Ben Zobrist to miss 4 weeks with fractured thumb.

Marc Topkin is reporting on the heater that Rays Utility man Ben Zobrist suffered a hair line fracture to his left thumb and will be out at least four weeks. This is a big blow to the Rays roster since Ben was been groomed this offseason as a "Super Utility" player. So far he's played seven positions this spring, making a smooth adjustment to the outfield. Zobrist was also swinging the hot bat this spring .421/.522/.632.

This leaves Andy Cannizaro as the odds on favorite to take the spot vacated by Benzo since Cannizaro is really the only other player who can back up Jason Bartlett at SS. Willy Aybar should also get a look as well. This could also effect who takes Rocco Baldelli's vacant spot. Zobrist's ability to play CF gave the Rays the ability entertain the idea of keeping a guy like Eric Hinske, who can only play the corners. Now the only two players capable of playing back up to Upton are Justin Ruggiano and John Rodriguez who is hitting 0.53 this spring. It'll be interesting to see how Ben Zobrist's injury affects the makeup of this team come March 31.

In other news the Rays made their first cuts after todays game assigning the following players to minor league camp Wade Davis, Jake McGee and Matt Spring and optioning John Jaso, James Houser and Fernando Perez.

Also an interesting tidbit John Raburn was quietly added to the Rays 40 Man Roster

We wish Zobrist a speedy recovery