a troll disguise.
Just Bobby being Bobby.
Wow all the hustle haters are out in full force here. I don’t understand why the culture has become so toxic. People sit here and defend guys not running stuff out and not playing with fundamentals. I’ll take KK’s hustle any day of the week. Not only does it help win ballgames but it sets the right tone. You can keep your “intellectual” idea that him diving into first base hurts the team. I live in New York and I am forced to watch several (not all) Mets players punt bases and outs because hustle doesn’t suit them.
The Mets, oh man that must be horrible. With all due respect the Mets front office is like a bunch of monkeys trying to f%#k a football. They have players who don’t hustle because their ownership accepts mediocrity from it’s product. I feel bad for Alonso, McNeil, deGrom, and Thor. What a waste of their time and talent. That GM is a total joke and they’re more famous for their infighting than the play on the field. If I was New York I’d evict the Mets.
Is this guy ever not hurt?
Well, yeah.
He couldn’t go to the IL if he was still on it.
Agreed that KK always plays hard. No reason to dive to first base.The team is down and out now with injured players on the roster. He has hurt the team over all.He is playing with his heart not his head.
I’ll take a guy like KK any day of the week! If you don’t hustle then you can have a seat on my bench. Pete Rose was the greatest example of a 100% ballplayer.
Oh, Pete Rose was a player…
Played his hand poorly, though.