This move should come as no surprise, but the Rays have activated short stop Jason Bartlett from the 15 day disabled list and optioned fellow short stop Reid Brignac to Triple-A Durham. Brignac hit .271 with a .685 OPS in 21 games for the Rays. It was his second major league stint following a brief four game one last season. Still regarded as one of the better short stop prospects in basball, Brignac was sent down in order to continue to play everday and develop as a player. His defense has been praised over the last few season, but he earned a -0.7 UZR (Small Sample Size Alert) in his 18 games at short stop. A few thought Brignac might get an extended look at second base with Akinori Iwamura done for the season, but the emergance of Ben Zobrist as well as having Willy Aybar on the bench left no room for Brignac. For now he will get those everyday at bats with a eye on a possible full time job in 2010.
The Rays will welcome back Jason Bartlett, who was leading the American League in batting average before missing three weeks with an ankle injury. Bartlett is hitting .373/.418/.596 with a career high seven home runs on the season. He also has 11 doubles and 14 steals. It will be interesting to see how this lastest injury affects Bartlett on defense. We all saw what a knee injury did to him last year, and while a knee injury should hurt your range more than an ankle, it will see be something to keep an eye on. Bartlett has a 1.0 UZR on the season after posting a career low 2.1 UZR in 2008. MVB should be in the Rays lineup on Tuesday as they open up a three game set against the Colorado Rockies, winners of 11 straight.