I really think that if the Rays were going to keep 25-year old switch hitting catcher Dioner Navarro they would have just brought back Gregg Zaun to back him up. With that in mind I fully expect the Rays to trade him soon. He played in 115 games for the Rays last season and he was 82 for 376 (.218 avg, .583 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 8 homers, 32 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. In four years with the Rays, Navarro has played in 410 games in which he is 343 for 1,384 (.248 avg, .664 OPS) with 150 runs scored, 28 homers, 150 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Kelly Shoppach is a upgrade on Navarro as he is both a better hitter and defender.

UPDATE: The Rays have re-signed Dioner Navarro to a 1-year, $2.1 million dollar contract. He will compete with Kelly Shoppach next spring for the starting catcher job in 2010.

For the life of me I can’t figure out why the Rays decided to go with Gabe Gross over Matt Joyce as the lefty side of a platoon in RF. The 29-year old Gross played in 113 games for the Rays this season and he was 64 for 276 (.232 avg, .694 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 6 homers, 36 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Rays just can’t afford to have a black hole offensively in RF and for that reason Gabe Gross should be looking for a new team in 2010.

No one doubts the ability of 25-year old righty swinging CF B.J. Upton. But, he’s often lazy both in the field and running the bases. He also has really played awful this season appearing in 128 games in which he is 119 for 507 (.235 avg, .671 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 10 homers, 43 RBIs and 37 stolen bases. Upton will be elgible for arbitration and the Rays have to figure out if he’s worth the money he will be making or not. Because of his age the Rays could net a nice haul of prospects for Upton so they will have a tough decision to make on him. Upton has now played in 497 games in his five years with the Rays and he is 490 for 1,846 (.265 avg, .760 OPS) with 282 runs scored, 48 homers, 214 RBIs and 118 stolen bases.

The Tampa Bay Rays need Pat Burrell to start hitting the baseball. He has played in 71 games this season for the Rays and he is 54 for 241 (.224 avg, .696 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 7 homers and 38 RBIs. Those are pathetic numbers for a DH in the major leagues. It could be that Burrell just can’t handle the job DHing. He might need to play in the field so I’m suggesting he start playing RF for the Rays. Gabe Gross and Gabe Kapler are platooning in RF and they are not putting up eye popping numbers anyway. By playing Burrell in RF it would open up more at bats for Willy Aybar. Aybar has played in 61 games this season for the Rays and he is 47 for 169 (.278 avg, .829 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 8 homers and 28 RBIs. The Rays need to find a way to get some more offense in the lineup and I think this might be the ticket.

The Rays have had issues trying to get offense out of the catcher position. Dioner Navarro had a breakout season in 2008 but he’s been horrible with the bat in his hands so far this season. Navarro has played in 80 games for the Rays this year and he is 67 for 277 (.224 avg, .589 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 6 homers and 27 RBIs. The biggest problem with Navarro’s struggles is that the Rays don’t have anyone capable of starting over him on the roster. Michel Hernandez is the current backup for the Rays and he’s nothing more than a journeyman backup. Hernandez has played in 31 games this season for the Rays and he is 21 for 92 (.228 avg, .561 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs. The Rays should have raised the ante’ and traded for Victor Martinez instead of letting him go to the rival Boston Red Sox.