Rays’ Craig Kimbrel signing immediately backfires with injury update

With the Tampa Bay Rays adding pitcher Craig Kimbrel to boost the team’s pitching staff as the ball club looks to make major noise in the AL East, that impact will have to take a backseat for now. As the Rays pitcher was just signed under a week ago, he has sustained a wrist injury that will keep him out of action.

According to Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times, the team will put Kimbrel on the 15-day injured list (IL) with the wrist issue as he felt “soreness” after playing catch on Friday. Kimbrel would speak to the training staff, and they came to a “mutual decision to take some time off” in order to limit further injury.

“It was something I felt like I could try to throw through, but after really evaluating it as you go down the line, I don’t want it to either affect me moving forward for a while and be something I’m dealing with all year long,” Kimbrel said,

“It’s tough…had a good first outing and wanted to just keep it going,” Kimbrel continued. “But thinking about the team, thinking about myself, putting those together. I think if I can just have a couple days off, let the swelling go down, things will be good.”

The Rays didn’t want to “push” Craig Kimbrel

After Kimbrel started the season with the New York Mets, he would make his way to the Rays, having only appeared in one game last Tuesday in the 6-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. He would throw one inning, striking out two, and allowing one hit, as Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said that the team did not want to “push” Kimbrel’s limits.

“We basically felt like this is not something we want to push,” Cash said. “I know what his numbers are (5.63 ERA in 15 games with the Mets and Rays), but we actually think he’s got a lot of life underneath him and can be a big part of our bullpen.”

It remains to be seen when Kimbrel is taken off the 15-day IL and back with the Rays.

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