Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier took the next step in returning from his quad injury Thursday, participating in a live batting practice session and running the bases at Tropicana Field.
“He looked really good,” manager Kevin Cash said Thursday. “He ran well. He threw well. He seemed pretty timed up [at the plate.]”
Kiermaier, 30, has been on the 10-day injured list since April 6 with a left quadricep strain. Cash said the center fielder will go on the team’s road trip first to New York, then to Kansas City, but there could other factors that keep the team from activating him to begin the jaunt away from the Trop.
“I think we’re going into New York and there’s a chance for some messy weather tomorrow,” the Rays manager explained. “So probably, [he’ll] take a day off. He might hit a round of batting practice. We’d like to get him another couple of live at-bats, but that’s not that easy to do given what the weather looks like we’re going into.”
Brett Phillips and Manuel Margot have filled in at center field in Kiermaier’s absence.
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.
