The Rays will be without Gavin Lux to begin the season. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports that Lux will begin the season on the 10-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement. Richie Palacios had been optioned a few days ago but will now make the Opening Day roster in place of Lux.
Lux didn’t get to have much of a spring training. He was delayed by some oblique soreness earlier on and then his right shoulder became “cranky” in recent days, in the words of manager Kevin Cash, per Topkin. Around those issues, he got into just seven Grapefruit League contests and hit .190/.190/.238.
Perhaps the shoulder is still bugging him or the Rays want Lux to spend more time getting into a groove on a rehab assignment, as opposed to playing at the big league level. Whatever the reasoning, the Rays are starting the season with both of their planned middle infielders on the shelf. Shortstop Taylor Walls has a right oblique issue and will miss the first three or four weeks of the season.
The Rays acquired Lux in the offseason and had planned on him being their everyday second baseman. With the Reds last year, he put up roughly league average offense while bouncing around the diamond, spending time at second base, third base and left field. The Rays opened second base when they traded Brandon Lowe to the Pirates. They acquired Lux and expressed confidence that the best path forward for him was to be planted at the keystone, as opposed to moving around to different spots.
That plan will now be on pause for the time being. At this point, there’s nothing to indicate this is a major issue. Opening Day IL stints can be backdated by three days, so it’s possible Lux only misses a week to start the season.
The middle infield feels like a weak spot for the Rays. Walls was going to be the shortstop, despite the fact that he hasn’t hit in his career. His injury has seemingly opened the door for Carson Williams to get some reps at short. Williams has notable skills but massive strikeout issues. There’s also some playing time open at second base now, with guys like Palacios, Ben Williamson and Ryan Vilade in the mix there. Jadher Areinamo is on the 40-man but hasn’t yet played at the Triple-A level, so the Rays presumably want to keep him on optional assignment.
Until Lux and/or Walls come back, that appears to be the middle infield group. With other teams making their final roster decisions ahead of Opening Day, some players will become available by being released, opting out of their contracts or getting put on waivers. Even before these injuries, the Rays felt like they needed a bit more middle infield depth. They acquired guys like Tsung-Che Cheng and Brett Wisely during the offseason but couldn’t hold them. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them adding a guy or two in the coming days.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Ouch not a good first look for the trade
The Rays have mastered the art of stepping on rakes when making trades during the last two years.
100%. Going back even prior, remember when we sent Christopher Sanchez to Philly for Mead?
Good times.
Plenty of examples of this for those who still somehow believe the Rays always win trades. Frustrating AF.
Lux could be the healthiest man on the planet and that trade still doesn’t turn out well, only hope is they find something useful for him at the deadline
I’m a believer
Let’s go Gavin
The Reds traded him just in time
What do you mean ‘weak spot’? It’s not weak until Walls is healed up and in the starting lineup.
I feel better with Palacios than Lux any day.