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Mets Select Danny Young

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The Mets announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Danny Young. The club had space open on its 40-man roster, so no corresponding 40-man move was necessary. That being said, the team announced that lefty Josh Walker had been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Young on the active roster.

Young, 30 next month, was an eighth-round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2015 draft but did not make his big league debut until 2022 as a member of the Mariners. He made two appearances with Seattle that year but struggled to a 7.36 ERA with a 5.57 FIP in 3 2/3 frames before being designated for assignment by the club in August of that year. Young was promptly claimed off waivers by the Braves and posted 2 2/3 scoreless frames before once again being designated for assignment.

This time, Young passed through waivers successful and remained with the Braves organization until he was selected back to the roster the following April. The lefty made eight appearances for the Braves in 2023, pitching to a strong 1.08 ERA in 8 1/3 innings of work. Young struck out a strong 31.4% of batters faced and posted a solid 2.42 FIP with the club but nonetheless found himself released by the club following a season-ending injury, though the club promptly re-signed him to a minor league deal to allow him to rehab with the organization.

Young returned to free agency in November and found a minor league pact with the Mets shortly after the New Year. He’s once again impressed in six appearances at the Triple-A level for the club’s affiliate in Syracuse, posting a 1.13 ERA in eight innings while striking out a whopping 37.5% of batters faced. If Young is able to maintain the production he’s show in limited bursts since joining the Braves organization a year and a half ago, he’ll be a major asset to the Mets bullpen as a lefty option alongside Jake Diekman while veteran set-up man Brooks Raley is on the injured list.

Making space for Young on the club’s active roster is Walker, who made his big league debut with the Mets last year. The club’s 37th-round pick in the 2017 draft struggled to an 8.10 ERA in 10 innings of work last year but looked solid in his three appearances for the club in 2024, striking out three on one hit and one walk across three scoreless frames. Walker now figures to return to the Triple-A level for the time being, where he’ll likely act as a potential next man up for the club’s bullpen alongside the likes of Shintaro Fujinami and Cole Sulser.

Marlins Place Avisail Garcia On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins announced a flurry of roster moves this morning, highlighted by the club placing veteran outfielder Avisail Garcia on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Outfielder Dane Myers was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move. The Marlins also selected the contract of right-hander Emmanuel Ramirez, with lefty Kent Emanuel being designated for assignment in the corresponding move. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald first reported that Myers and Ramirez would be joining the club, while MLB.com’s Cristina De Nicola first reported Garcia’s IL stint and Emanuel’s DFA. Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El ExtraBase first reported that Garcia was headed to the shelf with a hamstring injury.

Garcia, 33 in June, signed a four-year, $53MM contract with the Marlins prior to the 2022 season and has struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness ever since. He’s been limited to just 153 games since arriving in Miami by hamstring and back injuries, and has posted a paltry .218/.260/.322 slash line with a 61 wRC+ and -1.3 fWAR when healthy enough to take the field for the club. His 51 trips to the plate for Miami this year have been a moderate improvement over his previous work in the organization, though his wRC+ of 75 is still well below league average. While it’s not yet clear how long Garcia will be on the shelf, his previous hamstring strains with the club have typically sidelined him for about a month at a time.

Filling in for Garcia in the club’s outfield mix will be Myers, a 28-year-0ld who made his big league debut with Miami last season. Initially drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 draft by the Tigers, Myers appeared in just 22 games for the Marlins last year, slashing a pedestrian .269/.286/.358 in 70 trips to the plate. He’s struggled similarly at the Triple-A level this season with a .237/.336/.323 slash line in 107 plate appearances with the club’s affiliate in Jacksonville. Nonetheless, Myers figures to be part of the club’s rotating outfield mix alongside Jesus Sanchez and Nick Gordon, serving as a right-handed complement to the pair of lefties.

On the pitching side of things, the Marlins are set to welcome Ramirez onto the roster ahead of what will be his big league debut once he makes it into a game. The 29-year-old has spent more than a decade in the minors while pitching in the Padres, Braves, and Yankees systems but will now get his first major league opportunity with Miami after impressive with seven strong outings at the Triple-A level for the club this season. During that time, Ramirez has pitched to a 3.86 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of work while striking out a whopping 32% of batters faced. If the right-hander can keep that level of production up in the majors, he’ll surely be a major asset to a Marlins bullpen that has lackluster 4.84 ERA that’s good for the eighth-worst figure in the majors.

As for Emanuel, this is the second time he’s been designated for assignment by Miami this season. He’ll return to DFA limbo just one day after being selected back onto the roster with a 10.50 ERA in six innings of work for the club across his two stints in the majors. The Marlins will once again have seven days to either trade the lefty or attempt to pass him through waivers. If they succeed in doing the latter, Rivera will have the choice between remaining with the club as non-roster depth until and unless they decide to select him to the roster a third time or simply electing free agency in hopes of finding a better deal elsewhere.

Red Sox Designate Joely Rodriguez For Assignment, Recall Naoyuki Uwasawa

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The Red Sox announced this morning that the club has recalled right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa, whose first appearance with Boston will be his big league debut. Left-hander Joely Rodriguez was designated for assignment to make room for Uwasawa on the club’s active roster.

Uwasawa, 30, signed a minor league split contract with the Rays back in January but was traded to the Red Sox after he activated an assignment clause in his deal that obligated Tampa to deal him to any club willing to offer him a 40-man roster spot. Boston indeed added Uwasawa to their 40-man, though he began the season at Triple-A after not making the club’s Opening Day roster. Since then, the right-hander has made three starts with Worcester with a 4.80 ERA in 15 innings. While those early results have left something to be desired, Uwasawa’s 26.1% strikeout rate in the minors so far is reassuring after the righty punched out a meager 17.8% of batters faced in Japan last year.

While Uwasawa did not strike out many batters during his time in Nippon Professional Baseball, it’s impossible to deny that the right-hander was effective. Across nine seasons with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Uwasawa posted a strong 3.19 ERA in 1,118 1/3 innings of work. While he struck out less than 20% of batters faced during his time in Japan, Uwasawa posted an ERA below 3.50 in each of the past six seasons. That includes excellent results in 2023, when he posted a 2.96 ERA in 170 innings despite the aforementioned low strikeout rate.

It’s not yet clear what role Uwasawa will occupy with the Red Sox now that he’s been promoted to the big league club. Injuries to Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, and Nick Pivetta have left depth options Josh Winckowski, Cooper Criswell, and Chase Anderson to step into the club’s rotation alongside Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford. It’s feasible to imagine Uwasawa taking a rotation job and pushing either Anderson or Winckowski back to the bullpen, though its also possible that Uwasawa himself has been called up to be a multi-inning relief option for the club. [UPDATE: Uwasawa will indeed be used as a long reliever, manager Alex Cora told The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey and other reporters.]

Making room for Uwasawa on the club’s roster is Rodriguez, who has struggled to a 6.55 ERA in 11 innings of work this season with a 5.25 FIP. It’s a very similar line to the one the lefty posted with Boston last year, when he posted an identical 6.55 ERA in 11 frames with a 4.71 FIP. He was limited to just those 11 innings last year by oblique, shoulder, and hip injuries that cost him the majority of the 2023 season, though his repeat performance after re-signing with the club on a minor league deal this past winter seems to have been enough for the Red Sox to decide to move on from the 32-year-old southpaw.

Boston will have seven days to trade Rodriguez or pass attempt to pass him through waivers. Should he make it through waivers unclaimed, the Red Sox will have the opportunity to outright Rodriguez to the minor leagues, at which point Rodriguez would be able to choose between remaining with the organization as non-roster depth or returning to the free agent market in search of greener pastures elsewhere. Even without Rodriguez, the Red Sox bullpen figures to be well-stocked with lefty relief options. Brennan Bernardino and Cam Booser are the two southpaws currently in the club’s bullpen, with non-roster veteran Lucas Luetge and youngster Jorge Benitez among the club’s depth options from the left side.

AL Notes: Robert, Berti, Sano

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White Sox fans received a positive update from GM Chris Getz regarding the status of injured center fielder Luis Robert Jr. over the weekend, with MLB.com’s Injury Tracker noting that the club believes Robert could return to the lineup in Chicago as soon as the middle of May. According to Getz, Robert’s rehab has “been really positive” as he’s progressed to both running and hitting without issue.

If Robert could be back with the big league club in as little as two weeks, that would be excellent news for the White Sox. The 26-year-old suffered a grade 2 strain of his left hip flexor three weeks ago that was initially expected to sideline him for at least at weeks, with some club officials reportedly worrying that Robert would miss the entire first half. Fortunately, the slugger appears to have avoided those worst-case-scenarios.

While Robert had been hitting a relatively pedestrian .214/.241/.500 through seven games at the time of his injury, he’ll nonetheless be an immediate upgrade to the outfield mix in Chicago upon his return even if he doesn’t regain the form that saw him finish 12th in AL MVP voting last year. The White Sox are currently relying on newly-signed veteran Tommy Pham in center field in Robert’s absence, with Andrew Benintendi and Robbie Grossman holding down the outfield corners.

More from around the American League…

  • Yankees third baseman Jon Berti is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset today, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. The utilityman, who the club acquired from the Marlins in a three-team trade just before Opening Day, has been shelved for two weeks due to a left groin strain. Prior to the injury, Berti had been operating as part of a platoon at third base with Oswaldo Cabrera, though the 34-year-old veteran was just 4-for-19 when he was placed on the IL. Cabrera has taken over regular duties at third base in the absence of both Berti and DJ LeMahieu, posting a respectable .258/.294/.404 in 95 trips to the plate.
  • The Angels had an injury scare this weekend when Miguel Sano was pulled from Friday’s game during the sixth inning due to a bout of knee soreness. The slugger remained out of Anaheim’s lineup last night while undergoing an MRI on his knee but indicated to reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) that he is day-to-day and expects to avoid a trip to the injured list after the test revealed inflammation in his left knee. That Sano won’t require a trip to the IL is surely a relief for the Angels, as the soon-to-be 31-year-old has taken over the third base job with the club while Anthony Rendon is out with a partially torn hamstring. Through 71 trips to the plate this season, Sano has hit a respectable .262/.352/.361 (110 wRC+), though much of that production has been thanks to an unsustainable .441 BABIP.

Red Sox Acquire Garrett Cooper

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5:24pm: The deal is now official, as noted by Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. The Red Sox transferred Casas to the 60-day injured list to make room for Cooper on the 40-man roster.

2:39pm: The Red Sox have acquired first baseman Garrett Cooper, the Miami Herald’s Craig Mish writes (via X).  MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported (X link) earlier this afternoon that the Sox were “closing in on” a deal for Cooper’s services, and Cotillo and Sean McAdam report that the Cubs will receive cash considerations in return.

Chicago designated Cooper for assignment earlier this week, and today’s trade officially ends Cooper’s time in Wrigleyville after 12 games and 41 plate appearances.  Cooper signed a minor league deal with the Cubs during the offseason and made the Opening Day roster, then hit a respectable .270/.341/.432 with one home run over those 41 PA.

The Cubs intended to use Cooper as a veteran complement to Michael Busch at first base, but Busch has hit so well that the Cubs simply couldn’t take him out of the lineup, limiting Cooper’s playing time to mostly DH and pinch-hitting work.  Cooper was also DFA’ed so Chicago could add Matt Mervis to the active roster, as Mervis was on such a heater at Triple-A that the Cubs wanted to give him more of a look in their lineup, leaving Cooper as even more of an odd man out.

While Cooper’s avenues to playing time were closed off in Chicago, the Red Sox had an unwelcome vacancy created at first base when Triston Casas went on the 15-day IL.  Casas’ recovery timeline is still very fluid, as Casas stated that estimates have ranged from anywhere from 3-9 weeks.  Boston had interest in Cooper back in January when he was still a free agent, and the Sox have now finally landed their man perhaps a few months later than expected.

Over eight MLB seasons, Cooper has hit .268/.337/.435 over 1854 career plate appearances, with 57 home runs.  Translating to a 111 wRC+, Cooper tended to fly under the radar as a member of a rebuilding Marlins team for much of his career, and his playing time was further limited by injuries.  He even made the All-Star team in 2022, though Cooper’s production dipped to a modest .251/.304/.419 over 457 combined PA with Miami and San Diego in 2023.

Cooper made a pair of appearances in left field for the Cubs this season, marking his first bit of outfield work since 2021.  While not exactly a versatile player, Cooper can at least chip in as an outfielder in a pinch, extending his value to the Red Sox even after Casas eventually returns.  With Cooper now on the roster, Bobby Dalbec (acting as the interim first baseman) is probably getting sent back to Triple-A, as Dalbec has struggled badly at the the plate this season.

NL West Notes: Glasnow, Cobb, Sewald

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Dodgers right-hander exited today’s game against the Blue Jays after being visited by the team trainer and manager Dave Roberts following the sixth inning. While the circumstances of Glasnow’s departure were surely concerning for fans in Los Angeles, Glasnow told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that he was dealing with cramping in his right calf and right hand when he left the game. Glasnow added that he believed the incident was due to dehydration from unexpectedly humid conditions in Toronto this afternoon. Roberts went on to confirm to reporters (including Jack Harris of the L.A. Times) that the club does not have “any level of concern” regarding Glasnow’s health going forward.

The news surely comes as a relief for Dodgers fans, as Glasnow has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. The righty made a career-high 21 starts with the Rays last year after pitching just 212 2/3 combined innings for the Rays between 2019 and 2022. Aside from his injury history, any injury scare for Glasnow would be particularly unwelcome for the club given the fact that he’s led the club’s rotation to this point in the season. Including today’s start, Glasnow has a 2.72 ERA in 43 innings of work across seven starts for the club this season with a 31.5% strikeout rate.

That dominance has been particularly welcome given the Dodgers’ lengthy list of starting pitching injuries. Each of Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Emmett Sheehan, and Kyle Hurt are currently on the injured list, and of that group only Buehler appears to be particularly close to returning. Fortunately, it appears that Glasnow should be fine to make his next start, remaining the club’s rotation mix alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto, James Paxton, Gavin Stone, and Landon Knack.

More from the NL West…

  • The Giants recently transferred veteran hurler Alex Cobb to the 60-day injured list in the wake of the right-hander being slowed in his return from offseason hip surgery by a bout of shoulder inflammation. Per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Cobb received a cortisone shot in his shoulder on Friday and a subsequent MRI on his shoulder showed enough improvement that the club is hopeful his discomfort will fade in the coming days. Presumably, Cobb will resume throwing once the discomfort subsides. The righty will first be eligible to return from the injured list on May 27, and manager Bob Melvin indicated last week that the a minimum stay on the shelf was a “realistic” timeline for the veteran. Cobb, 36, has pitched to a 3.80 ERA with a 3.41 FIP across 56 starts with the Giants the past two seasons.
  • Diamondbacks fans received some disappointing news regarding injured closer Paul Sewald this evening, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert relayed that (according to GM Mike Hazen) the right-hander’s rehab process is going to be “slowed” after Sewald experienced some soreness in the aftermath of his most recent rehab appearance. Hazen added that an MRI of Sewald’s oblique showed that he’s made good progress in his recovery but that the team will be cautious to avoid aggravating the injury. Sewald, 34 next month, was acquired by Arizona from Seattle prior to last year’s trade deadline and posted a 3.12 ERA and 3.57 FIP with 34 saves in 65 appearances between the Mariners and DBacks last year. Veteran righty Kevin Ginkel has handled the closer’s role in Sewald’s absence, with Ryan Thompson and Bryce Jarvis also contributing to the late-inning mix.

NL Central Notes: Wicks, Junis, Carlson

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The Cubs are in for their second bullpen game in as many days tomorrow, as Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune was among those to relay that left-hander Jordan Wicks has been scratched from his scheduled start tomorrow due to forearm tightness. Right-hander Hayden Wesneski will start the game in Wicks’s place just three days after pitching 2 1/3 scoreless frames against the Astros Thursday afternoon.

It’s not currently clear how serious Wicks’s injury is or if a stint on the injured list will be required, but a lengthy absence would be a major blow to the Cubs. The club’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft, Wicks has pitched solidly for the Cubs through five starts this season, posting a roughly league average 4.70 ERA and a much stronger 3.25 FIP in 23 innings of work. An trip to the shelf for Wicks would further exacerbate Chicago’s early-season injury woes. Hurlers Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks, Drew Smyly, and Julian Merryweather are all currently on the injured list (though the former may be back soon) while the positional corps has lost both Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger from its outfield mix.

The laundry list of injuries has left the Cubs somewhat thin in terms of rotation options, with both Ben Brown and now Wesneski stepping in to make starts after previously pitching out of the bullpen for the big league club. Chicago signed veteran right-hander Julio Teheran to a minor league deal in earlier this month, and the 33-year-old righty and lefty Thomas Pannone among the club’s top non-roster depth options for the rotation.

More from the NL Central…

  • Brewers right-hander Jakob Junis suffered a scary incident earlier this week when he was struck by an errant fly ball during the club’s pregame workouts prior to a game against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Fortunately, Junis is back traveling with the team and spoke to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel yesterday. The right-hander noted that he underwent an MRI and CT scan, both of which came back clean, before he was released from the hospital. Now that he’s back with the team, it appears Junis is set to continue rehabbing from the shoulder impingement that has cost him most of the season to this point. Per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, Brewers manager Pat Murphy recently indicated that the club may look to bring Junis back into the fold as a reliever rather than build him up to start. It’s something of a surprise given the recent injuries suffered by lefties DL Hall and Wade Miley, though it’s possible that a multi-inning relief role could allow the Brewers to maximize Junis’s innings in the short-term.
  • Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson has missed the entire season to this point after suffering a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder just before Opening Day. Fortunately, however, it appears that the 25-year-old could be nearing his season debut. According to MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, Carlson is set to begin a rehab assignment in the near future if he comes out of a hitting session today pain-free. The return of Carlson would be most welcome for St. Louis, as the club recently optioned struggling youngster Jordan Walker to the minor leagues. With Carlson and Tommy Edman both on the injured list, that’s left the club to rely on Michael Siani and Alec Burleson as major contributors to the outfield mix alongside Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan.

Orioles Outright David Banuelos

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The Orioles announced this afternoon that catcher David Bañuelos has accepted an outright assignment to the minor leagues and was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. Bañuelos had previously been designated for assignment earlier this week in a flurry of roster moves that saw top prospect Jackson Holliday optioned back to the minor leagues.

Bañuelos, 27, was a fifth-round pick by the Mariners in the 2017 draft and was traded to the Twins in a minor deal that winter. He reached the Triple-A level in Minnesota late in the 2021 season but stalled out at the level with a wRC+ of just 70 in 295 trips to the plate at the level with the Twins between 2021 and 2022. Those deep struggles at the plate saw Bañuelos demoted back to Double-A for the 2023 season. He hit well in his return to the level with a .270/.369/.526 slash line in 48 games but did not remain with the Twins after hitting minor league free agency this past winter.

Instead, Bañuelos took a minor league pact with the Orioles and entered the season as upper-level catching depth behind the club’s big league tandem of Adley Rutschman and James McCann. It didn’t take long for Bañuelos to get the call to the big leagues this season, appearing in just two Triple-A games before his contract was selected earlier this month. While Bañuelos remained on the roster for two weeks, he ultimately made just one plate appearance in the majors, flying out in his lone big league at-bat. The 27-year-old was then designated for assignment to make room for outfielder Ryan McKenna on the club’s 40-man roster.

Now that Bañuelos has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to the Triple-A level, he’ll continue to be among the club’s top options for a depth catcher at the big league level alongside fellow minor league signing Michael Perez. With no catchers besides Rutschman or McCann on the 40-man roster, it’s easy to imagine Bañuelos making his way back to the majors with the Orioles in the event that either member of their catching tandem suffers an injury at some point this season. In the meantime, he’ll remain in Triple-A as non-roster depth.

Mariners “Indefinitely” Shut Down Matt Brash’s Rehab

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Mariners right-hander Matt Brash has been shut down indefinitely from his rehab process, GM Justin Hollander told reporters this evening (including Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times). The righty had thrown yesterday ahead of a rehab assignment that was expected to begin this weekend, though now he’ll visit Dr. Keith Meister to determine next steps.

Brash, 26 next month, was shut down due to elbow inflammation early in Spring Training amid concerns that he may miss the entire 2024 season. Following his diagnosis with elbow inflammation, however, Brash was cleared to resume throwing in early March and has been rehabbing the injury ever since. Per Hollander, that injury has taken a turn for the worse in recent days as he’s begun to feel “tightness” in the aftermath of bullpen sessions that has begun to last longer after each throwing session.

The ominous update is a potentially brutal blow for the Seattle bullpen, which has been without Brash and fellow set-up man Gregory Santos all season. Brash made his debut with the Mariners as a starter back in 2022 but struggled in the role and was quickly moved to the bullpen, where he’s been nothing short of dominant ever since. Across 112 relief innings in his career, the flamethrower has posted a sterling 2.84 ERA with an even better 2.18 FIP eye-popping 34.5% strikeout rate in 101 1/3 innings of work. That’s good for the ninth-highest strikeout rate and second-lowest FIP of any reliever with at least 80 innings of work over the past two seasons.

Given Brash’s utter dominance out of the bullpen throughout his career, he was all but certain to act as the primary set-up man to closer Andres Munoz this season, forming perhaps the strongest one-two punch of relievers in the majors. Those plans will have to be put on hold for an uncertain amount of time, however, with Brash expected to meet with Meister for the second time this season in the coming days. Seattle has relied on Ryne Stanek and Gabe Speier to set up for Munoz in the absence of Brash and Santos.

While elbow issues of any kind bring to mind the possibility of Tommy John surgery for many fans, there’s been no indication of damage to Brash’s UCL to this point, however and it won’t be clear exactly what the prognosis is for Brash and what his timetable for return could look like until he meets with Meister. With all that said, it seems fair to expect the Mariners to be without their top set-up man for quite some time given the right-hander’s difficulties bouncing back between throwing sessions nearly two months after being cleared to resume a throwing program.

If there’s any silver lining for Mariners fans, it’s that the club’s bullpen has been performing just fine even without Brash in the mix. Seattle relievers rank first in the majors with a 2.40 ERA this season while they rank eighth with a 24.9% strikeout rate and ninth with a 3.68 FIP. That strong performance has involved almost universally solid numbers from the club’s relief corps: among the 11 players the club has used out of the bullpen so far this season, only right-hander Collin Snider and infielder Josh Rojas (the latter of whom pitched in a pair of blowout games early in the season) have posted an ERA above 3.09 entering play today. If the club’s relief corps can remain even close to that effective in the coming months, it’s possible the Mariners won’t miss Brash as much as it might seem on the surface even in the event of an extended absence.

Rays Notes: Lowe, Diaz, Aranda

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Rays outfielder Josh Lowe appeared to be nearing a return from the injured list after heading out for a rehab assignment earlier this month, but it appears the 26-year-old’s 2024 debut is once again on hold. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported earlier today that Lowe felt some tightness in his right hamstring and is now headed back to Tampa for an MRI, which is scheduled for Monday.

It’s another tough blow for Lowe, who impressed with a .292/.335/.500 slash line in 135 games with the Rays last season. It appeared Lowe was on track to be activated from the shelf as soon as this weekend to take over the everyday job in right field, but now those plans have been scuttled for at least a few days. Rays right fielders have hit an excellent .308/.361/.455 (145 wRC+) in Lowe’s absence, thanks primarily to surprisingly strong performances from Richie Palacios and Amed Rosario in a platoon at the position.

Even so, the return of Lowe to the club’s lineup would surely provide a boost for the Rays by allowing Rosario and Palacios to contribute elsewhere in the lineup, such as second base. The Rays have gotten minimal offensive production from the keystone this season, with their second basemen slashing a collective .227/.292/.299 (81 wRC+) so far this year while struggling youngster Curtis Mead has taken the lion’s share of starts at the position to this point.

Lowe isn’t the only big bat missing from the Rays lineup this weekend, as veteran infielder Yandy Diaz was absent from today’s lineup after being struck in the finger by a 99 mph pitch from right-hander Michael Kopech yesterday. Fortunately, Topkin reported last night that x-rays on Diaz’s hand were negative, indicating that the 32-year-old may be back in the club’s lineup in the near future. It’s been a tough start to the season for the veteran, as he’s slashed just .241/.303/.315 (87 wRC+) in his first 119 trips to the plate.

While his .278 BABIP to this point in the season is far below his career average of .323, Diaz’s 7.8% walk rate in 2024 would be a career low if maintained over the course of a full season and he’s offered little power with just five doubles and one homer to this point in the campaign. If the veteran can right the ship upon returning to the lineup and return to the form that earned him a sixth-place finish in AL MVP voting last year, it would be a huge boost for the Rays as they look to bounce back from a difficult start to the season that’s seen them go 13-14 while falling to fourth place in a crowded AL East division.

Also making his way toward a return to the big league lineup is infielder Jonathan Aranda, who’s been out for a little over a month after undergoing surgery to repair a broken finger back in March. As noted by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, Aranda began a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level yesterday. It’s less than two weeks after Aranda had the pins removed from his finger thanks to the fact that Aranda was able to stay active throughout his rehab process.

If Aranda is nearing a return to action, it would give the Rays another left-handed option to complement the likes of Mead and Harold Ramirez both around the infield and at DH. Aranda hit a roughly league average .230/.340/.368 in 103 trips to the plate in the majors last year but impressed this spring with an excellent .371/.421/.571 line in 13 games prior to his injury.

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