Some great news recently came from Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon’s twitter, and that is a big improvement coming from the injury update front. Young outfielder Desmond Jennings was cleared to begin a rehab assignment on Thursday at High-A in Port Charlotte.
Trainer Rob Porterfield gave Jennings the “thumbs up”, and the right-hander will likely be back on Tuesday after some rehab games that will last through the weekend. Jennings will be back from a knee injury he suffered and will look to build on his 1.1 WAR year in 126 plate appearances.
The projected 4.5 WAR OF was worth 2.4 WAR last season with 20 steals, solid defense, and a 131 wRC+. This season, he has a lower 115 wRC+ with a .333 OBP but is still in the midst of a quality season. Having him back soon is great news for the Rays, and we’ll see how he does in his rehab games.
The 25-year-old looks to match his lofty expectations, and Desmond Jennings is certainly one of the most athletic all-around players in baseball. He made it through Porterfield’s sliding test, and he won’t have to be at Matt Kemp‘s level of rehab-stint play in order to get back on track and contribute at a high level for the Rays.
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