The Tampa Bay Rays placed second baseman Brandon Lowe on the injured list on Friday with a strained oblique, the team announced. In a corresponding move, the Rays recalled veteran infielder Niko Goodrum from Triple-A Durham.
Lowe suffered the injury on Tuesday, when he was preparing for a pinch-hit appearance. A subsequent MRI revealed a low-grade strain, suggesting that he should miss weeks instead of months, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
"Pretty fluke," Rays skipper Kevin Cash told Topkin. "You really feel for Brandon. It's just unfortunate. I do feel bad for him that he worked really hard."
Lowe, 29, is a former All-Star who hit .185/.267/.333 over his first eight games this season. He is, of course, a much better player than that small sample indicates. For Lowe's career, he's batted .244/.333/.482 (125 OPS+) with per-162-game averages that include 34 home runs, 98 RBI, and eight stolen bases. His contributions have been worth an estimated 13.5 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference.
Goodrum, 32, was obtained from the Minnesota Twins in a small trade ahead of Opening Day. He's seen action in 402 big-league games for his career, posting a .226/.299/.389 (85 OPS+) slash line all the while. Goodrum will be suiting up for his fourth big-league squad, having previously played with the Twins, Detroit Tigers, and Houston Astros.
Lowe is the latest notable Rays player to be sidelined by injury. He joins a position player group that includes starting shortstop Taylor Walls; starting outfielder Josh Lowe (no relation); reserve outfielder Jonny DeLuca, and reserve infielder Jonathan Aranda. The Rays are also without several key starting pitchers: Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs, Taj Bradley, and Shane Baz.
Tampa Bay, 7-6 on the young season, will begin a seven-home homestand on Friday night with a three-game set against the San Francisco Giants.
