Tampa Bay Rays promote 1B Nate Lowe and option LHP Adam Kolarek

The Tampa Bay Rays have promoted first baseman Nate Lowe from Triple-A Durham and optioned left-handed pitcher Adam Kolarek.

Lowe rejoins the Rays after a brief promotion earlier this season, in which he played in nine game with the big league squad, hitting .257/.289/.314 over 38 plate appearances. Meanwhile, during his time with Durham this season, Lowe has fared much better, hitting .257/.390/.424 with 3 HR over 177 plate appearances.

During their latest update to their Top 100 Prospects rankings, Baseball America placed Nate Lowe as the 62nd best prospect in all of baseball.

Kolarek had been solid for the Rays over the first month of the season, but once the calendar turned over to May, things got rough for the southpaw. Overall, he has allowed 10 runs on 22 hits over 19 ²⁄₃ innings pitched.

The Rays were sorely in need of another potent bat in their lineup with the likes of Tommy Pham and Avisail Garcia nursing injuries. Pham left Thursday’s game with cramping and Garcia was scratched from Friday’s lineup with hamstring soreness. Both aren’t expected to miss serious time, but any game without them in the lineup is a serious blow to the Rays offensive aptitude.