The Rays’ 8-7 extra-innings win over the Diamondbacks Sunday came at an unfortunate cost, as both Pete Fairbanks and Yandy Diaz left the game due to injuries. Fairbanks’ injury is the more serious matter, as manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that the closer suffered an apparent lat strain and will be headed to the 15-day injured list. Diaz had to leave the game after being hit in his left elbow with a pitch, but Cash said the infielder is day to day since X-rays and an MRI of Diaz’s elbow were both negative.
More will be known once Fairbanks undergoes tests, but depending on the severity of the strain, it is possible Fairbanks might’ve thrown his last pitch of the 2024 campaign. This will be his second IL stint of the season, after he missed around three weeks earlier this year dealing with a nerve entrapment issue.
Fairbanks allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning of work today, and that rocky performance will boost his ERA up to 3.57 over 45 1/3 frames. Sunday’s injury-marred outing aside, Fairbanks has pitched pretty well in his second season as Tampa Bay’s closer, as he has converted 23-of-27 save opportunities. Fairbanks’ 23.5% strikeout rate is slightly above average and his 8.9% walk rate is on the high side, though a .267 BABIP has helped paper over these middling metrics.
Most of the damage against Fairbanks occurred prior to his first IL stint, as he posted a 1.91 ERA in his first 37 2/3 innings after recovering from the nerve entrapment problems. The Rays used a bullpen-by-committee approach to save situations when Fairbanks was sidelined that first time and the team will probably adopt that same tactic again. Jason Adam has been Tampa Bay’s most effective reliever overall, though Cash might deploy him in high-leverage situations at any point late in a game, rather than specifically just holding leads in the ninth inning.
Diaz was hit on the elbow in his very first at-bat of the game, forcing Christopher Morel into the lineup as a early replacement. Given the good news about his initial tests, it could be that Diaz might return after just a day or two off to recover from any swelling, but the Rays will naturally be cautious about one of their key bats. Diaz’s .273/.329/.396 slash line over 498 PA is well below his production from 2022-23, but he is another player who has started to get it together after a slow start — Diaz had hit .301/.340/.445 in his previous 253 PA entering Sunday’s action.
These injuries will make the Rays’ uphill climb towards a playoff berth even steeper. Despite moving a lot of veteran talent at the trade deadline, today’s win moved Tampa Bay back above the .500 mark to 62-61 and the club is 6.5 games back of the last AL wild-card spot.
