3:23pm: Kiermaier expects to miss a few weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
1:52pm: The Rays on Tuesday announced that they’ve placed center fielder Kevin Kiermaier on the 10-day injured list due to a left quadriceps strain and claimed catcher Deivy Grullon off waivers from the Reds. Infielder Kevin Padlo was recalled to take Kiermaier’s spot on the roster, while righty Chaz Roe was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot for Grullon. Roe is expected to miss as many as 12 weeks with a shoulder strain.
Grullon, 24, has made extremely brief appearances in the Majors with both the Phillies (2019) and Red Sox (2020) over the past two seasons. In 13 plate appearances, he’s collected two hits, including a double, with a walk and three punchouts. There’s little to glean from such a small sample, but Grullon carries a .283/.354/.496 slash in 457 Triple-A plate appearances and a .264/.302/.494 line in a similar body of work in Double-A. He also went 2-for-13 with a pair of homers and two walks during Spring Training with Cincinnati, but the Reds designated him for assignment when claiming fellow catcher Beau Taylor recently.
Kiermaier, 30, exited last night’s game with tightness in his quad, leading to today’s IL placement. It’s not yet clear how much time he’s expected to miss, though the Rays will surely provide additional updates on his expected recovery as they’re available.
This it the latest in a mounting series of injuries for Kiermaier, an ultra-talented defender with a tantalizing combination of power and speed but questionable durability. Over the past five seasons, Kiermaier has missed time with a fractured hand, a fractured hip, a ligament tear in his right thumb, a sprain in his other thumb and now this latest quadriceps issue. In all, he’s missed almost exactly one third of the Rays’ total games since Opening Day 2016.
Padlo, 24, is a right-handed-hitting corner infielder with impressive power who ranked 20th among Rays farmhands prior to the season, according to Baseball America. He slashed .265/.389/.538 in 432 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A back in 2019 and went 2-for-12 with a homer and six strikeouts this spring. BA’s scouting report pegs him as a solid defender at third but also a likely platoon bat — though the Rays have no trouble maximizing their return on such skill sets.
Hard hit for the Rays. Hope he’s back soon, Solid player when healthy.
No pun intended
Excited to watch Padlo at the ML level. The dude has some power, and the Rays need a shot of energy (until Franco’s service time can be manipulated and Patino is ready for the show).
At 24, Grullon still has the potential to become a solid backup for any team. He’s a big fellow that can hit for power, average framework and strong arm. Nice move by Tampa, as usual.