Rays' Snell breaks toe in shower mishap, expected to miss 1 start

Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured fourth right toe, the team announced Tuesday.

Snell explained that his injury occurred in rather freakish fashion; he dropped part of a decorative granite stand on his foot while getting out of the shower Sunday night. He tried to lift the stand but was unaware that it was in multiple pieces, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

"(I) got off the plane, went home, took a shower, got out of the shower, and then there was like this big, like, granite thing that I don't like looking at," Snell told reporters, including the Times' Eduardo A. Encina. "And I lift(ed) it, it's like a three-piece set, there's like a bottom-like base and this ... pole that comes up like, two-and-a-half, three feet.

"... I lifted it up thinking, 'Alright, I'm just gonna lift this whole thing up.' ... And then I lifted it up, and it wasn't glued to the pole. The pole came crashing down. ... And that was the story. Really dumb. That's what happened."

Fortunately for the AL East-leading Rays, Snell - who said this is the first time he's ever broken a bone - is expected to miss just one start because of the injury, according to Josh Tolentino of The Athletic. Snell's IL stint is retroactive to Sunday, meaning he could return as soon as April 24 when the Rays host Kansas City.

The 26-year-old's next start was supposed to be this weekend against the Boston Red Sox. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has a 2.16 ERA with a 12.9 K/9 rate in four starts for the Rays this season.

Tampa Bay recalled right-hander Emilio Pagan from Triple-A Durham in a corresponding roster move.