Injury News is Good For Rays' Injured Infielders Lowe, Kim, Caballero

DETROIT, Mich. — It was a weird Sunday health-wise for the Tampa Bay Rays. One infieder, Ha-Seong Kim, was already out, then Jose Caballero was a pregame scratch with an arm injury. Then in the top of the first inning, second baseman Brandon Lowe left the game with left-side tightness after a swing. Caballero was pressed back into duty, playing the entire game despite being less than 100 percent.

So on Monday in Detroit, it was all about follow-up, and there is good news. The good news is that there is no bad news. There are no stints pending on the injured list.

Lowe, who celebrated his 31st birthday, said he feels much better and plans on resuming baseball activities soon. He is not in Monday's lineup, but he also doesn't think he'll be out long. He was selected for the July 15 All-Star game on Sunday, too, and he's started making plans for his family to be there, which is also a good sign.

Kim, who made his 2025 debut on Friday in Minnesota after missing the first three months while recovering from shoulder surgery, didn't last long. He injured his calf in the sixth inning of his first game and had to be removed. But he said he's feeling better, too, and went through all the paces pregame, taking infield, running and taking some swings in the batting cages.

And Caballero said he's good enough to play, too. He's starting at second base for Lowe, even though he's still got some soreness in his right forearm. He cleared up the nature of the injury, and said it had nothing to do with pitching an inning in Baltimore a week ago.

Let's start the updates with Lowe.

"It feels fine. We won't know too much until we really start getting into it, but I was able to pick up my son to go get yogurt in the morning, so we're doing all right,'' Lowe said in the Rays' visiting clubhouse before Monday's game. "We understand where we are in the year, and we'd rather be cautious and have it turn out to be nothing than play through it and do something like we did last year (when he missed six weeks early in the season).

"Treatment went well and doing movements in the gym felt fine. Swinging will be the ultimate test, but we haven't gotten there yet.''

Kim did some work on Sunday, and was able to do much more on Monday out on the field. He can play if he needs to, he said.

"It definitely feels closer to normal. Hitting in the cage, warming up, it felt pretty good,'' Kim said through translator David Lee. ''Writing the lineup card is not my job, but I can tell you that the training feels good and it feels much better. I'm fine, so there's no need for me to go on the IL.

"That's something more for Cashy (if he plays at all on Monday), but on Sunday I was getting ready to go in the game if I had to.''

Caballero said he has some tightness in his right forearm, but he can play through it. He said he felt some pain when he had to make a hard throw from the outfield duringt the series against the Athletics. It's been nagging him since then.''

"It's way better than how it has been feeling,'' Caballero said. "They hit a fly ball to me in extra innings and I threw to home, and pulled on it and that's when it started to hurt. I've been getting treatment, but yesterday was a busy day. That's OK. I'm always going to help the team whenever I can.

"The team needed me when B Lowe went down, and I'll help the team anyway possible. I can play shortstop too, if I have to. It's actually easier to throw from short, because at second, I am kind of throwing across my body and I can feel it more. But I will be OK.''