Rays Notebook: Manuel Margot Happy to be Back in Lineup After Knee Injury
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Manuel Margot is always smiling, always happy. And after being away from his Tampa Bay Rays teammates for two months after a serious knee sprain, he was beyond thrilled to return to the clubhouse this weekend.
He was activated off the 60-day injured list on Saturday, and played in his first game. He batted third and played right field. He was 1-for-4 on the night with a first-inning single in the Rays' 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.
"I feel good, and I felt even better after the game because we won,'' Margot said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “I was telling some teammates that it feels like I’m debuting again. I’m happy I’m able to be out there, and I feel good.”
“Initially, when it happened, I thought mentally I’ve got to get ready for next season. But, luckily, I was able to come back and work hard to get back now.''
Margot is hitting .301 on the season, with three home runs and 27 RBIs. He's had some hot streaks, and was the American League Player of the Week from May 3-9. He adds a lot of depth to the Rays batting order.
"I love having him back,'' Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen said. "He's such a spark. Just his personality really helps, but on top of that, he's a really good player, so having him back out there is great.''
Margot is going to share time in the outfield corner positions with David Peralta and Randy Arozarena, and will see time at designated hitter as well.
Yu Chang continues to deliver
Taiwanese infielder Yu Chang came to the Rays in early July, and he's been a big help as a utility infielder, especially since Brandon Lowe, Wander Franco and even, to a lesser degree, Yandy Diaz have dealt with injuries.
Chang has hit .274 for the Rays, going 17-for-62. He drove in two runs in Saturday's win.
"I feel fantastic today. I try my best in everything on the field,'' Chang said through translator Patrick Chu. "It feels intense right now (in a playoff race) because I haven't been in one before. I want to do everything I can to help this team make the playoffs. Winning games in most important for me right now.
"I don't care which position I'm in, I just focus on every at-bat and try to do my best every day.''
Rasmussen records
Drew Rasmussen has been terrific in his last three starts, and he made more history on Saturday. He became the first pitcher in franchise history to carry a no-hit bid through five innings in consecutive starts. On four occasions, a Rays pitcher has gone back-to-back through four innings in consecutive starts, most recently Matt Moore from June 24-29, 2016.
Rasmussen is 3-1 with a 2.09 ERA in his nine starts since returning from the 15-day injured list on July 2, and has allowed two runs (or fewer) in seven of his nine starts over that stretch.
AL Central matters
With Saturday's win over the Royals, the season series is now tied 3-3 with Sunday's finale set to determine a winner. The Rays are 64-55, a full 15 games better than the Royals, but they're just another AL Central team the Rays have struggled with this year.
The Rays are just 13-15 against the five teams from the AL Central. They have lost series to the Minnesota Twins (2-4) and Chicago White Sox, and have only beaten the Detroit Tigers (6-1) thus far. The only remaining series is with the Cleveland Guardians, who won two of three games in St. Petersburg July 29-31 and will host the Rays on the final road trip of the regular season from Sept. 27-29.
The losing records to the Twins and White Sox are a potential issue in the wild-card race, because there is no extra game this season if the teams finish the season tied. It also could be an issue with the Guardians as well.
The Rays currently hold the sixth and final wild-card spot. Cleveland leads the Central race by one game over Minnesota and 2.5 games over the White Sox. The Rays hold a 1.5-game lead over the Twins for the final spot.
Around the horn
To make room on the 40-man roster for Margot, the Rays designated relief pitcher Ralph Garza Jr. for assignment. He's been up and down between St. Petersburg and Durham several times this season. He appeared in 19 games with the Rays and had a 2-2 record with a 3.34 ERA. ... To clear space on the Rays' 26-man active roster, outfielder Roman Quinn was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left knee contusion. Quinn told the media that he's been dealing the injury for a few weeks after colliding into the wall and aggravated the injury after sliding into third on Friday night.
Related stories on Rays baseball
- RASMUSSEN SHINES AGAIN: Fresh off a perfect game bid six days ago, Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen took a no-hitter into the sixth inning on Saturday, and was brilliant once again in a 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. He has allowed only three hits in his past 17 innings of work. CLICK HERE
- FEYEREISEN IMPROVING: Standout Tampa Bay reliever J.P. Feyereisen said the pain is his shoulder "was basically a nail and a hammer, and I kept tapping it on every pitch.'' The injury has shut him down for two months now, but he's hoping for a mid-September return. He hasn't allowed an earned run all year in 24 1/3 innings. CLICK HERE
- RAYS RUN INTO TROUBLE (Friday): The Tampa Bay Rays had three runners thrown out on the basepaths Friday night, and wasted a solid outing by ace Shane McClanahan, falling to the Kansas City Royals 3-2 in 10 innings. CLICK HERE
- RAYS TOP ROYALS IN SERIES OPENER (Thursday): Young pitcher Luis Patino came to the rescue for the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night, pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings in the Rays' 7-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Rays scored five runs late to blow the game open. CLICK HERE
- RAYS SCHEDULE: Here is the complete 2022 schedule for the Tampa Bay Rays, with dates, game times and locations, plus all the results this far. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.