ST. PETERSBURG — Rays rookie shortstop Taylor Walls was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a right wrist injury, and reliever Drew Rasmussen was called up from Triple-A Durham.
Walls was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup due to what manager Kevin Cash said was a sore wrist that was only expected to sideline him for a day. Cash said Walls was available to play Wednesday, if needed.
But Thursday afternoon, the Rays announced Walls had been placed on the injured list due to right wrist tendinitis. The move is retroactive to Wednesday, so with two off days next week, Walls could miss as few as eight games and return July 3.
Walls said the wrist had been bothering him for at least 10 days and may have been further irritated on a diving play Tuesday. “The past couple days, it started flaring up and not just being the wrist, being the hand, the forearm and starting to linger and spread to different areas,” he said.
Walls said the move was somewhat precautionary.
“I think it’s something so small to where if it mattered, if this was in September, October, I could for sure be out there playing,” he said. “But, I think they want to just make sure that I get it right now and it’s 100 percent come that time than maybe risk hurting it even more now and then being out for longer.”
With Walls out, the Rays have an obvious replacement in rookie Wander Franco, who was called up Tuesday and expected to split time between shortstop and third base.
Rasmussen, acquired from Milwaukee in the May trade of Willy Adames, made an impressive Rays debut last Saturday in Seattle, striking out four of the five batters he faced. He was optioned back to Durham after Sunday’s game but has not pitched for the Bulls since.
Rasmussen will be a welcome addition to the bullpen, as relievers covered 11 innings the past two nights. Ryan Yarbrough went only two innings in a bulk role Tuesday and Rich Hill five on Wednesday.
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