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.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the return of Lowe and Aranda will be enough to push them into the postseason. They could’ve used a full year of Baz, Springs, Rasmussen, and Eflin. Perhaps if they can keep the rotation healthy, somehow keep sign Arozarena to a long term deal, and sign a decent free agent or two , they will contend for more than a Wild Card series win in 2025. With the cheap owners they have, I’m not giving it any chances.
The rotation has been battered with injuries. Hopefully some of these guys come back this season and the Rays can hang around 500 in the meantime.
While the Rays are definitely struggling this year because of injuries, you’re way off base with what the Rays need to succeed this year and next. Their rotation currently consists of all 5 starters pitching below 4.00 xERA, and 4 of 5 are below 3.5. Their rotation is doing fine. The Pen has been bad this year and has cost the Rays games, but what’s killing them this year is the fact that all their big bats are slumping (or are on IL). Aroz is the worst bat on the team right now, if you don’t count Niko Goodrum and his 7 PAs. Oh yeah, the Rays had their highest ever OD payroll this year in an attempt to win more games, so calling the owner cheap without context isn’t really fair.
The Rays should have traded Aroz this past Winter while his trade value was still high from a combination of low salary and high production. Now they are going to struggle to get 1/2 the same return this time next year for him (and he’s definitely getting traded this Winter, as he should).
Their owner is as cheap as they come. Believe it. Maybe the increase this year was at least enough to keep up with inflation, though
Who is the cheap owner – the one with a billion dollars in revenue who refuses to spend more than $300MM on player salaries, or the owner with $200MM in revenue who refuses to spend more than $100MM? I don’t shed a tear for owners who cry poor, but I also don’t begrudge them a return on their investment. Stu largely lets the baseball people run the show, and I’d rather have him as an owner than idiots like Arte Moreno. He gives his guys a budget and lets them do their thing, and the Rays have been very successful under his ownership.
Randy is a streaky hitter and he’ll be back. $ternberg is a cheap son of a gun. Yeah, the payroll is higher than it’s been, but if you have a payroll of a nickle for many seasons when other teams are spending a dollar, it’s not breaking the bank when it’s raised to a dime. Go out and spend that dollar and try to win one for the city. Maybe they will show up to the ballpark. The only reason $ternberg hasn’t got called out for being cheap by fans is that he has gotten lucky to have a good front office that has a knack for picking up fringe players and terming them into solid contributors. Many Rays fans are stupid enough to believe that they will win a championship with $ternberg at the helm, but they will always be a playoff team that loses before the big game because they won’t get any decent additions at the trading deadline, won’t sign too many guys to a long term deal, and they will always lower tier free agents instead of a bigger name who could help out more. $ternberg has many people fooled, but not me.
Looking at the Os, the entire division may be contending for a WC for the next 5 years.
As much as I hate to say it you are right. Rays should’ve went for it all in 2020-2022. I have no pity for them.
There must be more to Mead than he’s shown so far. Minimal power, weak contact and poor defense. What am I missing?
I think the Rays should have traded him this Winter, but perhaps there wasn’t much of a market for him. In any event, Mead isn’t the turd so many think he is. He entered Saturday’s game hitting 154 wRC+ against LHP, and he would not have faced nearly as many RHP as he has this year if B.Lowe had stayed healthy. He’s been heating up a bit against RHP the past week, though, getting his first HR and 2B of the year off RHP. His power is supposed to be heavy doubles power, not HR power, and that hasn’t been seen yet, but could be coming along. In any event, he was probably brought up sooner than he should have been and is struggling some as a result. He seems to be finding his way though..
Sore finger, that should be good for a month off.