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Riggans Already Putting Last Season's Injuries Behind Him

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 18, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - It makes some sense to consider 2007 a lost season for Shawn Riggans.

Poised to make an impact when he was recalled from Durham on May 24, the catcher ended up playing only three games for the Rays before an elbow injury that had bothered him in the minors ended his season prematurely.

Had he been healthy, who knows how the season would have played out? At the time, starter Dioner Navarro was lost at the plate and backup Josh Paul had just begun what would become a two-month stay on the DL (opening up a spot for Riggans). There was talk that Riggans might actually cut into Navarro's playing time, getting more starting opportunities than Paul had, but it wasn't to be.

Riggans was back on the DL with elbow tendinitis 10 days after being called up and underwent season-ending surgery July 27.

"There's two ways I can look at it," Riggans said. "One, I can look at it as a complete loss of a year. Two, I can look at it as I had 50-60 at-bats in spring training, 100 or so at-bats in Triple-A. I look at it more like that - I take it as a positive rather than as a negative. The fact that I'm here right now and I'm healthy, that's what I'm looking at."

Riggans says his elbow is back to 100 percent, but he's still a bit wary because he hasn't tested it out in a game situation. That will come soon enough, and so will the opportunity he missed out on last season. Manager Joe Maddon has indicated Riggans is the favorite to back up Navarro, with Paul and Mike DiFelice also in the mix.

Though Riggans insists he feels fine, the Rays' coaches and medical staff are trying to keep him reined in this spring. They don't want him going all-out from the first day in an effort to win the job, and they have emphasized to him that it's more important to be healthy through the end of September.

"They want me to relax a little bit, to calm down and not try to overdo everything," Riggans said. "I think sometimes less is more. It's taken me a long time to understand that, that doing a little bit less, my body's going to feel better than doing more. I have a good work ethic, the guys know that, but they want me to tone it down a little bit."

At some point within the next couple of weeks, the 27-year-old finally will get his chance to get behind the plate again, complete with an umpire and an opposing hitter.

"I'm just looking forward to the first spring training game," he said. "It seems like the last time I heard 'play ball' was years ago."

OPEN DOOR: Maddon was asked Sunday if the possibility that LHP David Price might make his big-league debut this season was a stretch.

"No, it's not a stretch," Maddon said. "At some point this year that is not a stretch. I just think this guy is really very mature for his years on earth. He's just a different animal with that. And he gets it, he understands, he's very respectful, he's a professional, he's good. I don't think he'll be intimidated - he'll be nervous like everybody else then get beyond that very quickly. ...

"If everything breaks well for him this summer, he'd be somebody we'd consider."

NOTEWORTHY: Navarro should make his first appearance at camp today after catching a flight back from Venezuela on Sunday. ... There was no further update on the status of RHP Juan Salas, who remains in the Dominican Republic. ... The only players to work out Sunday were Akinori Iwamura, B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist. Cliff Floyd was also at the complex.

Marc Lancaster

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