The Mitch Talbot era in St. Petersburg turned out to be a short one, as he was demoted back to Triple A Durham before even throwing a pitch as the Rays made a flurry of off-day roster moves. SS Jason Bartlett has been placed on the 15 Day DL due to a right knee sprain that he suffered in yesterday's win over Boston. Since he was the only shortstop on the roster, the Rays called up not one, but two players to take his place. Ben Zobrist begins a third tour of duty with the team, while more intriguingly, top prospect Reid Brignac gets the call.
More on this move a bit later on, but I can't possibly seeing anyone but Brignac getting the bulk of the playing time at shortstop in Bartlett's place. Lou Piniella doesn't manage this team anymore, so unlike B.J. Upton's poorly-handled debut in 2004, I imagine the Rays will set out with a plan to see Brignac get regular playing time. Zobrist is their middle infield insurance policy, and quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised to see him stick, given the tumult that an injury to Bartlett has provoked. I'm sort of disappointed to see that Talbot won't get an extended opportunity to prove himself at the major league level, but I guess the need for roster flexibility on the infield was the paramount concern.