The way the Rays are set up right now it looks like Ben Zobrist will be playing every day in 2010. He will likely play 2B against righty pitchers and RF against lefty pitchers. What that really does is that it means that Sean Rodriguez will likely be starting at 2B against lefty starting pitchers and Matt Joyce will be starting in RF against righty starting pitchers. 28-year old switch hitting Ben Zobrist will get most of the playing time at 2B for the Rays in 2010 as things stand right now. He had a breakout year for the Rays in 2009 and they are hoping that he can repeat it. He played in 152 games for the Rays last season and he was 149 for 501 (.297 avg, .948 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 27 homers, 91 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Zobrist made 4 errors at 2B in 91 games while showing slightly below average range at 2B last season. Look for him to improve on defense there as he is a natural shortstop.

24-year old righty swinging Sean Rodriguez was the key player in the Scott Kazmir trade last Summer. He played in 5 games for the Angels last season and he was 5 for 25 (.200 avg, .716 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Rodriguez played in 108 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 113 for 385 (.294 avg, 1.005 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 30 homers, 98 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He has a nice upside for the Rays and he will likely start for them at 2B against lefty starting pitchers. He didn’t make any errors in 5 games at 2B for the Angels last season but he showed poor range. He will likely improve his range factor in 2010 so I wouldn’t be too worried about it.

26-year old switch-hitting Willy Aybar will likely be third on the depth chart at 2B this season for the Rays. He showed outstanding range in his 28 games for the Rays at 2B last season but he made 5 errors which is way too many.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: B

The Rays have claimed 26-year old righty reliever Mike Ekstrom off waivers from the Padres. He pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Padres last season and he was 0-0 with a 6.38 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Ekstrom also pitched in 42 games (1 start) in AAA-ball last season and he was 4-2 with a 1.73 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. The Rays will likely stash Ekstrom at AAA and reward him with another call to the majors if he is solid again in the minors.

The Rays have signed 28-year old righty swinging catcher Alvin Colina to a minor league deal. Colina played in 67 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 59 for 225 (.262 avg, .766 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 8 homers and 42 RBIs. He has also played in 2 games in his major league career and he is 1 for 5 (.200 avg, .400 OPS) with 1 RBI. Colina will likely provide organizational depth for the Rays and little more.

The Rays have signed 27-year old lefty reliever Heath Phillips to a minor league deal. He pitched in 27 games (25 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 8-7 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He will probably be converted back to a reliever in AAA at the start of the 2010 season for the Rays. Phillips pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the White Sox in 2007 and he was 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. You can never have too many lefty relievers so I like this signing for the Rays.

The Rays have signed 23-year old righty reliever Matt Bush to a minor league deal. He was a first round pick of the Padres in 2004 as a shortstop but he was then converted to a pitcher due to his lack of success as a hitter in the minors. His missed all of the 2008 season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery and he got into trouble off the field that caused him to miss the 2009 season. He last pitched in 2007 in Rookie and A-ball and he worked in 7 games (0 starts) in which he was 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Bush only allowed 5 hits in 7 2/3 innings in 2007 and he whiffed 16 batters showing that he has potential. The question is: Can he keep his head on straight? The Rays are willing to give him another chance to prove himself but they will likely let him go at the first sign of trouble.