26-year old righty swinging 3B Evan Longoria had foot problems in 2011, but he’s ready to rock this spring. Longoria played in 133 games for the Rays last year and he was 118 of 483 (.244 avg, .850 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 31 homers, 99 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 563 games in his first four years with the Rays and he is 573 of 2,089 (.274 avg, .874 OPS) with 341 runs scored, 113 homers, 401 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. Longoria had 14 errors in 130 games at 3B for the Rays last year while showing off outstanding range. Longoria has already won 2 Gold Gloves in his career as he is an outstanding defender. Look for Longoria to make a serious run at the A.L. MVP Award in 2012 as long as he can stay healthy.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2012: A+

26-year old righty swinging Sean Rodriguez will get his big shot this spring to win the everyday job at shortstop. Rodriguez played in 131 games for the Rays last year and he is 83 for 373 (.223 avg, .679 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 8 homers, 36 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He has now played in 249 games in his first two years with the Rays and he is 169 for 716 (.236 avg, .692 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 17 homers, 76 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. He is a hacker though as he has already whiffed 184 times for the Rays. Rodriguez has now played in 320 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 208 of 908 (.229 avg, .674 OPS) with 120 runs scored, 22 homers, 90 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Rodriguez made 9 errors in 60 games for the Rays at SS last year while showing below average range. He is a natural 2B and if he doesn’t have a good spring he will likely be platooning with Reid Brignac or Elliot Johnson.

26-year old lefty swinging Reid Brignac came into last season as the Rays’ starting SS, but he couldn’t hold onto the job. Brignac played in 92 games for the Rays last year and he was 48 for 249 (.193 avg, .448 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer, 15 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 240 games in his first four years for the Rays and he is 150 for 650 (.231 avg, .597 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 10 homers, 66 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Brignac had 7 errors in 91 games at SS for the Rays last year while showing below average range there. Brignac will need to have a good spring with the bat to make the Rays’ opening day roster.

27-year old switch-hitting Elliot Johnson will also compete this spring for P.T. at SS. Johnson played in 70 games for the Rays last year and he was 31 for 160 (.194 avg, .595 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 4 homers, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Johnson whiffed a stunning 53 times last year which is way to many for a hitter like him. Johnson has now played in 77 games in his first two years with the Rays and he is 34 for 179 (.190 avg, .566 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 4 homers, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Johnson only had 1 error in 52 games at SS last year for the Rays while showing below average range. Johnson will have to beat out Reid Brignac this spring if he wants to make the opening day roster.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2012: D

30-year old switch-hitting Ben Zobrist is going to play 2B against righties and RF against lefties in 2012. 31-year old righty swinging Jeff Keppinger will likely start at 2B against lefties in 2012. Zobrist played in 156 games for the Rays last year and he was 158 for 588 (.269 avg, .822 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 20 homers, 91 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He has now played in 604 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 542 for 2,108 (.257 avg, .782 OPS) with 317 runs scored, 72 homers, 314 RBIs and 67 stolen bases. Zobrist made six errors in 131 games at 2B last year for the Rays but he showed below average range.

31-year old righty swinging Jeff Keppinger pounds lefty pitching, so he’s likely going to have a big year for the Rays. Keppinger played in 99 games for the Astros & Giants last year and he was 105 of 379 (.277 avg, .677 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers and 35 RBIs. He has now played in 586 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 582 for 2,074 (.281 avg, .720 OPS) with 240 runs scored, 32 homers, 215 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Keppinger made 5 errors in 93 games at 2B last year and he showed below average range. Keppinger and Zobrist are going to combine to give the Rays a lot of production at 2B in 2012.

28-year old lefty swinging Will Rhymes could work his way into the Rays’ plans this spring. He played in 29 games for the Tigers last year and he was 20 for 85 (.235 avg, .594 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Rhymes has now played in 83 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 78 for 276 (.283 avg, .711 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 1 homer, 21 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Rhymes played in 24 games at 2B for the Tigers last year and he made 2 errors while showing below average range. Even if Rhymes starts the 2012 season in AAA-ball, I see him playing for the Rays at some point this year.

26-year old Sean Rodriguez and 27-year old switch-hitting Elliot Johnson will likely be getting most of their P.T. at SS in 2012 but they can handle playing 2B if needed. Rodriguez played in 48 games at 2B last year for the Rays and he made 2 errors while showing below average range there. Elliot Johnson played in 9 games at 2B for the Rays last year and he made 1 error while showing below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2012: B+

33-year old lefty swinging Carlos Pena is back as the starting 1B for the Rays in 2012. Pena played in 153 games for the Cubs last year and he was 111 of 493 (.225 avg, .819 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 28 homers, 80 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Pena also walked 101 times while whiffing 161 times last year. Pena has already played in 566 games in his first four years with the Rays and he is 461 for 1,935 (.239 avg, .838 OPS) with 330 runs scored, 144 homers, 407 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He is the Rays’ all-time franchise leader in homers and he is going to try to add a lot more to that total in 2012. Pena has played in 1,226 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 982 of 4,113 (.239 avg, .838 OPS) with 631 runs scored, 258 homers, 730 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Pena made 8 errors in 153 games at 1B for the Cubs last year, but he still has outstanding range and soft hands. The rest of the infielders are going to benefit from having Pena at 1B.

28-year old lefty swinging Juan Miranda could be this year’s version of Dan Johnson, only better. Miranda played in 65 games for the D-Backs last year and he was 37 for 174 (.213 avg, .717 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 7 homers and 23 RBIs. He has now played in 111 games in his first 4 years in the majors and he is 58 for 257 (.226 avg, .740 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 11 homers and 37 RBIs. Miranda is not the best defensive 1B around as he had 4 errors in 46 games at 1B for the D-Backs in 2011. I have a feeling that Miranda will start the 2012 season in AAA-ball for the Rays unless Carlos Pena is injured in spring training.

Sean Rodriguez and Luke Scott could get some P.T. at 1B for the Rays in 2012. Rodriguez played in 5 games at 1B last year for the Rays and he didn’t make any errors. Luke Scott played 12 error-free games at 1B for the Orioles last year. Rodriguez will get most of his P.T. at SS in 2012, while Scott will be the primary DH.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2012: B

As of right now, 36-year old Jose Molina will be the Rays’ starting catcher in 2012, with Jose Lobaton, Robinson Chirinos and Chris Gimenez duking it out this spring for the backup job. Righty swinging Jose Molina played in 55 games for the Blue Jays last year and he was 48 for 171 (.281 avg, .757 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 3 homers, 15 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 666 games in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 430 for 1,787 (.241 avg, .630 OPS) with 183 runs scored, 29 homers, 163 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Expecting Molina to be a starting catcher at this point in his career is probably a reach as he has caught 100 games just one time in his first 12 years. Molina was behind the plate 48 times for the Blue Jays last year and he had 1 error and 8 passed balls. He also threw out 12 of 36 (33.3%) base stealers as he has a big time throwing arm. Blue Jays’ pitchers had a 4.38 ERA last year with Molina behind the plate. The Rays definitely signed Molina because of his arm and how well he works with pitchers.

27-year old righty swinging Jose Lobaton is a pretty solid defensive catcher but he just hasn’t been able to master hitting major league pitching quite yet. Lobaton played in 15 games for the Rays last year and he was 4 for 34 (.118 avg, .378 OPS) with 2 runs scored. He has also played in 60 games in A+AAA-ball last year and he was 62 for 202 (.307 avg, .922 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 8 homers and 33 RBIs. Lobaton has now played in 22 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 7 for 51 (.137 avg, .371 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 0 RBIs. Lobaton played in 14 games behind the plate for the Rays last year and he had 1 error and 0 passed balls. He threw out 2 of 10 (20%) runners trying to steal on him last year and Rays’ pitchers had a 2.45 ERA with him behind the plate.

27-year old righty swinging Robinson Chirinos is the opposite of Lobaton as he is a decent hitter but not much of a defensive catcher. Chirinos played in 20 games for the Rays last year and he was 12 for 55 (.218 avg, .592 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. He also played in 78 games in AAA-ball last year in which he was 73 for 282 (.259 avg, .719 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 6 homers, 24 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Chirinos played in 19 games behind the plate for the Rays and he didn’t have any passed ball or errors. But, he only nailed 2 of 23 (8.7%) base steals and Rays’ pitchers had a 4.43 ERA with him behind the plate. He’s going to have to improve on defense if he wants to win the backup catcher job this spring.

29-year old righty swinging Chris Gimenez will also be in the competition to back up Jose Molina this spring. Gimenez played in 24 games for the Mariners last year and he was 12 for 59 (.203 avg, .585 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. He has now played in 97 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 39 for 228 (.171 avg, .551 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 5 homers and 21 RBIs. Gimenez played in 20 games behind the plate for the Mariners last year and he had didn’t make any errors or have any passed balls. He threw out 6 of 20 (30%) runners trying to steal on him and Mariners’ pitchers had a 4.91 ERA with him behind the plate. Gimenez also can play 1B and OF, which might help his cause a bit.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2012: D