Left foot injury keeps Choi out of lineup

TORONTO -- After exiting Wednesday’s 4-0 win over the Yankees in the eighth inning when he fouled a pitch off his left foot, Ji-Man Choi was out of the Rays' lineup on Friday against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Choi, who has played a key role in the Rays’ success all season but especially over the past two weeks, said it’s a bone bruise. He’s considered day to day.

“It hurts a bit,” Choi said through translator Ha Ram (Sam) Jeong. “At this point we’re not really sure. All I was told was that it’s day to day.”

Choi flew to Toronto on Thursday after going through treatment and getting checked out by doctors. The good news for Choi is that X-rays and a CT scan came back negative.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said that the team would consider using Choi as a pinch-hitter if needed on Friday, but the club hopes he can start on Saturday or Sunday.

“He’s not moving around too quick right now,” Cash said. “But we’ll see if treatment allows him to be available off the bench tonight.”

Choi isn’t the only Rays player who has been injured by a foul ball this season. Yandy Díaz has missed the past three months after he fouled a pitch off his left foot, and Brandon Lowe missed two months after a foul ball hit off his right shin.

In Choi’s absence, Nate Lowe, Jesús Aguilar and Travis d’Arnaud are options at first base for Tampa Bay. Lowe got the start on Friday.

“I hope it’s just a non-start, and if we need him tonight, then we’ll use him,” Cash said. “But we would really hope he’s ready to go tomorrow.”

Díaz close to returning
The Rays are closer to getting healthy at the right time, and that could include getting Díaz back in the mix. Díaz has played in instructional league games this week and fielded ground balls at Tropicana Field. The infielder played in a game on Thursday, and everything went well.

Díaz is scheduled to play in an instructional league game on Saturday, and if that goes well, the Rays could activate him for Sunday’s game against the Blue Jays. If the Rays decide to activate Díaz, the club will have to make a decision with the 40-man roster as Díaz is on the 60-day injured list.

“The last two days have been encouraging for him, so we’ll see where it goes,” Cash said. “I think it’s fair that he’s probably not going to play defense, but he’ll be a presence coming up to the plate with a bat if we need him. We’ll see how we get through tomorrow. It’s a 10:30 [instructional league] game, and then I’m sure we’ll get a bunch of information and feedback on how he felt.”

Rookie dress-up
When the Rays got on the flight to Toronto on Wednesday, Kevin Kiermaier and Tommy Pham bought the rookies costumes to wear on the plane. The rookie dress-ups are an annual tradition, with last year’s rookies having to dress up as babies on the plane.

This year, the rookie players and coaches were required to wear the costumes of fictional characters or interesting professions.

Anthony Banda dressed up as Luigi from Mario Kart. Nick Anderson wore a slick purple suit. Michael Perez was Mario from Mario Kart. José De León was Aladdin. Cole Sulser was Goku from "Dragon Ball Z." Brendan McKay was really into his Buzz Lightyear costume from “Toy Story.” Mike Brosseau dressed up as Duffman from “The Simpsons.” And Nate Lowe was a policeman.