Choi shut down with right knee inflammation
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First baseman Ji-Man Choi is “probably going to miss some time” after an MRI exam revealed inflammation in his right knee, Rays manager Kevin Cash said Saturday.
Choi will be shut down for 7-10 days before he is reevaluated. He was seen on Saturday by Dr. Koco Eaton, the Rays’ team physician, after reporting tightness in the knee.
Cash said Choi hadn’t done anything specific to injure his knee, which also forced him to sit out a workout earlier in camp when he noted that it was irritated. But the coaching staff noticed Choi was stretching his knee “a lot more than normal” before batting practice, so bench coach Matt Quatraro advised Choi to take a day off if he wasn’t feeling right. At that point, Choi asked to visit the team doctor.
“We're not overly concerned,” Cash said. “I think there's a lot of guys that certainly have a lot of inflammation in their knees and their elbows and stuff like that, and sometimes it just flares up, and I think it's flaring up for him right now.”
Cash said it is too early to determine if this Spring Training setback will affect Choi’s availability for Opening Day. The Rays hope to have a better sense of his status after he’s limited to rest, recovery and rehab work for the next week.
The Rays are counting on Choi to be a big part of their lineup this year after he was sidelined by a strained left hamstring late last season. The left-handed-hitting Choi, who started 31 games at first base in 2020, has batted .257/.359/.461 with 30 homers, 45 doubles and 106 RBIs over 218 games in a Rays uniform since 2018.
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Dalton Kelly started at first base in Choi’s place during the Rays’ 1-0 loss to the Twins at Charlotte Sports Park on Saturday. If the injury forces Choi to miss any time during the regular season, Tampa Bay would have several backup plans given the number of versatile players on the roster.
Yandy Díaz has experience at first base and should continue to get work there in Spring Training. Mike Brosseau can play just about anywhere, and he made 12 appearances at first base last season. The Rays have also been trying out Yoshi Tsutsugo at first base this spring for essentially this purpose -- creating another left-handed-hitting option at the position in case Choi is unavailable.
“We'll just see how far this goes into spring,” Cash said.