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Benny Boy Returns

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

The Heater…

The Rays have recalled INF Ben Zobrist from Triple-A Durham, and optioned OF Jonny Gomes.

With SS Jason Bartlett out with a bruised right index finger and LF Carl Crawford hampered by a nagging left hamstring, the switch-hitting Zobrist offers an option at short, and he can also play in the outfield.

Gomes, who platooned in RF and also served as designated hitter at times against lefthanded pitchers, hit .182 in 69 games with the Rays this season.

This will be Zobrist’s fourth stint with the Rays this season; he’s hit .230 with five homers and eight RBI in 23 games in Tampa Bay this season.

In Monday’s game, Willy Aybar made his big league debut at shortstop, and was bothered by cramps in his right leg; he said he was fine after the game, but manager Joe Maddon admitted that it was not an “optimal” situation.

It’s about time. Gomes was KILLING the team and had virtually no utility at all. At least Zobrist can be used in a number of different spots. When does Rocco get the call?

Tags: Ben Zobrist, Jonny Gomes
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No surprises here: Ben Zobrist recalled

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

As was widely expected, the Rays recalled Ben Zobrist to take the roster spot vacated when Justin Ruggiano was optioned back to Durham. (TBO.com)

The move is necessitated by Jason Bartlett’s child’s impending birth, which will send him away from the team for a few days. We’ve heard rumblings that Evan Longoria may see some time at short as well in the absence.

Tags: Ben Zobrist
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Three MORE weeks for Zobrist?

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Ben Zobrist is likely out for three more weeks after having pins inserted into his thumb yesterday. (MLB.com)

According to Rays manager Joe Maddon, Zobrist went to the doctor on Monday to have his thumb examined, and it was determined that the bone was not healing on its own, prompting pins to be inserted in the thumb.

The pins are expected to remain in place for two weeks, so the earliest that Zobrist could return would be in three weeks, since he would need at least a week of playing in games before he returning to the Rays.

Obviously this is good news for Elliot Johnson, since he’s simply keeping Ben Zobrist’s spot warm until he’s ready, but there’s no guarantees that Zobrist is going to hit the ground running after missing so much time. Only time will tell, but it may be even longer before Zobrist is back at full speed on the field.

Tags: Ben Zobrist
Posted in General | 2 Comments »

Bad break for BenZo

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

The injury bug bit Ben Zobrist again, this time felling him with a fractured thumb. (TBO.com)

According to Marc Lancaster, the injury happened at second base during a rundown during Sunday’s game. He’s likely out for just 4 weeks, which really only forces him out of the first week of action. It’s not very likely that he would’ve done more than pinch-run for Cliff Floyd during that time anyways, so its not the biggest loss the Rays have ever had.

You have to feel kind of bad for BenZo, since he was having the Spring Training of his life so far (.421/.522/.632) and had been called by pretty much everyone a lock to make the roster.

On the flip side of the coin, this makes Andy Cannizaro pretty much the happiest guy in camp, since he’s the only REAL backup shortstop candidate left. Willy Aybar is not going to do it - despite those strange rumors that he would be the Rays’ super-utility player - and Reid Brignac won’t sniff the big leagues yet. CanZo isn’t doing too bad for himself with an .871 OPS thus far this spring.

The only other real impact this move has is that Reid Brignac is likely to stick around major league camp a little bit longer - again, because he’s the only other shortstop there. This will be good for all parties involves, as it will give Brignac more of a chance to face big league-caliber pitching while also letting management give him more of a look.

And the links:

• Biggest news of the day probably goes to Scott Kazmir, who threw an uneventful bullpen session and appears to be ready to make his first spring start this weekend. (MLB.com)
• Jason Hammel got ROCKED, allowing 9 runs and 12 baserunners in 3 1/3 innings pitched against the Indians yesterday. Something tells me that this ISN’T the best way to win a roster spot. Right now, Jeff Niemann, Andy Sonnanstine, and J.P. Howell have been the three pitchers that have looked the best, and if you’re doing this entirely based on merit, they would make the roster. On the other hand, neither Sonny nor Howell have started a game yet, both working exclusively in relief. (Recap/Box)
• The Rays made the first six “cuts” of the spring, none of them surprising, by sending Jade McDavis, James Houser, Matt Spring, John Jaso, and Fernando Perez the minor league camp. (The Heater)
• Rays Anatomy’s Eric makes his counter-point to defend himself in light of Plate Collision-gate. I really hope this is the last we hear on the subject, because I refuse to devote any more words to it. (Rays Anatomy)
• Your Montgomery Biscuits are in a tournament to determine the best logo in minor league baseball. They’ve been given a number one seed with a match-up against the Casper Ghosts in the first round. (Stacy Long)
• Bill Chastain thinks that Evan Longoria will open the season at third base for the Rays. Never under-estimate the power of keeping him locked up for an extra year by sending him to Durham for a few weeks, though. Not saying that’s what the Rays WILL do. Just saying it’s possible. (MLB.com)
• Finally - I mentioned in asked for feedback in yesterday’s lunch break about John Rodriguez and his chances to make the big league club out of Spring Training. Despite this article from MiLB.com that says he’s made a lasting impression (his 1-for-19 so far is making some kind of impression), I put his chances of making the big league squad out of the spring at less than 2 percent. The biggest strike against him, actually, is that he can’t play centerfield, which makes Justin Ruggiano a more attractive candidate at this point. If you wanted to go with a lefty no matter what, by the way, you’d probably lean Eric Hinske’s way, since he can play both corner infield positions as well. I’m still trying to figure out, by the way, how Eric Hinske can make this team. There just doesn’t look like there’s a spot for him unless the Rays really do send down Evan Longoria to start the season or the team all of a sudden gives up on Willy Aybar.

Tags: Andy Cannizaro, Ben Zobrist
Posted in General | 6 Comments »

Rays get Aybar, player to be named now from Braves

Friday, January 18th, 2008

Last evening, Andrew Friedman got his left-handed (switch-hitting) utility player when the Rays traded Jeff Ridgway to the Braves for Willy Aybar and Chase Fontaine. (MLB.com)

Aybar, 24, missed all of last season due to an injured right wrist and a stint at a rehabilitation facility for substance abuse. He sustained the wrist injury in Spring Training and underwent surgery in August.

“We really like Willy’s offensive profile,” said Andrew Friedman, Rays executive vice president of baseball operations. “We feel like he can really hit. We like his defensive versatility. And we plan on expanding that some in Spring Training.”

I cannot complain about this move, because the Rays didn’t have to give up anything of real value to get Aybar. Ridgway was older (as far as guys who made their big league debuts just a few months ago) and didn’t really seem to have much of a future in the new-look Rays, while Aybar addresses a true organizational need in infield depth. The team plans on using him all over the infield and a little bit in the outfield, too.

Obviously, the big question is whether or not Aybar will ever show the promise that caused the Dodgers to sign him as a 17-year-old in 2000. Though he has shown flashes of greatness, he has very rarely put it all together over the course of a season. If he can, he’s got a little bit of pop and has an ability to get on base at a decent rate, and could actually be a very good offensive player. At the very least, he’s an offensive upgrade over Ben Zobrist. I couldn’t find a good scouting report on his defense, but by all accounts he doesn’t embarass anyone with his glove.

Meanwhile, the “player to be named now” is infielder Chase Fontaine. He’s the kind of guy that you expect to be the “player to be named later” in a deal because you’ll probably never hear of him again. He’s a lefty-hitting shortstop who gets on base pretty well. On the bright side, the official Braves site had this to say about him when he was drafted 18 months ago:

Chase Fontaine, SS, second round Not the picture-perfect shortstop. But the Braves will keep him there and have said that he reminds them of a young Chase Utley. Clark said Fontaine was the best offensive player at the junior-college level this year.

Fontaine - who I will hereafter refer to as Atlas (anyone who has played BioShock knows what I’m talking about) - shores up organizational depth, if nothing else. I’m not going to pretend to know anything else, since this is the first time I have ever heard about him.

The effect of this move is pretty clear: the Rays pretty much have a four-horse race for two spots on the 25-man roster. You’ve got Aybar, Ben Zobrist, Andy Cannizaro and Joel Guzman competing (since we’re going to assume that the third member of the Gomes-Floyd-Baldelli platoon and Shawn Riggans/Mike DiFilece are going to take the other 2 bench spots) to be utility players. You can pretty much pencil Cannizaro in at Durham now, leaving Aybar, Zobrist, and Guzman. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that Aybar has the best bat of that group, which could give him an advantage in trying to pick up that roster spot. I think that guarantees that Ben Zobrist would be the other player, since he’s probably a better defensive player than Joel Guzman and is the most natural back-up shortstop of the bunch. Now, if the Rays elect to leave Evan Longoria in Durham to cook for a little while longer, all three could be on the opening day roster.

So, to summarize, if I had to adjust my prediction about the 13 position players that will be on the Opening Day roster:

C - Dioner Navarro
1B - Carlos Pena
2B - Akinori Iwamura
3B - Evan Longoria
SS - Jason Bartlett
LF - Carl Crawford
CF - B.J. Upton
RF - Rocco Baldelli
DH - Cliff Floyd
C - Shawn Riggans
IF - Ben Zobrist
IF - Willy Aybar
OF - Jonny Gomes

That’s really not a bad offensive team in the least bit. If we can get just a little bit of pitching this year… look out!

On a related note, I have a question about Atlas that I can’t seem to find the answer to: on MLB.com, he’s listed as the 40-man roster, but I can’t imagine that the Rays would waste a spot on a guy who is that far down in the minor leagues still. Is that just an MLB.com mistake or am I missing something about him? Anyone with some insight, I would greatly appreciate it.

Tags: Andy Cannizaro, Ben Zobrist, Chase Fontaine, Damn you Atlas!, Evan Longoria, Jeff Ridgway, Joel Guzman, trade, Wily Aybar
Posted in Transactions | 10 Comments »

Lunch Break - 1/8/08

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

First of all, here’s a question that was posed to Bill Chastain in his latest Mailbag that was posted yesterday:

The Rays keep talking about prospect Longoria and how he will probably play for the Rays next season. But I think the Rays are taking too big of a risk. I don’t think Longoria is ready to move up to the Majors. I think the Rays should pursue another infielder already in the Majors and give Longoria a chance later on in the season or work off the bench throughout the year. What do you think?
– Matt G., Westport, Conn.

Since I haven’t seen Longoria play — I just follow his impressive numbers — I can’t offer an opinion on whether he’s ready. I can tell you what the Rays have said about their intentions, though. They don’t want to rush him if they feel he is not ready. And, they intend to make the decision whether he’s ready prior to Spring Training to alleviate the pressure of trying to make the team during the spring. So he should arrive at camp knowing whether he will be with the team when they start the season.

The people making the call on whether Longoria indeed is ready will be the organization’s developmental people. Maddon, though he longs for a power-hitting third baseman, has said he will totally stay out of said evaluation as he respects the abilities of those who have watched Longoria to make the decision. Meanwhile, I would not be surprised to see the Rays go after another veteran infielder who can play third if Longoria is not ready.

So, then, here is my question for you today: what would YOU do if Evan Longoria isn’t ready to start the season? Do you go out and find a free agent? Do you move Aki back to third for the time being? Do you use other in-house options? I’d love to hear your opinions on this one.

Personally, I’d just stick to in-house options rather than signing someone who may only be needed for 2 months out of the season. I think it become’s Joel Guzman’s job to lose at that point, with Andy Cannizaro and Ben Zobrist getting a shot as well. Though I wouldn’t fault the team for looking at a Corey Koskie-type in that situation, I don’t really think that the team is going to dish out much more money on free agents.

Of course, I still support bringing up Longoria on Opening Day, but just in case we can’t, I think it’s interesting to see what kind of opinions people have.

Tags: Andy Cannizaro, Ben Zobrist, Corey Koskie, Evan Longoria, Joel Guzman, third base
Posted in Discussion | 4 Comments »