Rays place infielder Arroyo (tendinitis) on IL
ST. PETERSBURG -- On Thursday, the Rays placed infielder Christian Arroyo on the 10-day injured list with right forearm tendinitis and recalled right-hander Hunter Wood from Triple-A Durham.
Arroyo was initially being optioned to Durham, but when an MRI revealed his injury, the club decided to place the infielder on the IL instead. The good news for Arroyo, however, is that the MRI showed that there was no serious damage to his forearm.
“I felt something about a week ago and just kind of played through it, thinking it was something I could manage,” Arroyo said. “The good news was no damage to my ligament whatsoever, which is great. Me being a position player, I was a little nervous, because I’ve never really had arm issues before. Thankfully, they were positive ones and it wasn’t anything serious.”
The decision to place Arroyo on the injured list appeared to open a lane for Joey Wendle to make his return to the lineup, but Rays manager Kevin Cash said there’s a possibility that Wendle returns to the team Friday.
Wendle has been limited to eight games this season due to a right wrist fracture.
“He’s really close,” Cash said. “[Head athletic trainer] Joe Binge and our training staff kind of signed off on him. I think we’re looking toward [Friday] of potentially activating him, and then we’ll go from there.”
By calling up Wood, the Rays get another fresh arm in the bullpen after a few days of heavy usage for their relievers. With Jose Alvarado still on the restricted list as he tends to a family issue in his home country of Venezuela, the Rays remain shorthanded, especially in the back end of the bullpen.
“We’ve been using our bullpen quite a bit here lately,” Cash said. “Really don’t want to get in a situation where those guys are pitching out of their roles. Wood has done some things and should be fairly good to cover multiple innings, and then we can kind of reset [the bullpen] here.”
d’Arnaud plays first
One surprise in the Rays lineup on Thursday was that Travis d’Arnaud batted fifth and played first base against left-hander Tyler Skaggs. d’Arnaud has been taking grounders at first, and with the Rays facing multiple lefties over the next several games, they felt this was the right time to try the catcher at first.
“We watched him take ground balls over the last couple of weeks, and he looks fairly comfortable,” Cash said. “I know playing in a game is a whole different animal. It’ll be on myself and [third-base coach Rodney Linares] to communicate with him throughout the game, throughout the inning, of where he needs to be and different circumstances that might arise.
“But as far as catching the ground balls, receiving the ball from infielders, he’s looked really comfortable, so excited to see him in there.”
It was d'Arnaud's first career start at first over seven big league seasons.
Rays sign Doxakis
The Rays came to terms with second-round pick John Doxakis on Thursday. According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, the deal is for the full slot amount of $1,129,700. Doxakis went 7-3 with a 1.73 ERA this season with Texas A&M and will report to Class A short-season Hudson Valley.
Tampa Bay also signed first baseman Jake Guenther (seventh round), right-hander Evan McKendry (ninth round), right-hander Trevor Brigden (17th round) and center fielder Christian Johnson (19th round). With the most recent signings, the Rays have signed 22 of their 42 Draft selections. Right-hander JJ Goss (Competitive Balance Round A) is the highest draft pick that remains unsigned.