Cliff Floyd on the DL; Justin Ruggiano Called up

I kid you not...another Rays player has been placed on the DL. This time it's slugger Cliff Floyd. It was expected Floyd would hit the DL at some point this season, but we aren't even 10 games in yet. The Heater is reporting Floyd will have surgery on Friday to repair a Torn Meniscus in his right knee. Floyd is expected to miss 6-8 Weeks with the Injury.

The silver lining in this is Justin Ruggiano was called up to replace him and we are big Ruggiano supporters. We are just baffled at the number of injuries to the Rays this young season.

Just Say No To Lofton

I'm all about signing veterans to fill important gaps for a contending team. What I don't like is when a young team, who is a couple of years away from seriously contending, entertains the idea of signing a vet when that vet blocks the path of a skilled younger player. In this instance I'm talking about the Rays possibly bringing in Kenny Lofton when they have the recently sent down Justin Ruggiano.

With Baldelli being (shockingly) injured the Rays are left with Cliff Floyd, Jonny Gomes and Jon Weber as the Right Field options. Floyd is going to be the main DH until he strains and pulls something, Gomes can mash left handed pitching and is a disaster in the field, and Jon Weber is Jon Weber. All Ruggiano has done in his Minor League career is go .307/.396/.508. Last year in 482 at bats at Durham he hit 20HR with 73RBI. Yes he strikes out a ton, but so do a lot of players. The strikeout isn't that important of a stat when you're lifetime OBP is close to .400.

This is nothing against Lofton. For an almost 41 year old outfielder, he's quite good. As Rob Neyer points out, since turned 35 in 2002 "Lofton hasn't finished a season with an OPS+ higher than 109 or lower than 95, which means he's essentially maintained his league-averageness without missing a single beat." Ruggiano is almost 26 and is faster now than Lofton and also has much more power, which is what you normally want from a corner outfield spot. Also, Lofton earned $6million last year. I'm not saying he'd demand a deal of that size again, but would you rather spend 2-3 million for one year of Lofton or a couple hundred thousand for a younger, faster, stronger player in Ruggiano? I know which option I'd choose.

I'm officially starting the Ruggiano in Right bandwagon. Who's with me?

Price Cut !: Price, Ruggiano and Ryu sent down.

The Rays made their second round of cuts today optioning David Price to minor leagues. The move is no surprise and is necessary for Price to get regular work in. He most likely will report to Advanced A Vero Beach. Maddon said Price was "Very Impressive." Price seemed a bit disappointed saying:

“They came into this thing with a plan and they’re going to stick to it,” he said. “That’s what happens.”

In a very surprising move to me the Rays optioned Justin Ruggiano to the minors. Maddon said the Rays are more likely leaning towards keeping left handed Vets Jon Weber or John Rodriguez. Although you can probably add Chris Richard to that list, he is left handed.

Ruggiano had a very impressive season at AAA last year, earning a September callup. He's struggled at the plate this spring, but still has been better that Rodriguez who has one hit in 22 AB's (0.45 Avg). He is also solid at all three OF positions. The official stance from Maddon was the Rays didn't want Ruggiano to ride the bench and he can play everyday at AAA.

I think that's kinda lame since the RF/DH will be a platoon where all players will get time. With Eric Hinske almost a lock to make the team he would provide the Rays with a Lefty off the bench. It seems to me that Maddon just preferred a veteran to take that spot.

As R.J. Anderson pointed out the Rays are and have been talking about possibly adding Kenny Lofton to the mix. So maybe there is something going on behind the scenes and they are preparing to add Lofton soon.

Also J.K. Ryu was optioned as well.

Tampa Bay Rays: Justin Ruggiano #10

As we continue on our 40 Rays in 40 days series, our next Ray is OF Justin Ruggiano.










Justin Ruggiano
OF #10
HT:6'2 WT:205

The Dish: Ruggiano was drafted out of Texas A & M in the 25th round of the 2004 draft by the Los Angeles Dogders. He was acquired by the Rays as a player to be named later on June 27th, 2006 completing the trade that brought Dioner Navarro and Jae Seo to the Rays for Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson. Ruggiano owns a .307 lifetime batting average in 417 minor league games. In 2005 Ruggiano hit .342 with a .950 OPS in 53 games at AA Jacksonville in the Dodgers organization. Once he was traded to the Rays, Ruggiano continued to put impressive numbers up at AA. He ended the 2006 season hitting .333 with a 1.050 OPS with 14 doubles and 4 home runs in the final 31 games for Southern League Champion Montgomery Biscuits. In 2007 it was more impressive numbers from Justin. He became the first Durham Bull to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases since Ron Gant. He led the Bulls in Hits, Runs, Doubles, Home Runs, Walks, Steals and RBI. He finished 6th in the International League with a .309 Average. The one glaring weakness in Ruggiano's game is his patience at the plate. He K'd 31% of the time compared to walking 6%. He was called up to the Major Leagues in September and made his debut on 9/19/07. In limited action he hit .214 with 3 RBI and continued his limited patience with 5 K's in 14 AB's.

2007 Numbers:(AAA Durham).309/.386/.502 with 20 Home Runs, 73 RBI and 26 steals.

Jules' Fantasy Impact: I'm a big Ruggiano fan. I was hoping he would get some ABs in RF, but that was before the Rays signed Cliff Floyd. He'll probably make the major league roster at some point this season as a 4th OF, but don't expect too much out of him in '08.

Role for '08:After the Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes trades it looked like Ruggiano might get a chance to see more AB's at the big league level. However, with the addition of Cliff Floyd it is almost certain Ruggiano will begin the 2008 season like the 2007 season at AAA. There is still a good chance Ruggiano will see plenty of action at the big league level due to the well documented history of injuries for both Rocco Baldelli and Cliff Floyd.

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