30-year old lefty swinging Akinori Iwamura will be the starting 2B again for the Rays this season. He played in 152 games for the Rays last season and he was 172 for 627 (.274 avg, .729 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 6 homers, 48 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Rays will likely move Iwamura down in the batting order as they want more speed in the leadoff spot. Iwamura only made 7 errors in 152 games at 2B last season but his range was below average. Still, Iwamura is a asset to the Rays as he plays very hard and it rubs off on his teammates.

33-year old lefty swinging Adam Kennedy was recently brought in on a minor league contract and he’s a excellent defensive 2B. He did make 7 errors in 84 games at 2B last season but that was more because of his outstanding range as he gets to a lot of balls most 2B would be a matador with. Kennedy played in 115 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 95 for 339 (.280 avg, .693 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 2 homers, 36 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Kennedy also played some in the outfield last season which makes him even more valuable for the Rays.

Ben Zobrist (8 games) and Willy Aybar (10 games) each played error free ball at 2B last season for the Rays. But, Aybar has poor range as his best defensive positions are 1B and 3B. Zobrist is a natural shortstop so he boasts outstanding ranger for a 2B.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: B-

The Rays have signed 36-year old righty reliever Jason Isringhausen to a minor league contract. He pitched in 42 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 1-5 with 12 saves, a 5.70 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Isringhausen has now pitched in 612 games (52 starts) in his major league career and he is 45-49 with 293 saves, a 3.61 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. This was a good signing for the Rays as Isringhausen still likely has some gas left in his tank.

The Rays think that 30-year old righty swinging Carlos Pena will have another banner season in 2009. He played in 139 games for the Rays last season and he was 121 for 490 (.247 avg, .871 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 31 homers and 102 RBIs. Look for Pena’s batting average to improve by 15-20 points in 2009 while maintaining his power stroke. Pena is also very slick with the glove as he only made 2 errors in 132 games at 1B. Pena makes everyone on the infield a notch better as he is one of the most underrated all-around first basemen in all of baseball. Look for him to excel again in 2009 for the Rays.

33-year old righty swinging Morgan Ensberg will try to follow in the footsteps of Ty Wigginton, Carlos Pena and Eric Hinske who were all given chances to re-establish their careers with minor league deals. Ensberg played in 28 games for the Yankees last year and he was 15 for 74 (.203 avg, .506 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Ensberg has a career batting average of .263 with a .830 OPS in 731 major league games so he could rebound with the bat this season if given the chance. Ensberg didn’t make any errors in 7 games last season at 1B, but he’s a natural 3B.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: A-

The Tampa Bay Rays have signed 33-year old lefty swinging infielder Adam Kennedy to a minor league deal. Kennedy played in 115 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 95 for 339 (.280 avg, .693 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 2 homers, 36 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,227 games in his major league career in which he is 1,117 for 4,054 (.276 avg, .717 OPS) with 516 runs scored, 57 homers, 423 RBIs and 136 stolen bases. This was a excellent move for the Rays as Kennedy will battle Ben Zobrist for a backup job this spring.

25-year old switch hitting Dioner Navarro finally came into his own last season for the Rays and they hope that spills over into 2009. He played in 120 games for the Rays last season and he was 126 for 427 (.295 avg, .756 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 7 homers and 54 RBIs. It didn’t stop with the bat last season for Navarro as he threw out 25 of 70 (36%) basestealers last season and Rays’ pitchers had a 3.90 ERA with him behind the plate.

28-year old righty swinging Shawn Riggans was the backup catcher in 2008 but he will need to improve on defense to keep the job. He only threw out 1 of 25 (4%) basestealers last season, but, Rays’ pitchers had a 3.62 ERA with him behind the dish. Riggans played in 44 games for the Rays last year and he was 30 for 135 (.222 avg, .694 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 6 homers and 24 RBIs. Riggans will have to fight in spring training to keep his job in 2009.

25-year old lefty swinging John Jaso will be the main competition for Riggans this spring. He played in 5 games for the Rays last season and he was 2 for 10 (.200 avg, .400 OPS) with 2 runs scored. Jaso also played in 116 games in AA + AAA ball last year and he was 107 for 392 (.273 avg, .817 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 12 homers and 67 RBIs.

30-year old righty swinging Michel Hernandez is back. He replaced Shawn Riggans last season after he was injured but he didn’t play much for the Rays. He played in 5 games for the Rays last season and he was 3 for 15 (.200 avg, .400 OPS) with 2 runs scored. Hernandez also played in 76 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 67 for 252 (.266 avg, .690 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 3 homers and 17 RBIs. Basestealers were successful on all three steal attempts against Hernandez with the Rays’, but, Rays’ pitchers had a 3.27 ERA with him behind the plate.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C+