Rocco Baldelli Will Miss Rest of Rays’ ALDS Against Rangers Due to Fatigue

Rocco Baldelli finds himself on the sidelines — again.

After a triumphant return to the major leagues in September, Baldelli made the Tampa Bay Rays' postseason roster as a designated hitter and started the first game of the ALDS for the Rays, but left leg fatigue has ended his ALDS run, MLB.com reports.

The fatigue is symptomatic of his mitochondrial disorder, which kept off the field for much of the season before his comeback. Baldelli –- who spent time as a coach and in minors this year — experienced discomfort in his leg prior to Game 1 against the Rangers that prompted him to speak to team trainers.

"During the game in the batting cage, where I do most of my work when I'm DHing, it cramped up," said Baldelli on Thursday. "And then in my last at-bat that I took, it cramped up in the box while I was swinging. At that point, I knew I was probably not in good shape."

Once Baldelli said he could no longer play, the Rays had to submit a form to Major League Baseball, and the Rays' team doctor had to talk to a doctor appointed by MLB. After going through that process, the move was approved.

The Rays appreciate everything Baldelli has done for the team this year.

"He's as selfless of an athlete as they come," Andrew Friedman, Tampa Bay's executive vice president of baseball operations said. "His dedication to the game on and off the field has made a tremendous impact on all of us. And so this spring I sat down with him and we talked about kind of a two pronged setup, one where he was rehabbing and getting well and seeing how his body was progressing, and the second was to help us, and felt like he had a lot to give back even if he wasn't on the field."

Baldelli's ALDS may be over, but he won't make any other announcement about his future.

"Yeah, not being able to play baseball has been one of the toughest things I've had to deal with for probably the last five years of my life," Baldelli said. "It's what I love to do, and it's a difficult thing dealing with it. But knowing that I have some other things that I can do at the field that someone is getting something out of it, maybe if I'm there and even able to help any of the young guys then it's worth it to me."

Willy Aybar will replace Baldelli on the ALDS roster.