Other Teams Should Fear The New-Look Tampa Bay Rays

Second nase is now in the reigns of Akinori Iwamura. Iwamura was the starting third baseman last year but the Rays shifted him to make room for the man creating the biggest buzz in the Rays organization and in the MLB.

That man is Evan Longoria. And although he shares a striking resemblance in name to the beautiful actress and wife of Tony Parker, he will soon make people recognize his name first. His beauty is contained in the way he plays—with a strong swing and solid defense.

Scouts say Longoria is a much better defensive player than Ryan Braun—but despite his supreme defense, Longoria is not projected to produce offensively as well as Ryan does (no one may ever match what Ryan did last year as a rookie). However, Longoria will not start in the majors on opening day.

The Rays want to win but front office is still stifling when it comes to money. By keeping Evan in the minors for the first two weeks of the season, the Rays will keep him from being a free agent for one more year. The longer he stays in the minors, the better the chances of the team winning any arbitration cases in the future.

Until Longoria gets called up, look for Willy Aybar and Joel Guzman to handle the hot corner. 

The outfield is also full of talent. Center field is fully in the hands of B.J. Upton now. He was platooned as a second baseman and center fielder but now will be full time in center field. Left goes to Carl Crawford.

Right field is Rocco Baldelli's to lose. And he can lose it by being injured as he often has in the past. Baldelli has the potential to be a spark plug for his team—if he can spend an entire year off the disabled list.

At designated hitter the platoon of Jonny Gomes (against left-handers) and Cliff Floyd (against right-handers) will be solid. 

The pitching staff is coming together nicely. With a solid one-two punch of James Shields and Scott Kazmir, the Rays hold a devastating right-left combo. Each of the pitchers is getting better every year and both could easily be the ace of this team.

Matt Garza makes for a nice number three. He was also acquired with Jason Bartlett in the trade with Minnesota. He is a great young pitcher with great stuff. Andy Sonnanstine should end the season as the teams number four pitcher. A highly-touted prospect, look for him to have a few rough outings and a few spectacular ones.

The final spot in the rotation is up for grabs, with Edwin Jackson being the early-on favorite.

The bullpen was the weak point last year, and although great strides have been made this offseason, it will still be subpar. Al Reyes, Dan Wheeler, and the rest will offer decent relief that should get the job done but often will not.

However, the new closer is the great Troy Percival. He is providing great leadership, not only in the bullpen, but for the team as well. The Rays made an excellent choice in signing him, because he will lessen pressure on Carl Crawford to be the team leader.

Percival will get the saves as he always has—but his age is catching up to him, so he will get roughed up once in awhile, and may spend time on the DL.

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