As you’ve all heard by now, the Reid Brignac era is starting – kind of – thanks to the injury suffered by Jason Bartlett that landed him on the 15-day disabled list. (MLB.com)
From the analytical point of view, I’m not sure that it’s time to call Brignac up yet, but frankly, I don’t care. The fan in me is wicked excited to see what the kid can do at the big league level. It’ll almost be like looking into a crystal ball and seeing what the left-side of the infield is going to look like every day in a couple of years.
Tbe most important thing that Brignac needs to do is play good defense, because we’ve gotten very spoiled with Jason Bartlett manning the 6-hole. If Brignac can even come close to matching Bartlett’s glove, then he should be okay. Offensively, Bartlett has been mostly a non-factor (save for his high number of steals), and you would expect Brignac to perform any worse with the bat. Plus, the Rays have Benny Zobrist available to step in if Brignac totally falls on his face and needs to go back to the farm.
What this also does is give the Rays a chance to showcase Brignac to potential trade suitors over the coming weeks. If he plays well, it could greatly enhance his trade value (and as the Rays have Bartlett-Zobrist already and have recently selected Mr. Beckham in the draft), shortstop is a position of at least moderate depth in the organization. If a deal for a big-time bat in right field or a good starting pitcher comes around and Brignac is the piece that the other team wants, you can at least begin to talk about it. You don’t just give him away, of course, but at the very least you can listen to it.
Like I said, though, as a fan, I’m just excited to see the Cajun Cannon make his big league debut and see what he’s capable of doing. We’ve been hearing about him for so long; now all of that talk becomes reality.
Tags: Reid Brignac
