The Rays already have a difficult decision to make to settle their lineup, and Sean Rodriguez apparently is going to make it even harder.

Rodriguez is part of a three-player battle over two positions—he’s competing with Reid Brignac at second base and Matt Joyce is in right field, and they all know that 2009 team MVP Ben Zobrist will play one of the two positions.

Rodriguez came into camp and told the Rays he is ready, willing and able to play any position, and in the first week of games he made starts at shortstop and left field. That’s an appealing option for the Rays, who savor versatility because they plan to carry 12 pitchers.

Then he made it clear how ready he was, getting off to a scorching start with homers in his first at-bat in each of their first…

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Nomar Garciaparra rejoined the Red Sox for one day and then retired, ending a 14-year career in which he won two batting titles with Boston and was once a beloved player in the city.

Tampa Bay Rays prized left-hander David Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, left Wednesday's 8-6 win over the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the second inning after being hit on the right hand by the barrel of a shattered bat. According to Rays team spokesman Rick Vaughn, Price had an abrasion on his right thumb and will not need stitches.

Tampa Bay Rays prized left-hander David Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, left Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the second inning after being hit on the right hand by the barrel of a shattered bat. With no outs and Kevin Youkilis on first base for the Red Sox, Adrian Beltre's bat splintered on a pitch from Price.

Tampa Bay Rays prized left-hander David Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, left Wednesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the second inning after being hit on the right hand by the barrel of a shattered bat.

Rays right-hander Jeff Niemann breezed through his start Tuesday. The Baltimore Orioles made it easy on him. Niemann became the first Tampa Bay pitcher to complete four innings this spring, leading the Rays to an 8-3 victory against the Orioles. Niemann threw just 36 pitches while allowing one run and two hits.

Hank Blalock will get an opportunity to rekindle his career with the Tampa Bay Rays. The two-time All-Star agreed to a minor league contract and reported to spring training on Tuesday. Blalock hit .234 with 25 homers and 66 RBIs in 123 games for the Texas Rangers last year. He missed much of the previous two seasons with injuries and is a .269 career hitter with 152 homers and 535 RBIs.

Just a few short years ago, Hank Blalock stood among the giants of the game. Now he is fighting for his major league career.

When the Rays signed two-time All-Star Hank Blalock to a minor league contract, they gave a 29-year-old player another shot to reclaim a career that was once one of the most promising in the Majors.

Blalock finished the 2005 season as one of baseball’s rising stars, batting .263 while belting 25 home runs and 92 RBI. It was Blalock’s third straight season with at least 25 homers and 90 or more runs batted in.

After slumping in the 2006 season, various injuries in 2007 and 2008 (including a torn hamstring and a condition called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) robbed Blalock of playing time.

In 2009, Blalock returned to the Texas Rangers lineup, moving to first base and for the first time since his last All-Star appearance. He began to jack the ball out of the park like old times, pounding 25 homers for the Rangers last season.

Even though his power returned, Blalock had his worst performance at the plate since his rookie season, batting just .234 on the year with a career worst .277 on-base percentage.

His injury history and struggles at the dish prompted the Rangers to allow him to test free agency, where he received a pretty icy reception.

When asked why he chose to come to the Rays, he told the Tampa Tribune, “Well, I didn’t have any other choice. So that’s why I’m here.”

The signing of Blalock provides some competition for Pat Burrell for the DH spot and gives the Rays some depth at first and third.

It’s expected that Blalock likely will platoon with Burrell for the first portion of the season.

Personally, I don’t blame the Rays for taking a flyer on this power hitter. He’s cheap ($925,000 with the chance to make another $350,000 if he reaches incentives), he gives the Rays a left handed bat, and he might be able to push Pat Burrell to reach his potential with the Rays.

Sometimes a change of scenery can do a lot for a player, and if the Rays are forced to move Carlos Pena, Blalock could be a solution that eases the loss.

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Last season didn’t exactly start the way Joe Maddon wanted.

A brutal schedule early in the season crippled a team that seemed destined to be a contender for another run at the World Series.

A year later, the Rays are hoping that 2009 was nothing more than a hiccup in the building of a champion.

Key Arrivals

Rafael Soriano, Kelly Shoppach

Key Departures

Gabe Gross, Akinori Iwamura

Pitching

For the first time since 2004, this staff won’t be anchored by Scott Kazmir, who was traded to the Angels last year. That means that “big game” James Shields will take the honor at the age of 29. The hope is that he steps up and leads a staff that was the strength of an American League champion.

The combo of him and Matt Garza is very strong and normally would be the best in their division, except Josh Beckett-John Lackey and CC Sabathia-A.J. Burnett both trump them.

After that, the Rays have three young arms, which they just keep pumping out of their minor league system.

Jeff Niemann won a team-high 13 games last year and was one of the few players that exceeded expectations for the Rays last year.

As far as the four and five spots in the rotation, there are some pretty big question marks.

David Price is slotted at the No. 4 spot, but the former No. 1 prospect is at a serious crossroads. Yeah, his stuff is filthy, but his style involves way too many pitches. He works too deep into counts, and foul tips seem to get him to 100 pitches after three or four innings.

He might actually be a bigger mystery than Wade Davis, who has the fortune of being hardly heard of.

Davis showed promise last year, surprising some with a fastball reaching 95 mph and a curve that has the ability to have the bottom drop off it without notice. He could be a star in the making, but there will almost certainly be a growth period. The Rays will have to be patient with him, but what if he starts out with a few duds? Do they pull him or let him fight through it, like you are supposed to with rookies?

These are all questions Maddon will be forced juggle with as a manager with playoff aspirations and as one trying to bring along prospects at the same time.

Batting

The lineup that dazzled in the 2008 playoffs suffered the same setbacks that the pitching staff did.

In 2008, B.J. Upton seemed to be on the verge of super-stardom, Evan Longoria became a superstar in the first month of the season, and Dioner Navarro elevated to being one of the top catchers in the American League. Fast-forward a year, and Longoria is the only one not being threatened by fantasy baseball managers.

The few absolutes here are Jason Bartlett, Ben Zobrist, Carl Crawford, and Longoria—I know I talk about Longoria a lot, but that is because he is good enough to win the AL MVP award this year. All four of those guys are solid producers and will lead the offense.

However, the other five spots are mysteries.

Matt Joyce will be joining the big leagues again after spending a year in AAA to share the duty of right field with Gabe Kapler. That fight for the position would normally be big news if the one between Kelly Shoppach and Navarro wasn’t just as important.

Even if you want to talk about the three players not under heat, you should be worried.

Upton took a major step backwards last season and was rumored to cause in-house issues during his struggles; Pat Burrell saw career lows in hits, doubles, RBI, home runs, and total bases; and Carlos Pena was so bad at getting on base that he actually had more extra-base hits than singles. When your batting average is .227, that isn’t a good thing—it is a sign of an extreme flaw in hitting philosophy.

Bullpen

With the addition of Rafael Soriano, the Rays got the closer they have been trying to find for three years. The funny thing…that gives them the ability to be tied for third in the AL East for the best closer. Jonathan Papelbon and Mariano Rivera are both better, and Baltimore’s new closer Mike Gonzalez is just as good.

As critical as I just was, the Rays have just gone from a mediocre bullpen to a great one. J.P. Howell and Dan Wheeler form a duo of great setup men with Grant Balfour expecting to make a comeback to his form in 2008. This ‘pen is as deep as they come and is probably the best in the AL.

Summary

Two years ago, the Rays gave us a beautiful gift: the ability to see someone other than the Yankees or Red Sox winning the AL East (the first time since 1997). Now, the team sits in a very precarious situation.

The team is in a totally crappy stadium, which means they are hemorrhaging money and can’t keep the payroll they have unless they are kicking ass. If the team gets off to another slow start, the Rays could hold a fire sale of big contracts like that of Crawford, Burrell, and Pena.

For the small-market teams in MLB hoping to have an example of a team that can compete with the bigger markets, I really wanted to say the Rays were on their way up, but I don’t see it happening.

Prediction

89-63, third in the AL East            

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Third baseman Hank Blalock has signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays worth $925,000, plus an extra $400,000 in incentives, reports Jon Heyman.

Blalock’s contract is worth approximately $6 million less than what he was earning with the Texas Rangers last season. 

Blalock had been in talks with the Florida Marlins and the Rays this offseason, but talks with Tampa Bay became much more serious in recent days. The Marlins offered Blalock—a Scott Boras client—a contract two weeks ago that he turned down.

The 29-year-old Blalock hit just .234 last season with the Rangers with 25 home runs and 66 RBI. He was limited to 58 and 65 games in 2007 and 2008, respectively, due to injuries.

With Evan Longoria a mainstay at third base for the Rays, Blalock would most likely only be used as a designated hitter or first baseman if he gets called up.

He could also be packaged in a trade to a team that could use a corner infielder.

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