If you needed another reason to be vigilant about wearing bug spray, here it is.
Rays righty pitcher Ryan Pepiot told reporters that he spent 60 hours in the hospital as a result of an infection in his right knee after a bug bite, resulting in his being placed on the 15-day injured list.
He believes it was likely a spider bite.
“I’ve had bug bites all the time, but never something that, like, swelled up to where I couldn’t put any weight on my leg,” Pepiot told Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Florida.
Pepiot, who was acquired in the deal that sent Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers, does not yet have an exact timeline, per Kevin Cash.
He’s set to throw off a bullpen mound this afternoon, but it’s not yet clear whether he’ll need a rehab start.
“It’s kind of like how the leg contusion was earlier,” Pepiot told Bass. “Just making sure that mechanics and everything is OK, and it doesn’t hinder anything else.”
In 17 starts this season, the 26-year-old Pepiot has a 3.92 ERA and has struck out 9.7 hitters per nine innings.
He missed a scheduled start last Tuesday in Toronto, last having pitched July 14 in a victory over the Guardians.