Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier expects to make his return from a fractured hip over this weekend, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin.
Kiermaier has been out since early June with the hip injury, but if he can put together a full nine innings in center field, the Rays might activate him for the weekend series against the Seattle Mariners. If that happens, Mallex Smith and Peter Bourjos could see reduced roles in the Tampa Bay outfield.
Kiermaier is just 1-for-15 with 4 strikeouts in 4 rehab starts in the month of August. Nonetheless, our models like him to contribute 5 extra-base hits, 7 RBI and 3 stolen bases over the rest of the 2017 season.
Source: Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times