Rays' Kevin Kiermaier to miss at least two months with torn ligament in thumb

Things just got worse for the lowly Tampa Bay Rays. 

Starting center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, a two-time Gold Glove winner, will miss at least two months after sustaining a torn ligament in his right thumb after sliding a head first into second base on Sunday.

"The hand just kind of got caught in the ground," Kiermaier said after Sunday's 10-4 loss to the Philadelphia Philles. "Thumb went in a weird angle. Just one of those things where I felt like I had the chance to over slide the bag, like I've done a couple of times in my career. And I was just trying to hold on."

Kiermaier, who was limited to 98 games last season because of injuries, was batting .163 with strikeouts in 18 of his 43 at-bats. The speedy outfielder has recorded just one stolen base.  

The options to replace Kiermaier in center are Johnny Field, Mallex Smith and Rob Refsnyder.

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The Rays recalled right-handed pitcher Chih-Wei Hu from Class AAA Durham to replace him on the roster. Hu, 24, went 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in six relief appearances with the Rays last season as a rookie.

They Rays (3-12) have the worst record in the American League.