Tampa Bay Rays: Taylor Guerrieri Loses to a Bathtub

Mar 13, 2016; Dunedin, FL, USA; [Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taylor Guerrieri (56) pitches in the first inning of the spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2016; Dunedin, FL, USA; [Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taylor Guerrieri (56) pitches in the first inning of the spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Spring Training is a time where players can have some truly strange injuries. Taylor Guerrieri has placed himself amongst the leaders for the most unusual injury of the year after hitting his head on his bathtub.

Every year in Spring Training, there are a few injuries that make us wonder how that happened. The Tampa Bay Rays are no strangers to that either, with Joel Peralta having been attacked by a sandwich four years ago. Since then, the Rays have been able to avoid the bizarre, at least until yesterday, when Taylor Guerrieri hit his head on the bathtub.

The story itself is really not that unusual, but it is possibly concerning. Guerrieri said that he had been in the bathroom early in the morning, and felt lightheaded. He attempted to brace himself, but fell anyway, hitting his head near his right eyebrow on the edge of his bathtub. Although he was in the clubhouse later in the day, he was unable to participate in any drills, and is likely going to need stitches to close the wound.

We have all been in a similar situation at times. Occasionally, we end up engrossed in a book or on the phone in the bathroom, not realizing how much time had passed. We get up too quickly, and can feel lightheaded. That feeling of passing out can occasionally be there as well, although it typically does not happen.

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Normally, that would not be much of a story, but Guerrieri said that he does not know why he passed out. He maintains that he was not drunk or dehydrated in any way, and would likely exclude spending a great deal of time on the can as a reason.

It is a situation that bares watching, and not just because of the blow to his head. It may be worth the time to make sure that Guerrieri does not have anything wrong, and that this was just an isolated incident. If this does happen again, then there may be reason for concern.

Fortunately, neither Guerrieri nor the Rays expect him to miss any time. He had a solid year in Montgomery last season, posting a 12-6 record with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.205 WHiP. However, his strikeout rate plummeted from 8.3 K/9 in 2015 to just 5.5 K/9 last season and drop in velocity is quite concerning. Unless those numbers rebound, his future position could be in question.

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Right now, Taylor Guerrieri says that he is fine after passing out and hitting his head on the bathtub. If nothing else, he is amongst the leaders for the strangest injury of Spring Training.