Tampa Bay Rays place slugger Randy Arozarena on COVID-19 injured list

The Tampa Bay Rays on Friday announced that outfielder Randy Arozarena has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list. The announcement said it was due to “close contact” so it sounds like he didn’t test positive for the virus and this is a contact-tracing situation. There is no minimum stint on the injured list when it comes to virus-related moves, so it’s entirely possible Arozarena could be back very soon, even on Saturday.

As a corresponding move, the Rays called up outfielder Jordan Luplow, who was acquired from Cleveland on trade deadline day.

Arozarena, 26, saw his star rise last September and October, when he took the league by force and set records in the playoffs. He hit .377/.442/.831 in 20 playoff games, collecting 29 hits, three doubles, a triple, 10 homers, 14 RBI and 19 runs.

So far this season, he’s hitting .268/.344/.458 (128 OPS+) with 20 doubles, two triples, 16 homers, 52 RBI, 66 runs, 11 steals and 2.9 WAR in 99 games. He’s been really hot of late, though, hitting .404 with five doubles, a triple, six homers and 11 RBI in his last 14 games.

Given that and the fact the Rays have built a 1 1/2 game lead in the AL East, the timing of this stinks for Tampa Bay. Fortunately for them, the likelihood here, assuming he hasn’t tested positive, is he won’t miss much time.

The Rays on Friday night begin a nine-game road trip where they’ll face the Orioles, Red Sox and Twins. The Red Sox series is the big one, possibly, depending upon how this weekend goes for both teams, being a battle for first place. Last weekend, the Rays swept the Red Sox to grab first.