The Rays have activated rookie Brandon Lowe from the 60-day injured list. Fellow infielder Kean Wong has been designated for assignment to open 40-man roster space. Lowe is hitting fifth in today’s lineup and playing second base.
Lowe’s return is a welcome sight for Rays’ fans. He last played July 2, when he went down with a bone bruise on his shin from a foul ball. After experiencing difficulty moving laterally for weeks, Lowe embarked on a minor-league rehab assignment in August, where he strained a quad. Initially believed to be season-ending, Lowe has somewhat remarkably returned for the season’s final seven games.
The timing couldn’t be better for a Rays’ club that sits a game up on Cleveland for the AL’s final postseason spot entering play today. Any hope Tampa has at making a playoff run involves the Wild Card, as the Yankees have officially sewn up the AL East. Tampa sits two games behind Oakland for the AL’s top Wild Card position.
The return of Lowe for the season’s final week (and potential postseason play) gives the Rays one of their most impactful bats. The 25-year-old was slashing .276/.339/.523 (128 wRC+) at the time of his injury, perhaps the frontrunner for AL Rookie of the Year. That honor will almost certainly go to Yordan Álvarez now, but Lowe nevertheless looks like a key piece in Tampa short and long-term.
Lowe’s slash line is inflated by a .381 batting average on balls in play and masks a concerning 33.9% strikeout rate, so it’s difficult to imagine he’ll remain this productive at the dish. That said, Lowe’s 90.7 MPH average exit velocity is quite strong, so he should continue to be a bona fide power threat even if his on-base numbers drop off some moving forward. For a quality baserunner and versatile defender capable of playing second base, that’s more than enough to be a key piece on a contender.
Wong, 24, is also a left-handed hitting second baseman, although he’s not generally viewed as anywhere near the caliber of player Lowe is. Nevertheless, he’s been productive in the high minors for quite some time, seemingly a victim of the Rays’ crowded infield mix. He got his first big league call this September after slashing .307/.375/.464 in 506 plate appearances in his third season with Triple-A Durham. Wong, the younger brother of Cardinals’ second baseman Kolten Wong, comes with a clean slate of team control and option seasons. Between that roster flexibility, his defensive profile and high-minors offensive track record, it would be surprising if another organization with a little more uncertainty in the infield didn’t take a flier on him on the waiver wire.
Just giving away a future starter, WOW!
They have no other choice
Then why add him to the 40-man a couple weeks ago?
Because they were also out of options at that point as well, getting players healthy is gonna happen
I do think he will be taken this time, although it is very optimistic to call him a future starter. In any case, he was rule V last year and was not taken, so while this year is different, and he demonstrated that 2018 was no fluke, there was no rush to get him before..
if he makes it through waivers he isnt getting picked up in the rule 5. why not pick him up in a situation where you can option him?
Orioles should be all over this
That is how loaded the Rays are. They have talent everywhere.
agreed. if anyone has the depth to designate Wong, its TB
I don’t see Wong getting past the first two spots in order of claims.
i wouldnt be surpised if he doesnt. a lot of good players have for whatever reason.
Detroit and Baltimore both need MIF depth. The Orioles only have Richie Martin as an optionable MIF on their 40 man. We certainly won’t be adding anyone from within to that this offseason. Wong would make sense. Plenty of fringe 40 man arms we can remove for Wong. Though he himself has repeated AAA three times. I don’t think it’d be a crime to pass him up; there’s not much of a ceiling there beyond a utility man. He’s certainly not his brother.
Hope the os pick him up
If the tigers don’t pick him up I have no idea what they are doing……
Wong’s the perfect “26th” man for the 2020 rosters. He may be defensively bereft (he is), but he’s a LH bat who’ll play anywhere. He doesn’t have the pop that , say, Nick Solak has, but he’s much more versatile.
With that extra spot on the roster, I can see him getting claimed rather quickly. Or he may be passed on entirely; lots of organizations have a Wong floating around in AAA.
Meanwhile, getting Lowe back for the playoffs (along with Snell, Glassnow and Chirinos) could be huge for the Rays.