Joey Wendle‘s first Grapefruit League game lasted less than a full inning Monday, as the Tampa Bay Rays second baseman left the game against the Minnesota Twins after being hit on the helmet by a pitch from Twins starter Lewis Thorpe.
Wendle is hit on the helmet by a Lewis Thorpe pitch. Currently being looked at by Kevin Cash and head trainer Joe Benge. #Rays
— Steve Carney (@stevecarney) March 1, 2021
Manager Kevin Cash and head trainer Joe Benge were out to check on Wendle immediately after the incident, and the second baseman left for the clubhouse under his own power accompanied by Benge at the end of the half-inning.
Minor-leaguer Xavier Edwards pinch-ran and remained in the game at second base.
UPDATE 2:08 pm: The Rays said Wendle was diagnosed with a facial contusion, and that he passed concussion testing.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
