Sprained wrist forces Wil Myers to disabled list
By Aaron Somers
In a move that went largely unnoticed outside of Tampa Bay, the Rays placed outfielder Wil Myers on the disabled list on Sunday with a sprained right wrist. Jerry Sands was called up from Triple-A Durham to take his place on the active roster.
Myers initially hurt his wrist in the conclusion to Friday’s electric game against the Boston Red Sox. He and center fielder Desmond Jennings collided in right-center field, allowing A.J. Pierzynski’s walk-off triple to land while Jonny Gomes raced around to score from first. Myers and Jennings were both slow to get up initially, but it appears that Myers received the worst of it after the play.
It remains to be seen if he’ll be out longer than 15 days.
The 23 year old has struggled at the plate all season for Tampa Bay. Some time on the sidelines could end up proving beneficial, if he’s able to clear his head and return to the lineup with a renewed focus. Myers has hit just .227/.313/.354 on the year, in 224 plate appearances. His power production has been down (just five home runs and ten doubles) while his strikeouts are up (52 already, after just 91 all of last season). It’s a stark contract to his production a year ago when he took home the American League Rookie of the Year Award after batting .293/.354/.478.
Sands hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since the 2012 season and even then he appeared in just nine games for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s been traded twice since, before the Rays claimed him off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates this past December. He’s hit .268/.352/.474 in 219 PA at Triple-A on the year. Capable of handling the outfielder corners and first base, he’ll give the Rays a little added flexibility on their bench for the time being but he hardly represents a long term option to replace Myers in the lineup if needed.