When the Rays acquired Dioner Navarro during the 2006 season in a trade with the Dodgers they felt that they had there catcher of the future. But, he appeared overweight and lazy last season and the Rays can’t put up with that again this season. They tried to bring in a veteran catcher to compete with him for the starting job but decided to spend money on Cliff Floyd and Troy Percival instead and that was smart. 24-year old switch hitting Dioner Navarro appears to be in better shape heading into the 2008 season and the Rays hope he lives up to his potential. Navarro played in 88 games for the Rays last season and he only hit .227 (.642 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 9 homers and 44 RBIs.

Josh Paul and Mike DiFelice will likely battle for the backup job on the Rays. Paul would seem to have an edge because he played for manager Joe Maddon both in L.A. with the Angels and in Tampa. Paul didn’t hit a lick last season for the Rays as he played in 35 games and he was 20 for 105 (.190 avg, .482 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. Paul did throw out 41% of the runners that tried to steal on him and Rays pitchers had a 4.89 ERA when he was catching. 39-year old Mike DiFelice will battle Paul for his roster spot. DiFelice has 543 games of major league experience but he’s only a .235 career hitter (.642 OPS) so don’t expect much from him with the bat.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THIS SEASON: D

The Tampa Bay Rays were busy in the offseason and the results should be very good for the 2008 season. For once the Rays spent some of the pocket change they have saved the last couple of seasons on players’ contracts. The Rays added veterans Troy Percival and Trever Miller to the bullpen and Cliff Floyd to the outfield. The Rays have also improved the starting rotation by adding Matt Garza in the Delmon Young trade with the Twins. The Rays have also added Jason Bartlett, Willy Aybar, Eric Hinske and John Rodriguez to the team and they all have nice upsides. Bartlett will take over at shortstop for the departed Brendan Harris and he will add even more speed to the lineup for the Rays. Aybar and Hinske will compete for the starting 3B job if Evan Longoria is deemed not ready for Prime Time. The Rays also added righty reliever Eduardo Morlan and lefty starter Glenn Gibson in the trades for Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes and they both could have nice futures. The Rays did a good job in getting rid of Dukes and Young who both had huge issues off of the field despite having superior talent.

FRONT OFFICE GRADE FOR OFF SEASON: B+

The Rays have signed 30-year old lefty swinging Eric Hinske to a minor league deal. This makes perfect sense for the Rays as they have rehabbed many a players career the last couple of seasons as Ty Wigginton and Carlos Pena excelled in Tampa. Hinske will likely be the starting third baseman for the Rays if Evan Longoria is not deemed ready to play in the Show. Hinske played in 84 games last season for the Red Sox and he was 38 for 186 (.204 avg, .715 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 6 homers and 21 RBIs. Hinske has now played in 770 games in his major league career and he is 645 for 2,525 (.255 avg, .770 OPS) with 386 runs scored, 85 homers, 339 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. This is another good move by the Rays front office.

The Rays have signed lefty reliever Trever Miller to a 1-year, $1.6 million dollar contract with a 2 million dollar option on the 2009 season. 34-year old Trever Miller gives the bullpen a lefty to go with all of the solid relievers they have assembled for this season. Miller pitched in 76 games (0 starts) last season for the Astros and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 4.86 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Miller has now pitched in 415 games (5 starts) in his major league career and he is 12-14 with 8 saves, a 4.46 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. This was a good move for the Devil Rays.

The Rays have re-signed Josh Paul to a minor league contract. The 32-year old righty swinger will likely battle Mike DiFelice for the backup catcher job in spring training. Paul played in 35 games last season for the Rays and he was 20 for 105 (.190 avg, .482 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. Paul has now played in 321 games in his major league career and he is 174 for 713 (.244 avg, .644 OPS) with 92 runs scored, 10 homers and 73 RBIs.