Rays' Manager Kevin Cash Provides Update for Injured Outfielder

The Tampa Bay Rays didn't get the best news in regard to a potential starting outfielder.

Feb 26, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash looks on from the dugout during the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

With spring training rolling on for the Tampa Bay Rays, they are starting to feel the effects of getting back into the season with a couple of players being a bit banged up. 

As Opening Day quickly approaches and the World Baseball Classic is set to get going soon, baseball is officially back. For the Rays, they are a team that is hoping to bounce back from two straight years of missing the postseason and they shook things up this winter in order to try and make that happen. 

While there was certainly an eye toward the future when they elected to trade Brandon Lowe and Shane Baz, they also added some free agents to help for 2026. One of the most notable players that they were able to land was outfielder Cedric Mullins.

The former All-Star with the Baltimore Orioles is returning to the American League East and is hoping to bounce-back from a terrible stint with the New York Mets last year. Unfortunately, on Wednesday, he was scratched from the lineup with back tightness, and it seems to be something worth monitoring. 

Reason To Be Concerned?

#Rays Cash said CF Cedric Mullins (scratched from Weds game w/back tightness) is better but "he's probably not going to play for a little bit."
INF/OF Richie Palacios is also sidelined with low back tightness. "A couple days of treatment and see where we go from there," Cash said

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 5, 2026

Anything back related is also a tricky thing to deal with for a player and with Mullins on the wrong side of 30 years old, there is reason to be slightly concerned. With him going for treatment and then being reevaluated, it sounds like it could be a few days that the outfielder is going to be out of the lineup. 

With it still being early in spring training, hopefully the team is just being cautious when it comes to Mullins. He is projected to be a key player for the team and missing time would be a problem.