PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Gavin Lux’s debut with the Tampa Bay Rays is going to have to wait.
The club is placing the veteran infielder on injured reserve with a right shoulder impingement. The move means Richie Palacios will make the opening day roster for Tampa Bay.
The Rays acquired Lux from Cincinnati in January as part of a three-team deal that sent outfielder Josh Lowe from Tampa Bay to the Los Angeles Angels. Los Angeles sent left-handed reliever Brock Burke to Cincinnati as part of the swap.
Lux, 28, hit .269 with five homers and 53 RBIs last season with the Reds. A career .256 hitter who won a pair of World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lux agreed to a one-year, $5.525 million contract shortly before being sent to Tampa Bay and can become a free agent after this year’s World Series.
Lux struggled a bit in his first spring training with Tampa Bay, hitting .190 in seven games and had been dealing with what manager Kevin Cash described as a “cranky” right shoulder in recent days.
