KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carlos Gomez was put on the disabled list Wednesday with a strained right groin, a day after he left a win over Kansas City in the sixth inning.
“The way he plays, how intense he is, running the bases, playing the outfield, probably smartest to get him off his feet for 10 days, not allow him to aggravate it,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said Wednesday. “It’ll be a loss.”
Gomez signed a $4 million, one-year deal in March. He is hitting .200 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in 37 games, striking out 49 times in 145 at-bats.
“I know Carlos hasn’t swung the bat the way he’s capable of, but you know eventually he’s going to get hot,” Cash said. “We’re still waiting but maybe this will give him a bit of a blow, rest his mind as much as his groin and come back and get us going once he does come back.”
The 32-year-old Gomez was an All-Star in 2013-14 while with Milwaukee. He hit .255 with 17 home runs and 51 RBIs last season with Texas.
Gomez said he felt discomfort in his groin while running to first base on Monday.
“A groin is something new,” Gomez said. “If it was, like, my hand, I could play through it. But, in my groin, in my right side, is something that you use every time (swinging) and defensively. You drive with it. Or when you take off and run.”
Cash said Jonny Field and Rob Refsnyder will get the majority of playing time in right field in Gomez’s absence.
Tampa Bay recalled infielder Christian Arroyo from Triple-A Durham, where he was hitting .200 with one home run. He was acquired from San Francisco during the offseason trade that sent Evan Longoria to the Giants.
Rays third baseman Matt Duffy, who left in the fifth inning Monday with right hamstring tightness, was held out of the lineup.
“With Matt nursing a little bit of a hamstring, I’m not quite sure when he’s going to be available, but we’re hoping it’s just a couple of days,” Cash said.
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