Tampa Bay Rays recall INF Jonathan Aranda

It’s September 2nd and with the arrival of the new month, MLB has expanded the active roster limit from 26 players to a mandatory 28 for the final few weeks of the season.

Matt Wisler rejoins the Rays after a bout on the Injured List stemming from a neck strain. Wisler went down with the injury in late July, but prior to the stat he had accumulated a 2.36 ERA / 4.36 FIP with a 20.2 K% and 8.3 B% with opponents hitting .188 off of him over 42 innings pitched.

With the ability to add some depth to roster, the Rays have recalled infielder Jonthan Aranda and RHP Matt Wisler from Triple-A Durham. Both players will provide some much needed coverage to the Rays options in the infield and bullpen respectively.

Aranda has been among the top offensive performers in the minor leagues all season long. Thus far over 104 games at Triple-A this season, he his hitting .318/.394/.521 with 18 HR over 465 plate appearances. He did make his big league debut this earlier and enjoyed success over his short stint, notching 6 hits in 16 trips to the plate across 7 games.

With Brandon Lowe on the injured list, Ji-Man Choi struggling, and both Isaac Paredes and Yandy Diaz battling injury concerns, Aranda’s versatility will allow Kevin Cash to provide his players with much needed days off when needed; Aranda has played 33 games as 1B, 25 games at 2B, and 30 games at 3B, as well as spending some time in the outfield for Durham this season.

“Aranda made a really positive impression earlier in the season. [He has] a potentially special bat. The season he is having and the potential for that left-handed bat helping us down the stretch was the main thing.”
- Peter Bendix