DeLuca is starting in left field and batting fifth Friday against the Reds, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.
The 26-year-old also manned left field Thursday, and while he hasn't been a consistent lineup presence in recent weeks he should see more opportunities after Randy Arozarena was traded to the Mariners. DeLuca has struggled in 57 big-league games this season with a .169/.242/.271 slash line, and he may need to be more productive in order to claim a regular role.
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Rays' Jonny DeLuca: Seeing more playing time
Rotowire
DeLuca went 0-for-4 with a strikeout Saturday against the Guardians.
DeLuca was in the lineup for the sixth time in the Rays' last nine games. He's earned that playing time primarily by subbing in for Josh Lowe against lefties, though he's also drawn three starts in center field in that span. DeLuca hasn't delivered much with the increased playing time, tallying one home run and three RBI with two runs scored while striking out at a 36 percent clip, though he does have six hits in 24 at-bats.
DeLuca went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in Thursday's win over Kansas City.
DeLuca jumped on a hanging sinker from Alec Marsh in the second inning and sent it over the wall in left field for his third home run of the season, extending the Rays' lead to three runs. The outfielder then added an RBI single in the following frame and went on to reach three times in the contest. The long ball was DeLuca's first since May 18 against Toronto, and he's now tallied multiple hits in two of his last three starts. However, his average still sits at .180 on the campaign following Thursday's three-hit performance.
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Rays' Jonny DeLuca: Sporadic playing time
Rotowire
DeLuca went 2-for-4 with a stolen base Friday against the Nationals.
DeLuca has been serving as the Rays' fourth outfielder, primarily getting playing time when a lefty is on the mound or when the team shifts Josh Lowe to designated hitter. DeLuca hasn't made a strong case for more playing time, batting just .163 across 138 plate appearances, though he managed his sixth stolen base of the year Friday.
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Rays' Jonny DeLuca: Getting third straight start
Rotowire
DeLuca will start in left field and bat sixth in Thursday's game against the Twins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The 25-year-old will draw his third consecutive start against a right-handed pitcher (Simeon Woods Richardson), but after going 1-for-8 with a walk in the previous two contests, he'll probably need to pick up the pace at the plate to ensure he continues seeing regular playing time. DeLuca made some waves by producing three two-hit games in his first five starts when he returned from the injured list May 3, but he's slashing just .102/.202/.170 from May 8 onward.
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Rays' Jonny DeLuca: Sitting versus lefty
Rotowire
DeLuca is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Miami.
Southpaw Braxton Garrett is starting for the Marlins, but the right-handed-hitting DeLuca nonetheless finds himself on the bench. It's the first time in six games versus lefties since DeLuca was promoted last month that he hasn't been in the lineup. Randy Arozarena, Josh Lowe and Harold Ramirez will handle outfield duties for the Rays on Wednesday.
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Rays' Jonny DeLuca: Taking seat Wednesday
Rotowire
DeLuca is out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Athletics, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.
DeLuca had started against right-handed pitchers in each of the last four games, but he went just 1-for-14 with one walk against five strikeouts during that stretch. He'll now take a seat Wednesday against Athletics righty Joey Estes and could see most of his opportunities versus left-handed pitching moving forward while Randy Arozarena, Jose Siri and Richie Palacios form the Rays' preferred outfield trio versus righties.
DeLuca is out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Red Sox.
DeLuca's playing time has been difficult to predict. He's on the bench for a second straight game, after he had started each of the previous four contests. The Rays are going with Josh Lowe in center field Wednesday, while Richie Palacios will get the nod in right field.
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Rays' Jonny DeLuca: Idle Tuesday
Rotowire
DeLuca is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox.
DeLuca has been splitting work with Jose Siri in center field throughout May, and after going 0-for-6 with five strikeouts in his last two games, DeLuca will yield to Siri on Tuesday.
DeLuca went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a stolen base Sunday against the Blue Jays.
DeLuca started his third straight game, two of which have come in center field in place of Jose Siri. He made the case to maintain consistent playing time over the Rays' weekend series, homering on Saturday while also collecting two steals across the three games. For now, he appears to be in a rotation for two outfield spots with Siri and Josh Lowe, but DeLuca could ultimately overtake Siri if his defense proves to be good enough in center field.
DeLuca went 1-for-4 with a walk, a two-run home run, a second run scored and a stolen base in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.
After drawing a walk and coming around to score in the sixth inning as part of a three-run rally that got the Rays on the board, DeLuca turned on a 97.3 mph fastball from Nate Pearson in the eighth inning and launched it over the left-field fence for the game-winning hit. DeLuca has begun to see his playing time slip as Tampa Bay's roster has gotten healthier, but through 15 games this season he still sports a .300/.404/.550 slash line with two homers, three steals, six runs and 12 RBI.
DeLuca is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Boston.
It marks the third time in four games that DeLuca will be on the bench. This is after he had started the previous nine contests in a row. The recent returns of Josh Lowe and Jonathan Aranda have impacted DeLuca's playing time, and the Rays also could be re-committing to Jose Siri in handing him five starts across the last six tilts.
