Former St. Louis Cardinals infielder Adam Kennedy signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays late Tuesday. Kennedy, who played for both the Cardinals and Angels during his major league career is a career .276 hitter with 57 home runes and 423 RBI’s.
The addition of Kennedy is the second player with extensive major league experience added in the last week. Morgan Ensberg, a former All-Star third baseman signed a minor league deal last week.
Reid Brignac makes a throw to first last March in a Spring Training game vs the Cleveland Indians. I think a good spring for Brignac this year may mean big things for the 23 year old shortstop.
Andrew Friedman has been saying all spring that the team has wanted to add depth and experience so the team has options, and this move is definitely a step in that direction.
Adding Kennedy may help bring to fruition something that I personally see happening by the end of the season. I have thought all along that Reid Brignac would finally get his big break this year. He has been a vaunted prospect for the Rays for the past few years. The only foreseeable thing in his way at this juncture is the steady play of Jason Bartlett last season.
Bartlett his .286 last year with one home run and 37 RBI’s, hardly stellar offensive numbers. Take into account that the Rays avoided arbitration by signing Bartlett to a one year $1.9 million dollar contract with the Rays in January. That dollar amount makes those numbers seem even MORE pedestrian for a team that is extremely budget minded. If Brignac has a good spring, it would make sense for the Rays to try and deal Bartlett at some point this season while they can still get some thing in return, rather than just letting him sign with another team in the off season, and walk away empty handed.
I don’t think that Brignac will make the opening day 25 man roster, HOWEVER, if he play well this spring, and Kennedy shows some signs of being a steady plan B, I would expect the team to take offers for Bartlett as early as late May-early June.
Tampa Bay Rays | Sports Blog | Reid Brignac
Thomas Gemkow is the editor-in-chief of TampaBayRaysFan.com. Founded in January of 2009, TampaBayRaysFan.com is a compilation of all the best of the Rays, from across the web. The website can be followed on Twitter
Bartlett can’t walk away at the end of the year. He is not a free agent until after 2011. This was just his first of three arbitration-eligible seasons.
Now, your point may still be valid, but they will have to trade him.
Ahh, you’re right!
At any rate, do I think Bartlett is worth what he will be getting paid? Not quite…I still think Brignac will be ready, and Bartlett could fill a roll for another team.
Time will tell.