Basabe was removed from Friday's loss to the Blue Jays with left shoulder soreness, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Basabe fell hard on his shoulder while diving for a ball at third base, and it's unclear what his availability might be for the Rays' final two regular-season games. The 23-year-old was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts prior to his early exit.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Short-term opportunity
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Basabe is starting at shortstop and hitting eighth Saturday against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Taylor Walls (personal) will be away from the team for the next couple of games, leaving Basabe as the most likely candidate to stand in at shortstop. Across his first 74 plate appearances in the majors, Basabe has maintained a .221/.284/.324 line with one home run, 10 RBI and 11 runs scored.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Losing work to Taylor Walls
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Basabe is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Basabe is on the bench for a second straight game and appears to have lost hold of the everyday role at shortstop after Taylor Walls was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Friday. Though Basabe manned shortstop in Friday's 3-2 loss, Walls will pick up a second consecutive start Sunday in place of the rookie. Since he was called up from Triple-A Durham on Aug. 12 to replace Wander Franco (personal) as the Rays' primary option at shortstop, Basabe has slashed .250/.316/.365 with one home run and nine RBI across his first 57 big-league plate appearances.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Set to lose work
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Basabe went 1-for-4 Friday against the Guardians.
Basabe has played an everyday role at shortstop with Wander Franco on administrative leave and has performed fairly well across 16 games, maintaining a .255 average with one home run, nine RBI and 10 runs scored. However, Taylor Walls (oblique) was activated from the injured list Friday and per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, he will serve as the Rays' starting shortstop. Meanwhile, Basabe will shift to a utility role and will almost certainly lose out on playing time.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Not in Tuesday's lineup
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Basabe is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Marlins.
Basabe started the past four games and will take a seat Tuesday after going 2-for-10 with an RBI and a caught stealing. Vidal Brujan will handle shortstop and bat sixth versus Miami ace Sandy Alcantara.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Gets Wednesday off
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Basabe is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Basabe will head to the bench for the first time since being called up from Triple-A Durham and taking over as the Rays' everyday shortstop after Wander Franco was placed on the restricted list. The 22-year-old is off to a hot start to his big-league career, going 10-for-33 (.303 average) with a home run, three doubles, eight RBI and eight runs through his first eight games. Though Isaac Paredes will pick up a start at shortstop, Basabe should have a clear path to a regular spot in the lineup while Franco remains away from the team for the foreseeable future.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Cranks first big-league homer
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Basabe went 2-for-5 with a grand slam and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 12-4 blowout victory over Colorado.
Basabe capped off an eight-run, eighth-inning rally with his first major-league home run, a grand slam to left. The 22-year-old shortstop has hit safely in six of his first eight career games, with three doubles, one homer, eight RBI and eight runs scored across 33 at-bats since getting promoted from Triple-A on Aug. 12.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Notches first three-hit game
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Basabe went 4-for-9 with two doubles, a walk, three runs and two RBI across both games of a doubleheader split versus the Angels on Saturday.
Basabe notched a hit and scored a run in the matinee before breaking through with three knocks in the nightcap. Two of those hits went for a double, both of which knocked in a run. That Basabe started both games of the twin bill emphasizes the near-everyday role he has settled into since his promotion from the minors Aug. 12. He's slashed .286/.355/.393 with three doubles, six runs and four RBI over seven contests since the call-up.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Settling into role
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Basabe went 2-for-5 with a run scored Friday against the Angels.
Basabe has started all five games at shortstop since being promoted by the Rays and has consistently hit in the bottom third of the order. Friday's performance marked the first multi-hit performance of his career, and he's gone 4-for-19 overall. Basabe also has seven strikeouts and only one extra-base hit, though it appears that he'll have the chance to work through any additional development at the big-league level.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Will 'get opportunity to play'
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Basabe will be Tampa Bay's primary shortstop during their six-game road trip that ends Sunday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Fellow shortstop Wander Franco was placed on the restricted list Monday, and Basabe will "get an opportunity to play" in the days ahead, per general manager Erik Neander. Basabe is one of Tampa Bay's top prospects, and before going 1-for-3 with a double and a run in his big-league debut Sunday, he hit .294 and posted a .769 OPS over 94 games with Triple-A Durham.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Called up Saturday
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Basabe was called up from Triple-A Durham on Saturday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.
Basabe appears set to make his major-league debut in the near future after he produced a .294 average with four homers, 57 RBI, 45 runs and 16 stolen bases over 384 at-bats with Durham this season. The shortstop is one of Tampa Bay's top prospects and could be asked to play multiple infield positions while with the big-league club.
Basabe was optioned to minor-league camp by the Rays on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Basabe was added to the 40-man roster over the winter after a breakout 2022 season, though he was never a real option to make the Rays out of spring training. The 22-year-old did slash an impressive .324/.385/.462 with 21 steals last season, and even with Tampa Bay's impressive infield depth, he could be an option for the club at some point in 2023.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Joining 40-man roster
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Basabe was added to the Ray's 40-man roster Tuesday.
Basabe posted a .324/.385/.462 slash line between the High-A and Double-A levels last season, and Tampa Bay opted to move him to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The 22-year-old could open 2023 at Double-A, but it shouldn't be long before he's up with the Triple-A club.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Showing no power in Double-A
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Basabe has hit .288/.361/.374 with zero home runs, five steals and a 15:18 BB:K through 34 games since being promoted to Double-A Montgomery in late June.
He at least managed to hit four homers and post a .463 slugging percentage over 55 games in High-A ahead of the promotion, but the higher level has served only to highlight Basabe's lack of power. Basabe is essentially a high-contact slap hitter -- he doesn't strike out much and offers good-but-not-great speed on the bases. There could be a place for that in the major leagues, but Basabe is profiling like a utility player who offers little in the way of fantasy value.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Shipped to Tampa
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Basabe was traded from the Rangers to the Rays on Thursday in exchange for Nate Lowe, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Basabe was one of several prospects who will head to the Rays in exchange for Lowe. The 20-year-old has hit well at every level he's been at so far, most recently recording a .315/.344/.388 with 32 RBI and seven stolen bases in rookie ball in 2019. He improved his defensive versatility in recent years, and he could advance up the minor-league ladder during the 2021 campaign.
Basabe batted a combined .323/.352/.398 over 37 games between the AZL Rangers and short-season Spokane in 2019.
Basabe, who batted .344/.414/.474 and finished third as a 17-year-old in the Dominican Summer League in 2018, continued to hit in the lower levels of the minors since signing out of Venezuela in 2017. The only downside of the move to the States was a drop in walk rate, but the 19-year-old didn't strike out much while hitting more line drives and flyballs. Defensively, the organization introduced the young shortstop to second and third base, potentially giving him more paths to the majors.
