Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who agreed to a six-year extension prior to the season, will miss at least two months with a hairline fracture in his right hip, manager Kevin Cash said Friday."He's going to be out a while,'' manager Kevin Cash told MLB Network Radio. "He's going to go on the DL."He's got a hairline fracture in his hip region. He's going to at minimum be shut down six to eight weeks."Kiermaier left Thursday's 7-5 win over the White Sox after sliding awkwardly into first base while trying to beat out an infield hit. 
He had gone 1-for-3 with an RBI double and a stolen base prior to the injury."You always see bad things happen when people slide into first base," Kiermaier said after the game. "I'm just trying to keep the inning alive."The 27-year-old outfielder, who won an AL Gold Glove Award last season, is hitting .258 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs after signing the $53.5 million extension, which could keep him with the Rays through 2022.Cash said Mallex Smith has been called up from Triple-A Durham and will be the Rays' primary center fielder."Mallex is going to play center for us," Cash said. "Everything we've heard from Triple-A -- the Triple-A staff, [Bulls manager] Jared Sandberg -- is that he's a game-changer defensively. He's played well both offensively and defensively there. So we're going to go with him to start."Cash said another possibility would be to shift Steven Souza Jr. to center field.ESPN.com news services
He had gone 1-for-3 with an RBI double and a stolen base prior to the injury."You always see bad things happen when people slide into first base," Kiermaier said after the game. "I'm just trying to keep the inning alive."The 27-year-old outfielder, who won an AL Gold Glove Award last season, is hitting .258 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs after signing the $53.5 million extension, which could keep him with the Rays through 2022.Cash said Mallex Smith has been called up from Triple-A Durham and will be the Rays' primary center fielder."Mallex is going to play center for us," Cash said. "Everything we've heard from Triple-A -- the Triple-A staff, [Bulls manager] Jared Sandberg -- is that he's a game-changer defensively. He's played well both offensively and defensively there. So we're going to go with him to start."Cash said another possibility would be to shift Steven Souza Jr. to center field.ESPN.com news services
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
