Rays absorb Gavin Lux is coming off a rehab assignment with a left shoulder injury, manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. He will take pictures later in the week, and Cash said he will be out of action “for the foreseeable future.”
Lux has yet to start playing for his team. The Rays acquired him from the Reds in the offseason and said he would be their second baseman. Lux has dealt with various injuries over the past few months. He suffered from oblique discomfort during Spring Training, then suffered a sprained right shoulder in mid-March. Lux then had his left ankle repaired in April. That stopped his rehabilitation assignment for several weeks.
The ankle injury meant Lux had two more rehab sessions without returning to the MLB roster. He appeared in 21 Triple-A games overall, hitting .200 with one home run in 90 plate appearances. He has taken 20 walks while striking out 23 times.
Tampa Bay will now wait for the picture from what appears to be a new injury. It seems inevitable that he will be moved to the 60-day injured list if the Rays need a roster spot. That would go back to Opening Day, meaning he would be eligible to return in less than two weeks. Given Cash’s comments, he probably won’t be right then.
It’s not a bad time for Lux, who will be a free agent for the first time next winter. He’s been a league-average hitter the past two seasons, so he’s already something of a rebound in Tampa Bay. The Reds played him more at designated hitter or left field than at second last year. Tampa Bay intended to give him another chance in center field.
Radiation used a Richie Palacios/Ben Williamson platoon at second base. They were all league-average offensive players. Palacios and Williamson have combined for one home run but have a solid .354 on-base percentage in 190 plate appearances. That’s similar to what the Rays were hoping to get out of Lux and is indicative of their offensive style as a team. Tampa Bay is 25th in home runs and 22nd in slugging but has the eighth-best OBP in the league. They have been a middling offense in the league overall, ranking 14th in scoring.
Despite a mediocre lineup, the Rays raced to a 28-13 start to jump to the top of the American League. Only the Braves have a better record in MLB. Tampa Bay has played well and has been one of the most productive offenses with runners in scoring position. Even if they can’t keep up the 111-win pace, they’ve positioned themselves very well in an otherwise weak AL.
They are two games back of the Yankees in the division and have an 8.5 lead over the top team not in a playoff spot. Stopping them from approaching the deadline as buyers, the middle and middle ground lays out very clear areas they can look to add. Luis Arraez appears to be the top recruiting second baseman available. CJ Abrams he could be a center fielder that is the target of many clubs if the Nationals hang him for two and a half seasons of arbitration control.
