PORT CHARLOTTE — Anthony Bemboom followed through on his swing with a splintered bat in the bottom of the first inning. Shards of the former baseball bat scattered through the infield as the ball bounced foul.
With a new Marucci bat in hand, Bemboom grounded out to second base on the 10th pitch of the at-bat. He returned to the dugout after recording his first official at-bat since a May 15 game with Tampa Bay.
Bemboom, 29, began his rehab assignment before 816 fans in Port Charlotte on Wednesday morning against the Fort Myers Miracle. He landed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left knee on May 16, and he was transferred to the 60-day IL on Saturday to make room on the 40-man roster for infielder Michael Brosseau.
“It’s feeling good, no issues,” Bemboom said of his left knee. “I’m feeling strong. The main thing now is just getting to game speed with everything, so that’s my main focus.”
The catcher worked to shake off some rust at the plate in his first game back. He followed up his first-inning groundout with two more groundouts, one in the third inning and another coming in the fifth. Behind the dish, he surrendered a passed ball in the top of the fourth inning that allowed a Fort Myers base runner to advance to second.
Bemboom exited after five innings of work in Port Charlotte. He finished the day 0-for-3 at the plate, leaving four runners on base.
“The timing might not be there right away, as far as being on time for 96 (mph pitches),” Bemboom said. “As long as I’m making good decisions swinging at pitches in the zone, which I did for the most part. I was pretty happy with that.”
Bemboom will continue his rehab assignment this week in Port Charlotte. He is off Thursday and expects to catch for Anthony Banda on Friday. On Saturday he expects to rejoin the Stone Crabs lineup as the designated hitter.
Banda, who is also working his way back from the injured list, last appeared for the Rays in May 2018. He underwent Tommy John surgery last June and he made his first rehab appearance for the Stone Crabs on Sunday. He tossed 1 2/3 perfect innings in his start against Lakeland.
Stone Crabs manager Jeff Smith said that the infusion of major-league talent into the Charlotte roster has helped the development of his young players.
“When you mix a lot of our major-league players in Tampa to go with all these young prospects, it really helps the learning curve,” Smith said. “As coaches, we can teach, we can say a lot, but sometimes when you hear a voice from a major league player it helps and goes a long way.”