Rays' Navarro doesn't see Shoppach signing as a negative

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Dioner Navarro would be the first to tell anyone he had a poor year in 2009, and sure enough, there was Navarro on Wednesday morning, standing on the field at Tropicana Field, pointing the finger directly at himself.

"There's nobody to blame but me," Navarro said. "I didn't play to my abilities, and that's the bottom line. Hopefully that doesn't happen the next season coming up."

Here's the deal about the next season coming up: Navarro will share the catcher position with Kelly Shoppach, whom the Rays traded for Dec. 1 and signed to a two-year, $5.55 million contract with an option for a third season.

Navarro's reaction?

"I knew we needed to go get somebody," Navarro said. "I look at it in a positive way. He's a great guy. He's going to bring a lot to the team. I think as a group, me and him, we're going to do a pretty good job together this next season."

Navarro, who turns 26 next month, has been the Rays' No. 1 catcher since he arrived from the Dodgers in a trade for Toby Hall in June 2006.

He became an All-Star in 2008, when he hit .295 and improved his work behind the plate. But Navarro slumped in 2009, batting .218 (.182 as a left-hander). He wasn't as sharp behind the plate, either.

Navarro was playing hurt. He had surgery in October to stabilize the ulnar nerve in his left elbow. Navarro, who said he will be ready when spring training begins Feb. 19, said the injury was not a factor in his poor 2009. He took swings off live pitching for the first time this offseason Wednesday morning at the Trop.

Navarro also does not view the events of December as a negative impact on his future with the Rays.

First the Rays traded for Shoppach, whom they believe can be an everyday catcher in the big leagues. Then the Rays offered Navarro a one-year, $2.1 million contract at the non-tender deadline - the same contract Navarro received last year after losing at arbitration.

You could draw the conclusion that the Rays are willing to move on without Navarro. But Maddon said he looks forward to having two catchers capable of being No. 1, and Navarro is happy for the company and the competition.

"I just have to come to spring training and bust my tail," Navarro said. "I don't think there's nothing to prove, but there's something to gain. I don't think I have proved myself on this level, but I just have to come back and be myself and play the way I know I can play."