Rays place Morton on IL with right shoulder inflammation
The Tampa Bay Rays placed right-hander Charlie Morton on the injured list Monday with right shoulder inflammation, less than 24 hours after he left his start early due to the issue, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com.
The team removed Morton after two-plus innings against the New York Yankees on Sunday, and the inflammation diagnosis came shortly after. The veteran hurler said postgame that he was "not worried about missing much time" as a result of the issue, according to Toribio.
Morton, who finished third in AL Cy Young voting last year, is off to a slow start in 2020. The 36-year-old owns a 5.40 ERA and 4.35 FIP with a 1.50 WHIP through 16 2/3 innings in 2020, only pitching into the sixth inning once.
His injury leaves yet another hole in a Rays rotation that's struggled in 2020; right-hander Yonny Chirinos and lefty Brendan McKay are both on the IL already due to a triceps issue and COVID-19, respectively.
In a corresponding move, the Rays reinstated left-hander Jose Alvarado from the paternity list.