Rays Place Veteran Outfielder on IL, Recall Carson Williams

Feb 26, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Carson Williams (7) stands in the on deck circle before the game against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Rays Place Veteran Outfielder on IL, Recall Carson Williams

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated May 17, 2026 12:47 PM ET

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The Tampa Bay Rays did some shuffling of their roster ahead of their series finale with the Miami Marlins.

Veteran outfielder Jake Fraley was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a hernia, which was retroactive to May 16. To take his place on the roster, the Rays recalled shortstop Carson Williams from Triple-A Durham.

Along with those two moves, Tampa Bay has also made a move with pitcher Aaron Brooks. He has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment and has been outrighted to Triple-A Durham in the same fashion as outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy was to make room for Brooks originally.

Brooks made one appearance, recording a single out while allowing four runs, three of which were earned, on one hit and two walks. He surrendered a walk-off grand slam to Daulton Varsho on May 13 in the 10th inning to lose to

Rays lose Jake Fraley to hernia

Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

Fraley has been solid for the Rays this season, and his loss will be felt. Before the current 0-for-10 streak he has been on at the plate, his numbers were above the league average across the board.

Shockingly, he had reverse splits this season. The veteran left-handed hitter has been struggling to produce against right-handed pitching with a .222/.300/.400 across 80 plate appearances. His opportunities against southpaws have been limited with 10 plate appearances, but he has a .300/.300/.400 slash line against them.

Without Fraley in the mix, manager Kevin Cash could use the versatile Richie Palacios in the outfield more frequently. He has played mostly infield thus far in 2026, but he has the capability of filling in virtually anywhere on the diamond.

Using Palacios would also help keep the right-handed/left-handed split that Cash has been using to maintain balance in the lineup.

The Tampa Bay Rays have placed OF Jake Fraley (hernia) on the 10-day IL (retro May 16) and recalled INF Carson Williams from Triple-A Durham.

Additionally, RHP Aaron Brooks cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Durham.
— Rays Communications (@RaysPR) May 17, 2026

It will be interesting to see what kind of role Williams has now that he has been recalled. He failed to take advantage of the opportunity presented to him at the start of the campaign when Trevor Walls was on the injured list.

That made the highly-touted prospect the starting shortstop on Opening Day, but he didn’t capitalize. Williams produced a .130/.167/.174 slash line across 25 plate appearances before being sent down to Triple-A.

Things have been better in the minor leagues for him, but still not at the level people would expect for a top-100-ranked prospect. In 141 plate appearances, Williams has a .238/.333/.418 slash line with five home runs, 21 RBI and six stolen bases.

This article first appeared on Tampa Bay Rays on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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