Rays cautiously optimistic Margot won't need surgery

Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Manuel Margot (13) is comforted by manager Kevin Cash (16) after he was injured in the ninth inning at Tropicana Field. Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Rays cautiously optimistic Manuel Margot won't need surgery

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 6/24/22

The Tampa Bay Rays placed outfielders Kevin Kiermaier and Manuel Margot on the injured list on Tuesday. While manager Kevin Cash's fear that Margot will miss "significant time" still appears to hold true, an update on Friday provided a small dose of optimism.

#Rays Cash said on @MLBNetworkRadio Margot's right knee issue is with the patellar tendon, not the ACL. Said they are still gathering info but from what they've heard they're "trending toward being optimistic" he may not need surgery. Still out at least 2 months
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) June 24, 2022

The 27-year-old suffered the injury when he collided with the right-field wall during Monday's game against the New York Yankees. Margot is having arguably his best season thus far, slashing .302/.365/.423 through 182 at-bats covering 51 games.

The native of the Dominican Republic leads the Rays in batting average and is second in slugging percentage, OPS (.788), hits (55) and total bases (77).

More must-reads: