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Rays at A’s: Francisco Mejia to injured list, Kevan Smith stays

Mejia’s rib cage area discomfort was worse Saturday, so Rays opted to play it safe with a replacement on hand.
 
Rays catcher Kevan Smith will stick around a little longer and share time behind the plate with Mike Zunino.
Rays catcher Kevan Smith will stick around a little longer and share time behind the plate with Mike Zunino. [ CHRIS URSO | Times ]
Published May 8, 2021|Updated May 8, 2021

The Rays decided to place catcher Francisco Mejia on the 10-day injured list after the discomfort in his rib cage felt worse Saturday, to the point that manager Kevin Cash said it “irritated him to breathe.”

That means Kevan Smith, who was added to the roster from the taxi squad just before Friday night’s game, will stick around and share time behind the plate with Mike Zunino.

The Rays had added Smith to the 26- and 40-man rosters Friday by putting Ryan Yarbrough on the COVID-19-related injured list due to side effects from the vaccine.

Smith, 32, is a rigth-handed hitter who played in 17 games for the Rays last season. Mejia, a switch-hitter acquired from San Diego in the Blake Snell trade, has been one of their few consistent offensive performers, hitting .300 with a .348 on-base percentage, one homer, six doubles and six RBIs.

With Yarbrough feeling better Saturday, they created the 40-man spot they needed by shifting Chris Archer, who had an elbow injury and had been away from the team dealing with the death of his mother, Donna, to the 60-day injured list.

Here is the Rays lineup as they try to bounce back from Friday’s 2-1 loss with ace Tyler Glasnow on the mound:

And here is the A’s lineup:

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