Jonny

DeLuca

The outfielder had his rehab assignment moved to Triple-A Durham back on May 24 and then experienced a setback a few days later. It seems that the 27-year-old feels healthy enough the get back into game action. It will likely take a few weeks for him to get his rhythm and timing back, but with Jake Mangum, Josh Lowe, and Chandler Simpson all playing well, and both Jose Caballero and Christopher Morel filling in the outfield as well, it’s unclear what kind of role DeLuca might return to.

DeLuca will be sent to get another medical opinion on his shoulder. He originally strained the shoulder in early April and had a small setback in his recovery at the end of last month, so this is now the second setback that the 26-year-old has had as he tries to return to the Rays. We’ll have to wait for news after his latest consultation, but it would appear that a lengthier absence is on the horizon.

The procedural move frees up a spot on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster for catcher Matt Thaiss. It also pushed DeLuca’s return back until at least June 6, which is the earliest he can be activated from the injured list. The 26-year-old outfielder will continue his minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Durham for the next few days before returning in early June.

DeLuca has been rehabbing in the Florida Complex League, but the 26-year-old will now get a chance to face higher-level pitching while recovering from his shoulder issue. Assuming no setbacks, he should be an option for the Rays near the beginning of June.

DeLuca landed on the injured list back on April 8 with a right shoulder strain and was only expected to miss 2-4 weeks before suffering a late-April setback that pushed back his return. The 26-year-old outfielder is likely to require a handful of games in the minors to get back up to speed before returning to Tampa Bay’s lineup. Fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him back until early June.

DeLuca will be shut down from baseball activities for a couple days. The 26-year-old outfielder hit the injured list back on April 8 with a right shoulder strain that was expected to keep him sidelined for at least 2-4 weeks. It doesn’t sound like a significant setback, but it’ll delay his return by at least a couple days. He’s still a couple weeks away from making it back to Tampa Bay.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters Tuesday that DeLuca will miss at least a couple weeks after landing on the injured list with a right shoulder strain. His absence creates a pathway to additional at-bats for rookies Jake Mangum and Kameron Misner for at least the next two weeks, if not longer.

With Jonny DeLuca (shoulder) landing on the IL, the Rays will bring up Montes, who is currently 4-for-34 in Triple-A. Montes can play anywhere on the infield, which likely means Christopher Morel and Jose Caballero will continue to see most of their playing time in the outfield with DeLuca sidelined. Montes has not been playing well at Triple-A, but he’s on the 40-man roster and has two minor league options left, so he’s the logical call-up for the Rays with DeLuca not set to miss too much time.

DeLuca has been playing great baseball to start 2025, going 10-for-23 with four steals while providing strong defense in center field. The logical replacement for him would be Chandler Simpson, but it seems that the Rays don’t want to start the clock on his service time, and DeLuca may not be out for that long. Coco Montes will be called up from Triple-A, which means both Kameron Misner and Jake Mangum should get plenty of starts in the immediate future.

Simpson, arguably the fastest player in all of baseball, is now up to five steals on the season while slashing .297/.325/.351 in eight games with nine runs scored, three strikeouts and two walks. The Rays are playing Simpson exclusively in center field at Triple-A and are playing Jonny DeLuca exclusively there at the big-league level, so it seems that Simpson’s future is directly tied to DeLuca, unless we see some position changes start to happen. DeLuca has gone 10-for-23 with four steals to start the season for the Rays and is in no jeopardy of losing his spot any time soon.