Rays put Lowe on IL with strained oblique and give 29-year-old Jake Mangum a shot to make MLB debut

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays put outfielder Josh Lowe on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained right oblique.

The team recalled outfielder Jake Mangum from Triple-A Durham to take Lowe's spot on the roster.

The 29-year-old Mangum put himself in position to make his major league debut with a .310 batting average in 256 games at Triple-A the past two years. He set an SEC record with 383 hits from 2016-19 at Mississippi State.

Lowe was hurt in Tampa Bay's opener on Friday, a year after he missed 46 games with a similar injury.

He grounded out in his first at-bat and felt discomfort when he fouled off a pitch during his plate appearance in the fifth inning. Lowe hit a single on the next pitch and winced as he left the batter’s box and ran gingerly to first base.

The 27-year-old Lowe batted .241 with 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 106 games last season. He had hip inflammation during spring training in 2024. He strained his right oblique and didn’t make his season debut until May 6, then was sidelined by the ailment between May 22 and June 5.

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This story corrects that Mangum played at Mississippi State, not Mississippi.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb