Rays place Walls (hip) on IL, call up veteran Madrigal

ATLANTA -- After losing starter Shane McClanahan and relievers Manuel Rodríguez and Garrett Cleavinger to the injured list over the weekend, the Rays had to put another key player on the shelf before Tuesday night’s series opener against the Braves at Truist Park.

Tampa Bay placed slick-fielding shortstop Taylor Walls on the 10-day injured list due to a right hip flexor strain, an untimely issue that will weaken the up-the-middle defense that has been one of the club's strengths all season.

The Rays made Walls’ assignment retroactive to Sunday, as he last played Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Walls said he sustained the injury in the ninth inning of Tampa Bay’s eventual 6-3 win, as he felt “like a pop or a bomb going off” in his hip while barehanding an Ezequiel Duran grounder that he initially booted.

Walls said the feeling was “pretty alarming” at first, but further testing revealed a “more mild” strain and a few days’ rest provided immediate improvement.

“At the rate, I feel like [it's been] improving the past day or two. I think if it stays on that kind of trajectory of how it's progressing, I feel like it should be a minimum stint, hopefully,” Walls said Tuesday afternoon. “So I'm hoping that this could be an extremely short-term thing. Take care of it as much as possible and then, after 10 days, be good.”

Of course, every day matters as the Rays attempt to secure their return to the postseason for the first time since 2023 and hold off the Yankees and Red Sox to win the American League East. And Tampa Bay’s schedule doesn’t offer any breaks, starting with series against Atlanta and Houston this week.

“You're in the thick of it right now,” Walls said. “Now's the last time you want to be out, especially for me personally, too, just battling through a lot of the things that I've had going on this year, being able to stay on the field and play through those to get into this time of the year. It's kind of a punch in the gut, too. These guys will pick me up, and I'll be ready when I get back.”

While Walls is sidelined, manager Kevin Cash said veteran infielder Jorge Mateo will get the “lion’s share” of the work at shortstop. Mateo joined the roster as a de facto replacement for infielder Ben Williamson, who spent most of the season as Walls’ backup shortstop and a right-handed-hitting complement to Richie Palacios at second base.

The Rays selected veteran infielder Nick Madrigal from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday to essentially fill Mateo’s former role, giving themselves another option around the infield and a backup to Mateo at shortstop.

“That’s something you never want to see, right? Wishing Wallsy the best. Hopefully he returns to us soon,” Mateo said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “He's a big piece of this team. But now, with this new opportunity, I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team and try to play some good baseball.”

Despite his subpar offensive numbers, Walls’ elite defense at shortstop has made him one of the Rays’ most valuable players this season, according to Baseball Reference’s calculation of wins above replacement. By that metric, Walls (3.1 WAR) ranks behind only All-Stars Junior Caminero (5.2), Drew Rasmussen (3.7) and Nick Martinez (3.5) for the American League-leading Rays.

“It's a big loss with Wallsy,” Cash said. “Hopefully, it's something where he gets a pretty quick turnaround.”

Madrigal, 29, has played parts of six seasons in the Majors with the White Sox, Cubs and Angels. A close friend and former Oregon State teammate of Rasmussen, Madrigal signed a Minor League deal with the Rays in June and played regularly for Durham at second, third and short.

Madrigal’s contact-oriented approach at the plate was also a good fit in the Rays' organization, and he quickly showed it while batting .318/.410/.408 with 22 walks and 24 strikeouts in 47 games for Durham. Madrigal has never played shortstop in the Majors, but he played 19 games there for Durham.

“I feel like it's a good spot for me. My style of play, I think, fits this organization,” Madrigal said. “Extremely excited to be over here.”

To make room for Madrigal on the 40-man roster, reliever Hunter Bigge (who had been in Triple-A) was designated for assignment. In a separate move, infielder Oliver Dunn cleared outright waivers and accepted his assignment to Durham.