Rays place Blake Snell on injured list with fractured toe
The reigning AL Cy Young winner is expected to miss only one start.
The Rays have placed starting pitcher Blake Snell on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right toe. The 2018 AL Cy Young award winner is expected to miss just one start, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin:
#Rays put Snell on IL with fractured right toe
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 16, 2019
#Rays expect Snell to miss only one start
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 16, 2019
Snell, 26, is unquestionably the Rays’ best starter, and losing him for any extended period would undoubtedly be a major blow to a team that has gotten off to an impressive 12-4 start. But if he’s just going to miss the minimum 10 days, they should be well-equipped to survive without him for a short stretch — particularly since their staff has a collective 2.44 ERA that leads Major League Baseball, and the staff has experience with covering the necessary innings to make up for a starter’s absence after basically operating with three full-time starters for the last year or so.
Though Snell had a rough start on Opening Day, allowing five runs over six innings, he’s settled in nicely and now has a 2.16 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over four starts this season. He presumably suffered the toe injury in Saturday’s start at Toronto, when he was pulled after six innings and 82 pitches.