ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – Rays fans at the Trop got a chance to welcome back Kevin Kiermaier when the center fielder made the short bus ride from Dunedin with his Blue Jays teammates March 9 for a Grapefruit League game.
Still, when the Rays begin a four-game series Monday evening (6:40) against the Blue Jays, it will mark Kiermaier’s first regular season game back in St. Pete.
“I will give him a big hug and tell him that I hope he doesn’t get any hits,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said Saturday. “He brought a lot of happiness, a lot of joy, a lot of athleticism to this stadium, to this community. Just a really good player and good person and I hope (the reception for him) is loud.”
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Kiermaier, a 31st-round selection of the Rays in 2010, signed as a free agent with Toronto in December. He is a three-time Gold Glove winner (2015, ’16, ’19) and is among the team’s all-time leaders in several categories. He is second in triples (51), third in stolen bases (112), fifth in games (914), fifth in runs (410) and sixth in hits (756).
After hitting .250 in all or part of 10 seasons with Tampa Bay, the 33-year-old is enjoying an outstanding first two months of 2023 at the plate. Kiermaier enters Monday evening hitting .317 with an .864 OPS in 38 games.
Burning up the basepaths: As much has been rightfully made of the Rays’ tremendous pace when it comes to home runs, of which their 91 is third-most in MLB history through 48 games, everybody has been chipping in when it comes to stolen bases as well. The Rays enter Monday night’s game against Toronto having swiped an MLB-best 52 bags. Led by Wander Franco’s 14, seven players have at least four. Taylor Walls and Josh Lowe each have nine.
“There is no doubt baserunning has helped us a lot,” said Cash. “We stole a bunch (on the last trip) and that helps us win games. We anticipated our team speed would assist us in scoring runs, and it has.”
The Rays had seven stolen bases against the Mets at Citi Field last Wednesday. The team record is eight, which was against the Red Sox at the Trop in 2009.
Glasnow’s return: Tyler Glasnow pitched six sparkling innings for Triple-A Durham on Sunday and appears ready to re-join the rotation. If he is feeling fine and the oblique strain he sustained during spring training is entirely behind him, then he could make his season debut Friday night against the visiting Dodgers.
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