The Tampa Bay Rays are clawing to get into the AL postseason race while the Giants are working on their positioning in the NL postseason picture. Both teams look to be receiving a boost with the return and resurgence of a couple of players.
Wil Myers, the 23-year-old right fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays, made his major league debut in 2013 and played in 88 games. He batted .293 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs, but has had a rough time this year playing in only 53 games. The 2013 AL Rookie of the Year was batting only .227 with five home runs and 25 RBIs before suffering a stress fracture in his wrist during a game against the Red Sox back in June.
But Myers could return to the Rays lineup as soon as Tuesday after missing more than two months. The 23-year-old has already played in three Triple-A rehab assignment games and is batting .444/.583/.778, including a two-run homer on Sunday. Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune says that Myers' return could be delayed until Friday if the outfielder feels he needs more at-bats before returning to the majors. Manager Joe Maddon says he'll used Myers all over the outfield since Kevin Kiermaier has played well in right field during his absence.
The San Francisco Giants have had some injury troubles of their own, but at the second base position. Marco Scutaro has suffered a number of injuries that kept him out for most of the season, the most recent being a lower back issue. They then tried out 23-year-old Joe Panik to fill in for Scutaro, but he played poorly and then suffered an injury that kept him sidelined. The team took a gamble on former Atlanta Braves second baseman Dan Uggla, but he performed so dismally that he was designated for assignment after just a few games.
Panik returned to the position and has been tearing it up with a .439 average (18-for-41) in his past 12 games, and has looked like a viable solution moving forward. The team was previously interested in trading for Ben Zobrist of the Rays and Chase Utley of the Phillies, but a deal never came to fruition. They might have to figure something out in the short term though, because Panik dislocated his left pinkie finger on Sunday and is now day-to-day. For now, Joaquin Arias will take Panik's spot until he's healthy again, but if the injury lingers they may need another solution.
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