Dioner Navarro had no where to go but up after his horrid first half.  He has started to come alive with the bat in his hands since the All-Star break.  He has played in 26 games in the 2nd half of the season so far and he is 22 for 83 (.265 avg, .773 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers and 13 RBIs.  The Devil Rays threatened to cut into Navarro’s playing time if he didn’t start playing better and he has responded so far and the Rays hope he can keep it up.  Navarro has now played in 88 games this season and he is 59 for 292 (.202 avg, .572 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers and 26 RBIs.

This is quite amazing as Fernando Cabrera said, “Thanks but no thanks” when the Devil Rays claimed him off of waivers from the Cleveland Indians.  He has now signed a contract with the division rival Baltimore Orioles that stipulates that he will get called up on September 1st.  Hopefully the Devil Rays pound Cabrera if he pitches against them because this was quite an insult to the Rays organization.

The Devil Rays have placed shortstop Ben Zobrist on the 15-day disabled list.  This will likely be addition by subtraction as Zobrist has played in 31 games this season for the D-Rays and he is 15 for 97 (.155 avg, .390 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs.  Josh Wilson will likely take over as the D-Rays everyday shortstop for now which is an upgrade.  The Rays have recalled Joel Guzman from AAA to replace Zobrist on the roster and all he did in his debut was get a game winning pinch hit against the Indians.

The Devil Rays have claimed righty reliever Fernando Cabrera off of waivers from the Cleveland Indians.  Cabrera has a great throwing arm but he just hasn’t mastered pitching in the major leagues yet.  But he has huge potential and the price was right for the D-Rays to take a chance to bolster their awful bullpen.  Cabrera has pitched in 24 games this season for the Indians and he was 1-2 with a 5.61 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP.  In 33.2 innings this season he has allowed 38 hits, 7 homers, walked 22 batters and whiffed 39.  His career numbers are why the Devil Rays think he’s worth taking a chance on.   He has now pitched in 94 major league games in his career and he is 6-6 with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  He has worked 130.1 innings in the majors and he has allowed 118 hits, walked 66 batters and whiffed 145.  Pitchers that allow less than a hit per inning and whiff more than a batter per inning have talent….the D-Rays just have to harness it.  This was an excellent low cost/high reward move by the Devil Rays’ front office.

The Devil Rays have sent lefty reliever Casey Fossum to AAA and he definately has deserved it.  He has pitched in 40 games (10 starts) for the D-Rays this season and he was 5-8 with a 7.70 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.  In 76 innings with the Devil Rays this season Fossum has allowed 109 hits, walked 27 batters and whiffed 53.  Fossum could decide to become a free agent instead of accepting his demotion thus becoming a free agent.  Lefty reliever Jon Switzer has been recalled by the Devil Rays and he has appeared in 3 games this season for the D-Rays and he is 0-0 with a 27.00 ERA.  In 1.2 innings he has allowed 5 hits, walked 2 batters and whiffed 1.