Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca was hit by a pitch in his right hand in spring action and his X-rays showed a fracture. The Rays have said they’ll further evaluate him once he’s been cleared to return, but the typical timetable for a return from a broken hand is four to six weeks, per the Tampa Bay Times.
DeLuca, 25, was previously with the Dodgers organization since he was drafted in 2019, but he came to the Rays by way of the Tyler Glasnow trade in December along with pitcher Ryan Pepiot. DeLuca appeared in 24 games for the Dodgers last season, hitting .262/.311/.429 (97 OPS+) with a double, two homers, six RBI, five runs and 0.3 WAR in 45 plate appearances.
In the aftermath of the trade, CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson gave the Rays an “A” and said the following about DeLuca:
Again, you might think the Rays intend to unlock something, maybe tapping into raw strength or just having Deluca pull the ball more. It’s not apparent that either tweak would add much. Deluca recorded just one batted ball last season, either in the majors or the minors, that cleared 110 mph. His big-league max, of 102.6 mph, would’ve ranked last — behind even Tony Kemp and Luis Arraez — had he qualified. As for the other part of the equation, he already pulled more than 53% of his batted balls, a percentage that would have ranked fifth in the majors among qualifiers (ahead of new teammate Isaac Paredes, who has pulled the ball to great effect despite so-so exit velocities).
We’re close enough to the regular season that it’s a near certainty DeLuca opens on the injured list. This won’t affect their likely Opening Day configuration of Randy Arozarena in left, Jose Siri in center and Josh Lowe in right, but depth is often where the Rays win on the margins and this injury harms them on that front.
