Rays Receive Brutal News, Lose Hot-Hitting Outfielder to IL

The Tampa Bay Rays were dealt some brutal injury news regarding their hot-hitting outfielder.

Apr 2, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca (21) hits a RBI single during the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays seem to be a competitive team this season, but they were just dealt some brutal injury news regarding one of their hot-hitting outfielders.

Per the Rays communications department official X account, Tampa Bay has place Jonny DeLuca on the 10-day IL with a right shoulder strain. In his absence, the Rays have called up Coco Montes from Triple-A.

DeLuca was off to one of the hottest starts on the Rays. He was slashing .435/.480/.522 with four stolen bases and just four strikeouts through nine games played. The 26-year-old has also scored four runs.

This injury is huge news as he was an everyday player in Tampa Bay's lineup. The Rays have a few hitters struggling right now and DeLuca was doing a great job picking up the slack.

In the corresponding move, Tampa Bay called Montes up from Triple-A Durham.

Montes saw some big league at-bats in 2023 for the Colorado Rockies. In that season, he slashed .184/.244/.316 with one home run and seven total hits in 18 games played.

In Triple-A this season, the 28-year-old has not been very encouraging.

He is slashing .118/.143/.118 with no extra-base hits and no RBI in eight games played. The right-handed batter is not swinging the bat well right now, but he is usually a better hitter in the minor leagues.

Montes is only a temporary replacement as Tampa Bay awaits the return of DeLuca. Right now, it is just a 10-day stint, but shoulder strains are tricky. The hope for the Rays is DeLuca can come back right when his 10 days on the IL are up.