Tampa Bay Rays' Manuel Margot to Undergo Surgery, Spend Time on Injured List

Outfielder Manuel Margot will have surgery on his right elbow, knocking him out of the Tampa Bay Rays' lineup with a playoff push around the corner.

The Tampa Bay Rays have placed outfielder Manuel Margot on the 10-day injured list, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.

Margot is dealing with right elbow loose bodies, and he is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove them Wednesday. According to Upswing Health, a typical recovery from a loose bodies surgery takes two-to-four weeks.

To fill out their major league roster, the Rays have recalled infielder Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham.

Margot last played Monday night against the San Francisco Giants, going 1-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, a strikeout and a walk.

In 85 games so far this season, Margot is batting .249 with three home runs, 30 RBI, eight stolen bases and a .654 OPS. Margot is on pace for the lowest WAR of his career, and he currently has a negative dWAR for the first time since he reached the big leagues.

The 28-year-old Margot was splitting starts in center field with Jose Siri while also sharing time in right field with Josh Lowe and Luke Raley.

Margot was a lineup regular with the San Diego Padres from 2016 to 2019, initially heading west as part of a trade that sent closer Craig Kimbrel to the Boston Red Sox. He was dealt to Tampa Bay in February 2020 in exchange for reliever Emilio Pagán, and he re-upped with the Rays last spring on a two-year, $19 million contract.

Eight seasons into his major league career, Margot has hit .254 with 51 home runs, 275 RBI, 90 stolen bases, a .691 OPS and an 11.7 WAR.

The Rays were running platoons in both center and right field when Margot was healthy, giving them the flexibility to weather his absence. All-Star Randy Arozarena, meanwhile, will continue to hold down the fort in left.

Tampa Bay is in the midst of a West Coast road trip that features matchups against the Giants and Los Angeles Angels. Margot will not be eligible to return until the Rays' series opener against the New York Yankees back at home on Aug. 25, but his surgery could wind up keeping him sidelined past that point.

The Rays are 7-5 in August, but just 15-21 since July 1. While Tampa Bay has a 7.5-game cushion in the Wild Card race, the club is 3.0 games out of first place in the AL East.

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