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Rays Feel Good About Brignac

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By Marc Lancaster, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 21, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - In many respects, it's silly. Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria spent a couple of months as teammates last season and they suddenly seemed like a package deal.

Chances are, the 21-year-old shortstop and 22-year-old third baseman will end up holding down those spots in Tampa Bay before too long, but it appears certain now that the future left side of the Rays' infield will arrive separately rather than together.

Longoria's star - already bright after the Rays made him the third overall pick in the 2006 draft - continued to take off in his first full season as a pro, leading to open discussion from management that he might be Tampa Bay's Opening Day third baseman next year.

Brignac, meanwhile, fell on relatively hard times in 2007. After hitting a combined .321 with 24 homers and 99 RBIs at Visalia and Montgomery in 2006, the Louisiana native experienced a drop-off in production this year. He hit .260 with 17 homers and 81 RBIs in a full season at Montgomery as he played in five more games than he did the previous season.

He even slumped out of the gate in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .115 (3-for-26) in Scottsdale's first eight games this season before breaking out a bit with his first home run of the fall Thursday.

'Offensively, he had a few months where he struggled,' Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. 'But on the flip side, he had some real good months as well as a relatively young player at a demanding position.'

Brignac's improvement with the glove drew the most praise from Rays instructors this season. He committed 22 errors this season, 10 fewer than his 2006 total. Progress in that department and Brignac's continued displays of on- and off-field leadership have the Rays feeling as good about his potential now as they did a year ago.

'I think virtually everyone involved, and that includes minor-league field staff, the front office, etc., are very pleased with the year Reid had,' Friedman said. 'Are there things we feel he needs to work on to be an everyday major-league shortstop? Absolutely. But being where he is at his age, we're very optimistic about his future.'

WINTER-BALL WATCH: Elijah Dukes has played RF and DH so far for Dominican powerhouse Licey, which opened its season Wednesday. He collected hits in his first two games. ... RHP Hideo Nomo, whose last experience on a major-league mound came with the Rays in 2005 (5-8, 7.24 ERA in 19 starts) is in the Venezuelan Winter League in hopes of making a comeback. Nomo, 39, is on the roster of the Caracas-based Leones. ... Also in Venezuela, RHP Jim Magrane, the nephew of Rays TV announcer Joe Magrane and a former Rays farmhand, already has started and come out of the bullpen for the Navegantes del Magallanes. Jim Magrane, 29, was in the Rays' farm system from 2000-06 before signing with the Nationals organization last winter. He went 7-10 with a 4.01 ERA in 30 appearances (21 starts) between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Columbus in 2007.

NOTEWORTHY: Aside from monitoring Brignac and Longoria, Rays officials are keeping an eye on the AFL as they prepare for impending roster decisions. Among those playing in Arizona, C John Jaso, 1B/3B Chris Nowak and RHPs Evan Meek and Nick DeBarr must be added to the 40-man roster by next month or they could be lost in the Rule 5 draft. Of that group, Jaso (.316, .408 OBP at Montgomery) appears the most likely to be protected. ... Longtime Rays coach Billy Hatcher (1998-2005), who has been the Reds' first-base coach the last two seasons, was retained by new Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker. ... LHP David Price, the Rays' selection as the top overall pick in the 2007 draft, had his jersey retired by Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn., during halftime of the school's football game Friday night. Price played baseball, basketball and golf at Blackman before moving on to Vanderbilt University.

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