Joe Kelly begins rehab assignment after multiple setbacks - MLB

After numerous delays Cardinals right-hander Joe Kelly is finally on the verge of coming back from a hamstring injury that’s sidelined him since mid-April.

Kelly tossed 41 pitches in a minor-league rehab outing at Triple-A over the weekend, allowing two runs in two innings in his first game action in months.

As of June 16 general manager John Mozeliak said that Kelly was “two or three weeks” from rejoining the Cardinals. That timetable now seems overly optimistic, but he’s finally making actual progress and seemingly could be ready by mid-July.

Kelly had a 0.59 ERA in three starts before the injury and for his career the 26-year-old has posted a 2.83 ERA in 34 starts, which is essentially one full season’s worth of time in a rotation.

Editor’s Note: Hardball Talk‘s partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $30,000 Fantasy Baseball league for Monday night’s MLB games. It’s $25 to join and first prize is $5,000. Starts at 7:05pm ET on Monday. Here’s the FanDuel link.

Follow @AaronGleeman

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay Rays slugger Brandon Lowe won’t participate in baseball activities for two to three weeks because of another back injury.

“He’ll have a lot of rehab work, core work,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said before the game against Minnesota.

Lowe went on the 10-day injured list with a lower-back issue and is hitting .199 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 50 games. He struck out 63 times in 176 at-bats.

Lowe was limited to 65 games last season by injuries, including a stress reaction in his lower back. He hit 39 homers and drove in 99 runs in 2021 but went deep just eight times and had 25 RBIs last year,

Cash said the current injury is different from the back problem last season.

Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks, out since May 28 with right hip inflammation, is expected to either throw batting practice or pitch in a rookie-level Florida Complex League game. The right-hander is 0-1 with five saves and an 1.54 ERA in 13 appearances.

Right-hander Calvin Faucher was placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation and converted reliever Luis Patiño was recalled from Triple-A Durham.

Faucher is 1-1 with a 5.21 ERA in 13 relief outings, Patiño went 3-3 and had a 7.64 ERA in 10 starts and six relief appearances at Triple-A Durham.