Rays reliever injured while preparing to enter game

In the words of Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash, Pete Fairbanks’ “hip locked up” while the reliever was preparing to enter Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fairbanks halted his warm-up and went to the dugout once the inning was over.  Cash told Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that according to the team trainer, Fairbanks’ “muscles look to be okay, but we saw him walk very gingerly from the bullpen and he was in some pain.”  More will be known after Fairbanks undergoes further examination.

The reliever earlier spent just over two weeks on the injured list due to forearm inflammation and also missed a couple of other games due to symptoms of Raynaud’s disease, which manifests in the form of finger numbness.  Injuries have proven a frequent setback for Fairbanks during his pro career, but he has been a very effective reliever when healthy, posting a 2.84 ERA over 117 1/3 innings since joining the Rays during the 2019 season.  Tampa is 13 games into a stretch of 16 games in 16 days and while Cash is hopeful that his bullpen can hold up until Thursday’s off-day, the club doesn’t have much room to maneuver if Fairbanks has to miss even a few days to recover.

More from around the AL East…

• Anthony Rizzo left Sunday’s game for what the New York Yankees deemed “precautionary reasons” relating to a neck injury.  During an unsuccessful attempt by Fernando Tatis Jr. to get back to first base during the sixth inning, Tatis’ hip and upper leg collided with Rizzo’s head, leaving Rizzo shaken up.  The veteran first baseman subsequently left the game and underwent concussion protocol, though manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Betelhem Ashame) after the game that Rizzo “was fine” and might even be able to return for Monday’s game.
• While other division rivals have dealt with various injuries, the Toronto Blue Jays have been among the healthier teams in baseball, which The Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm notes is something of a double-edged sword.  While it’s obviously good news that the Jays have avoided any major injury concerns, the club has failed to really capitalize on its good fortune. Toronto’s 28-26 record puts them in last place in the competitive AL East.  It seems unlikely that the Jays will avoid the injury bug for too long, which will put a further strain on the club’s thin bench.  This lack of depth has already been tested over the last few days, with Danny Jansen now on the 10-day IL and Kevin Kiermaier leaving Saturday’s game with back soreness.