“We've missed him,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “He's still a presence. It will lengthen our lineup. We're getting a leader back.”
While Hays' return adds an important piece to the Reds' lineup, they will be without Fraley, their regular right fielder, for an undetermined amount of time.
Fraley, who's batting .224 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 47 games, hasn't played since Monday's series-opener against the Yankees.
“He said it's hurting," Francona said of Fraley's shoulder. "If he's going to play, it's not going to work if he's worried about it. We'll see what the best way to approach it is.”
Cincinnati, which took two of three from the first-place Yankees earlier this week, began the day 2 1/2 games out of the third NL wild spot.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP