Tampa Bay Rays Push Back Rehab for Colby Rasmus

Ideally, Colby Rasmus would be returning to the Tampa Bay Rays in the relatively near future. Instead, his rehab is being pushed back a bit longer.

In theory, Colby Rasmus would be making his debut with the Tampa Bay Rays at some point in the next few days. He was expected to have his rehab assignment in Durham, and after a few games, would head to Tampa Bay and take his place in right. At least, that was the plan until Rasmus was involved in an outfield collision on Thursday.

Since that incident, Rasmus has yet to return to the diamond. Yesterday, the Rays announced that his rehab is being pushed back a few more days, as it is unlikely that the outfielder will return to the Majors before next week.

Rasmus not expected to resume rehab assignment with @StoneCrabs for a few days, likely pushes debut with #Rays to next week
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 10, 2017

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Once Rasmus is ready to return, Topkin opines that Mallex Smith will be sent to the minors to make room for the outfielder. In a way, such a move would make sense, as they would be looking to give Smith regular at bats instead of placing him in a reserve role. The Rays are seemingly committed to giving Peter Bourjos every chance possible to prove that he can be a contributor at the Major League level, going so far as to keep from signing Melvin Upton so that Bourjos could stay on the roster.

As things currently stand, the Rays are doing fairly well without Rasmus, posting a 5-3 record. However, there are still a few concerns with the offense, which has looked outright anemic at times in the first ten days. Rasmus, with his ability to hit the occasional home run, could help.

Next: Akinori Iwamura retires

Colby Rasmus will be making his Tampa Bay Rays debut at some point. It is just going to take a little longer than expected.