Siri hit by pitch, fractures hand

MINNEAPOLIS — Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Jose Siri will be sidelined until at least the end of the regular season after sustaining a non-displaced fracture on the bottom of his right hand Monday after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning.

The Rays will have a better sense of the timetable after Siri is seen by team hand specialist Dr. Doug Carlan in St. Petersburg later this week, but manager Kevin Cash said based on the initial imaging done at Target Field “there’s some hope that maybe it’s a short stint, maybe three weeks of shutdown and it heals up quickly.”

Siri jumped out of the batter’s box, ran a few steps toward the Rays dugout, then went down to his knees in obvious pain and was attended to by team staff. He initially stayed in the game to run the bases, but was taken out at the end of the inning.

“It hurt a lot since it was a hit by pitch on the hand,” said Siri, via team interpreter Manny Navarro. “I felt bad that I had to come out of the game. I wanted to stay in. But obviously I felt something in there. I’ve just got to keep on working so I can make a quick return.”

Siri said he had no issue with the pitch thrown by Twins reliever Dylan Floro.

Siri provides elite defense in centerfield, game-changing speed on the bases and is second on the team with 25 home runs, so his absence will be felt in many ways.

“Everybody knows what Siri brings to the table,” shortstop Taylor Walls said. “His speed, the ability to play defense in centerfield, his power at the plate. He’s been turning it on recently. He just had a home-to-third [run] that was so impressive to watch. He’s got some special skills. So it’s unfortunate.

“Hopefully he can get back and he can heal and maybe have a chance to come back in the postseason. That’s a tough loss.”

Or, as starter Tyler Glasnow said, “It sucks.”

The Rays don’t have an obvious replacement at the moment.

Veteran outfielder Manuel Margot, who had bone chips removed from his right elbow Aug. 16, has started a planned six-day rehab assignment for Triple-A Durham with the potential to be activated early next week, and the Rays aren’t going to want to rush his return.

Help is here: The Rays got leading home run hitter Isaac Paredes back in the lineup Tuesday. He had been sidelined since Friday after also being hit on the right hand by a pitch.

Paredes, who has 29 homers and a team-high 89 RBI, said before Monday’s game that the soreness has been subsiding. He was scheduled to bat fifth in the lineup.

He did some defensive work and said he was going to try gripping a bat, potentially taking some swings, during Monday’s game.