Lowe (oblique) has started swinging and taking ground balls, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Lowe landed on the injured list April 12 but doesn't appear all that close to a return. On Tuesday, manager Kevin Cash described Lowe's progress as "nothing huge yet." Curtis Mead and Amed Rosario will likely continue to form a platoon at second base in Lowe's absence.
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Rays' Taj Bradley: Set for rehab assignment
Rotowire
Bradley (pectoral) is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Sunday, Marc Topkin reports.
Bradley threw 62 pitches across four innings in extended spring training Monday. He emerged from the outing without issue and is now likely set for a couple of rehab appearances before being activated from the injured list.
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Rays' Jose Caballero: Smacks second homer
Rotowire
Caballero went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Monday against the Tigers.
Caballero has made his mark with seven stolen bases across his first 22 games this season. However, he swatted his second homer of the campaign against Shelby Miller in the eighth inning, and he now has an extra-base hit in each of his last three games. Caballero has a clear path to playing time for the foreseeable future, as Taylor Walls (hip) has been shut down from baseball activities and is ineligible to return from the injured list until late May.
Littell (1-1) took the loss Monday against the Tigers, allowing five runs on nine hits and no walks over six innings. He struck out seven.
Littell allowed a solo homer to Mark Canha on the third pitch of his start Monday and never seemed to recover. Despite surrendering five runs, Littell managed to generate 15 whiffs and match his season-high in strikeouts with seven. The 28-year-old starter sports a 3.33 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 29:5 K:BB over 27 innings. His next start is scheduled against the White Sox on the road.
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Rays' Shane Baz: Throwing in extended spring game
Rotowire
Baz (elbow/oblique) will soon throw two innings in an extended spring training game, Evan Closky of WTSP in Tampa reports.
Baz's recovery from Tommy John surgery had to be slowed during spring training because of a pair of oblique injuries. The Rays have not shifted Baz to the 60-day injured list to this point, but it would still be a surprise if he's ready to pitch for them before late May. A timetable for his return remains up in the air.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Shut down for 10-to-14 days
Rotowire
Walls will be shut down from baseball activities for 10-to-14 days due to inflammation in his surgically repaired right hip, Evan Closky of WTSP in Tampa reports.
Walls was shifted to the 60-day injured list over the weekend due to a setback and now we have some additional details on his lack of progress. He won't be eligible for activation until late May.
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Rays' Jonny DeLuca: Could be ready for rehab games soon
Rotowire
DeLuca (hand) could be ready to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham soon, Evan Closky of WTSP in Tampa reports.
It was reported a week ago that DeLuca was still experiencing soreness in his fractured lower right hand, but he's evidently made improvements since then. DeLuca hasn't played in a game since March 10, so his rehab assignment figures to take a little while. Once he's ready, he should see fairly regular at-bats in the Rays' outfield versus lefties.
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Rays' Jonathan Aranda: Rehab assignment coming soon
Rotowire
Aranda (finger) is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham soon, Evan Closky of WTSP in Tampa reports.
Aranda had the pins removed from his surgically repaired right ring finger a week ago and it sounds like he's close to being cleared to play in games. The 25-year-old has been sidelined for a month, so he will need a good number of rehab at-bats before being activated. Aranda had been in line to serve as the Rays' primary designated hitter against right-handed pitching before he got hurt, and he should regain that role in time.
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Rays' Ben Rortvedt: Resting against lefty
Rotowire
Rortvedt is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers.
The lefty-hitting Rortvedt will head to the bench Monday with southpaw Tarik Skubal toeing the rubber for the Tigers. The Rays will go with the righty-hitting Rene Pinto behind the dish.
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Rays' Richie Palacios: Sitting against lefty
Rotowire
Palacios is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers.
The lefty-hitting Palacios will exit the lineup with southpaw Tarik Skubal on the mound for Detroit, enabling Amed Rosario to get another turn as the Rays' starting right fielder. Palacios and Rosario have largely been deployed in a platoon this season, but the Rays have been making more of an effort to get Rosario regular at-bats against right-handed pitching while he's been swinging a hot bat of late. For his part, Palacios has done well to ward off Rosario thus far, as he enters Monday's contest with a .304/.429/.478 slash line across 56 plate appearances.
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Rays' Jose Siri: Returns to lineup Monday
Rotowire
Siri (illness) will start in center field and bat eighth in Monday's game versus the White Sox.
Siri didn't start two of the previous three contests due to kidney stones, but his presence in the lineup Monday suggests that the medical issue has been resolved. The 27-year-old outfielder returns to action Monday having gone just 1-for-23 with 12 strikeouts over his last seven games.
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Rays' Pete Fairbanks: Lands on IL with nerve issue
Rotowire
The Rays placed Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list Monday with a nerve-related issue, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.
The Rays haven't provided any further details regarding the injury at this time, but it would appear unrelated to the stomach issue that had idled Fairbanks over the weekend. A timetable for the reliever's return could become clearer in the coming days as more is known about his condition. Jason Adam should be first in line for saves in the Rays bullpen sans Fairbanks, though it's possible manager Kevin Cash uses more of a committee approach to the ninth inning.
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Rays' Kevin Kelly: Back with big club
Rotowire
The Rays recalled Kelly from Triple-A Durham on Monday, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Kelly had been optioned to Durham on Thursday, but he'll be eligible to return to the Rays less than a week later after Tampa Bay placed closer Pete Fairbanks (nerve-related condition) on the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move. Though the loss of Fairbanks creates a vacancy at the back end of the bullpen, Kelly is more likely to work in the middle innings during his time with the big club. Kelly has previously made four relief appearances for Tampa Bay this season, giving up four earned runs on six hits and one walk over 4.2 innings.
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Rays' Taj Bradley: Extended spring game on tap
Rotowire
Bradley (pectoral) is expected to pitch four innings in an extended spring training game early this week before potentially beginning a minor-league rehab assignment, MLB.com reports.
After covering three innings in a simulated game last Wednesday, Bradley appears to have recovered from the right pectoral strain that forced him to the injured list March 26, but he still needs time to rebuild his stamina and increase his pitch count following a month-long layoff to begin the season. A target date for his season debut with the Rays should come into focus once he heads out on a rehab assignment, but he tentatively looks on track to return from the 15-day IL at some point in the first or second week of May.
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Rays' Chris Devenski: Roughed up in latest appearance
Rotowire
Devenski (0-1) surrendered five unearned runs on two hits and one walk while striking out two over one inning of relief in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Yankees.
Though he lowered his season-long ERA to 7.36, Devenski was far from sharp Friday and was dealt his first loss of the campaign. While entering the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Rays clinging to a 1-0 lead, Devenski struck out Gleyber Torres to begin the frame before Alex Verdugo reached first base on a Curtis Mead fielding error. Devenski proceeded to walk the next batter before another fielding error allowed the tying run to score. The right-hander then gave up a tie-breaking single followed by a three-run home run to Juan Soto that proved to be all the support the Yankees pitching staff would need on the night. The pair of errors certainly didn't help Devenski, but he's largely been ineffective as a multi-inning reliever for Tampa Bay this season and doesn't appear poised to garner many high-leverage opportunities at any point in the near future.
Mead went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two stolen bases Sunday against the Yankees.
Mead has been quiet since taking over the primary second base job with Brandon Lowe (oblique) sidelined, as he's gone just 8-for-40 with no extra-base hits. However, he enjoyed a productive Sunday, tallying an RBI single in the eighth inning while also recording the first stolen bases of his big-league career. Despite his struggles, Mead's playing time appears relatively safe, as he's started 11 of the last 13 games for the Rays.
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Rays' Aaron Civale: Falls apart against NYY
Rotowire
Civale (2-2) took the loss Sunday, allowing five runs on eight hits and five walks over 4.2 innings against the Yankees. He struck out five.
Civale's outing started and finished poorly, allowing a run on two walks and a hit in the first frame before being chased midway through the fifth after allowing three walks and three hits to six straight batters. His fifth-inning struggles came immediately after retiring the first two batters of the frame. He set season worst run and walk totals and failed to complete five innings for the first time in five starts. Civale will look to get back on track Saturday against the White Sox.
