TAMPA BAY RAYS

Starting Lineup
2B Akinori Iwamura: average tools across the board but strikes out a lot for a lead off man (245 K's in two seasons) UPDATE 4/4 - will bat 8th or 9th in the lineup once B.J. Upton returns from the DL
LF Carl Crawford: ironically, the Rays had their best season in existence in a year when Crawford had his least productive (.273 BA, 8 HR, 25 SB); only played in 109 games due to injury
1B Carlos Pena: strikeouts went up (166 K's) and everything else went down but it still resulted in a productive season with 31 HR's and 102 RBI's
3B Evan Longoria: could be the best 3B in the AL despite being just 23 years old
DH Pat Burrell: if he can duplicate his '08 numbers (.367 OBP, 33 HR, 86 RBI), he'll be a bargain at 2 years and $18 million
C Dioner Navarro: finally came into his own as a ML hitter, hitting .295 and making his first all-star team
RF Gabe Gross: belted 13 HR's in 302 AB's after being acquired from Milwaukee in an early-season trade
CF Gabe Kapler: another solid veteran added to the young Rays team; should get AB's at all three OF spots UPDATE 3/22 - despite a 4-for-32 spring, he could find himself in the starting lineup quite a bit until Upton is healthy
SS Jason Bartlett: doesn't supply any power but a .286 BA and 20 SB's from the #9 spot is more than enough production UPDATE 4/4 - will leadoff against LHP's until Upton returns from the DL

Bench
C Shawn Riggans: hit 6 HR's in 135 AB's before his season ended because of a knee injury
IF Willy Aybar: good season (.253 BA, 10 HR, 33 RBI) followed by an even better postseason (.353 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI) from a guy that will get some AB's at 2B, SS, and 3B
UTL Ben Zobrist: might not have a spot on ML roster despite batting .253 with 12 HR's in 198 AB's in '08; will have to hold off Adam Kennedy UPDATE 3/24 - Ray's Index has projected the versatile Zobrist to be the starter in CF while Upton is out
OF Matt Joyce: will likely platoon with Perez; vs RHP in '08: .255 BA, 12 HR, 32 RBI in 220 AB's UPDATE 3/6 - leg injury likely hinders his chances of making the roster UPDATE 4/1 - chances to make the team improve now that Adam Kennedy has been reassigned UPDATE 4/1 - has won the final bench job

Starting Rotation
RHP James Shields: staff workhorse has pitched 215 innings in consecutive seasons UPDATE 3/4 - named the opening day starter
LHP Scott Kazmir: coming off of four straight solid seasons but needs to do better than 5 2/3 IP per game if he wants to continue to be considered the staff ace
RHP Matt Garza: 25 year-old was much better at home (7-4, 2.89 ERA) than on the road (4-6, 4.53 ERA)
RHP Andy Sonnastine: as solid as it gets from a #5 starter (13-9, 4.38 ERA, 193.1 IP, 37 BB, 124 K)
RHP Jeff Niemann: nothing more to prove after two solid AAA seasons; either he's traded, wins the #5 spot in the rotation if Price starts in AAA, or he helps the team out of the bullpen UPDATE 3/12 - making a case for the last rotation spot with a strong performance thus far (9 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 8 K) UPDATE 4/5 - will be the team's #5 starter

Bullpen
RHP Troy Percival: health status up in the air after back surgery UPDATE 3/9 - thinks he'll be ready for opening day but has yet to face hitters this spring UPDATE 3/22 - has thrown three perfect innings this spring and said, "I'm ready now" when asked if he would be ready for opening day UPDATE 3/27 - felt fine after pitching in back-to-back games for the first time this spring
RHP Dan Wheeler: he'll likely head into spring training as the closer although he blew two saves in the postseason and had a 6.23 ERA in seven appearances
RHP Grant Balfour: hard to be more dominant than the 31 year-old in 2008 (6-2, 1.54 ERA, 58.1 IP, 28 H, 82 K)
LHP J.P. Howell: terrific regular season (6-1, 2.22 ERA, 89.1 IP, 62 H, 92 K) and solid postseason numbers (3.00 ERA, 12 IP, 4 BB, 17 K) despite 0-3 record
LHP Brian Shouse: signed on to be the second lefty out of the bullpen after finishing with a 5-1 record and 2.81 ERA in 69 games for Milwaukee in '08
RHP Joe Nelson: 34 year-old signed as a free agent after posting a 3-1 record and 2.00 ERA in 59 relief appearances for the Marlins
RHP Lance Cormier: he enters a crowded bullpen picture but a spot could free up if Percival starts the season on the DL or if someone else is traded UPDATE 3/14 - with Percival and Isringhausen yet to make their game debuts, Cormier's chances have increased; his 2.57 ERA thru 7 IP hasn't hurt either UPDATE 4/5 - Hammel trade opens up a spot on the 25-man roster for him

Disabled List
RHP Jason Isringhausen: signed to a minor league deal on 2/20; averaged 34 saves per season from 2000-07 UPDATE 3/15 - solid in his first outing of the spring UPDATE 4/1 - will start the season on the DL
RHP Chad Bradford: nice late-season trade acquisition posted a 1.42 ERA for Tampa in the regular season and a 1.13 ERA in 8 postseason appearances; out until at least mid-May with an elbow injury
OF Fernando Perez: exciting player was a big part of the Rays' postseason run; could get a majority of starts against LHP and be a late-inning defensive replacement/pinch-runner UPDATE 3/5 - more likely to start the season in AAA as the Rays are grooming him to become an everyday player UPDATE 3/12 -expected to miss at least 3 months with a dislocated wrist UPDATE 3/22 - now expected to miss 4-5 months
CF BJ Upton: HR production dropped from 24 to 9, although he played the season with a sore shoulder UPDATE 3/14 - status still uncertain for opening day as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery UPDATE 3/22 - likely to open the season on the DL

Released
1B/3B Morgan Ensberg: has been a mediocre player since his all-star season in 2005 (.283 BA, 36 HR, 101 RBI) but he adds some much-needed depth at 1B and 3B UPDATED 3/30 - released

Traded
RHP Jason Hammel: could be the odd man out on a very talented and deep pitching staff UPDATE 3/2 - says he's ready to show the Rays he can be a starter UPDATE 3/16 - Rays Index explains why it appears that Hammel has the edge for the #5 spot in the rotation UPDATE 4/5 - traded to the Rockies for a minor leaguer

Reassigned to Minor League Camp
LHP Carlos Hernandez: former Astros prospect could have a shot as the #5 starter if Price starts the season in AAA; UPDATE 2/21 - Manager Joe Maddon seems to like him
RHP Winston Abreu: spent the the '08 season in Japan; struggled a bit for the Nats (5.93 ERA in 26 games) in '07 but was completely dominant during his time in AAA, posting a 1.20 ERA with only 24 hits allowed and 82 K's in 52.1 IP
2B Adam Kennedy: gives the team some depth at 2B after Iwamura and Aybar; 33 year-old hit .280 in 339 AB's in 2008 with St. Louis UPDATE 3/25 - chances of making the team improve after Ruggiano was optioned to the minors UPDATE 4/1 - reassigned to minor league camp

Optioned to AAA
RHP Mitch Talbot: 25 year-old has an outside chance at the #5 spot after going 13-9 with a 3.86 ERA in 28 AAA starts but he was blasted in three games for the Rays after a September call-up
OF Justin Ruggiano: UPDATE 3/10 - could be an option in CF if Upton is not fully recovered from shoulder surgery by opening day; he's 7-for-26 with 2 SB's this spring UPDATE 3/22 - with Upton likely to start the season on the DL, the Rays might need another CF on the roster UPDATE 3/25 - optioned to AAA although there's still a chance he makes the team if Upton is not ready to start the season
LHP David Price: could emerge as the #1 starter by the time 2009 is all said and done but there's a chance he could start the season in AAA UPDATE 3/12 - looking more and more like Price will start the season in AAA UPDATE 3/25 - optioned to AAA

Returned to the Chicago White Sox (Rule V)
RHP Derek Rodriguez: solid relief prospect will have a tough time sticking around as a rule V draft pick UPDATE 3/23 - rule V pick returned to the White Sox