The Rays will be very careful with Scott Kazmir who will begin the season on the Disabled List with a strained left elbow. He has been the ace of the Rays for a long, long time. He has pitched in 98 games (97 starts) for the Rays in his major league career and he is 35-29 with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Kazmir has whiffed 617 batters in only 570.2 innings which shows how awesome his stuff is. Watch out for the Rays who are off to a fast start without Kazmir.

The Tampa Bay Rays have placed starting catcher Dioner Navarro on the 15-day disabled list with a lacerated right hand. Navarro was off to a good start this season as he was 3 for 9 (.333 avg) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Shawn Riggans will take over as the primary catcher for the Rays until Navarro is ready to return. He has played in 2 games for the Rays this season so far and he is 3 for 8 (.375 avg) with 1 run scored and 3 RBIs. The Rays have also recalled 39-year old righty swinging Mike DiFelice up from AAA to back Riggans up. DiFelice played in 16 games for the Mets last season and he was 10 for 40 (.250 avg, .661 OPS) with 1 run scored and 5 RBIs. He has now played in 543 major league games in his career and he is 362 for 1,538 (.235 avg, .642 OPS) with 144 runs scored, 28 homers and 163 RBIs.

The Rays have claimed 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Nathan Haynes off waivers from the Angels. He played in 40 games for the Angels last season and he was 12 for 45 (.267 avg, .624 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. Haynes will be able to snag some playing time at all three outfield positions because of his speed and defense.

The Rays made improving the bullpen their #1 priority in the off-season. They signed 38-year old righty Troy Percival to take over the closer role this season. He pitched in 34 games (1 start) for the Cardinals last season and he was 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He has now pitched in 639 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 33-41 with 324 saves, a 3.02 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Percival will do a good job for the Rays this season.

38-year old righty Al Reyes will move up back to the 8th inning and serve as the top set-up man this season for the Rays. He pitched in 61 games (0 starts) for the Devil Rays last season and he was 2-4 with 26 saves, a 4.90 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He also whiffed 70 batters in only 60.2 innings which shows that he still has good stuff but he also allowed a whopping 13 homers last season and that can’t happen again if he’s going to do a good job protecting leads.

30-year old righty Dan Wheeler will be the 7th inning man for the Rays this season. He pitched in 70 games last season for the Devil Rays & Astros last season and he was 1-9 with 11 saves, a 5.30 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. The Rays hope Wheeler gets back to the pitcher he was in 2005-2006 when he was 5-8 with 12 saves, a 2.36 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Look for him to rebound with a solid season in 2008.

35-year old lefty Trever Miller will be the specialist against lefty hitters this season. He pitched in 76 games for the Astros last season and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 4.86 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Look for him to improve on those numbers in 2008.

31-year old Gary Glover will pitch early in games for the Rays this season. He pitched in 67 games for the Devil Rays last season and he was 6-5 with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He will give the Rays decent innings to help bridge the gap to Wheeler, Reyes and Percival.

30-year old righty Scott Dohmann won the last job in the Rays bullpen this spring. He pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the Devil Rays last season and he was 3-0 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The Rays hope he continues to give them solid innings at the front end of the bullpen.

29-year old righty Juan Salas will likely be the first pitcher recalled from the minors by the Rays. He pitched in 34 games for the Devil Rays last season and he was 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Salas has a big arm and nasty stuff so he will likely be helpful for the Rays this season at some point.

Chad Orvella, Grant Balfour, Jae Kuk Ryu, lefty Kirk Birkins and righty Scott Munter will all start in the minors but all of them have major league experience and that’s a good thing.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B-