By Eduardo A. Encina / Tampa Bay Times
Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell landed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, breaking a toe on his landing foot in a most peculiar way when the team returned from their recent road trip Sunday.
According to Snell, he impulsively decided to move a decorative stand in his bathroom. Not realizing the stand was two pieces, the bottom part, made of granite, fell on his right foot.
The result was a broken fourth toe. His toe was red and swollen on Tuesday.
“Pretty dumb,” Snell, a Shorewood High School alum, said.
Manager Kevin Cash said he’s optimistic Snell will miss no more than two starts. Snell said he hopes to return after one.
“I’m pushing to be back as soon as possible,” Snell said. “I’ve never broken a bone in my life, so this is a first. So we’ll see. I think it should be one start, that’s my goal at least. It feels way better today, so if it keeps moving at that pace I’ll play catch tomorrow.”
His turn in the rotation is Friday, and the Rays could use an opener for a third straight game to fill that spot. Cash said the options will become clearer following Tuesday’s series opener against Baltimore.
“I think maybe (we were) lucky,” Cash said. “You see so many injuries in this game now, so for it to be a fourth toe, we should feel OK. He’ll stay off his feet, probably be able to keep his arm in shape enough, hopefully just miss a time or two through the rotation. With the way we’ve been going, with the way he’s been pitching, you want him out there every fifth day.”
After struggling in his Opening Day start, Snell has allowed only one run over his past three starts spanning 19 innings, posting a remarkable 33 strikeouts and just two walks while holding opponents to a .143 batting average over that stretch. He held Toronto to one hit over six scoreless innings in his last start on Saturday, striking out nine and walking one.
The Rays recalled right-handed reliever Emilio Pagan, a former Seattle Mariner, from Triple-A Durham to fill Snell’s roster spot.
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