Desmond Jenning to be released tomorrow.

The end of the Desmond Jennings era has reached us. Once billed as Carl Crawford’s replacement in left field he came bursting on the scene in 2011 where he hit .259/.356/.449 and 128 wRC+ and a major contributor towards putting the Rays in position to force a meaningful Game 162.

Over his five plus years he hit .245/.322/.393 and put up a 103 wRC+ while providing fantastic defense in left field and covered center field between B.J. Upton and Kevin Kiermaier’s tenures. Jenning’s 11.7 fWAR puts him seventh among position players in franchise history. From 2011-2014 he was a consistent contributor totalling 11.9 fWAR over three and a half seasons.

The last two years Jennings has struggled to stay on the field. He’s combined to provide 333 plate appearances of production that wasn’t up to his standard.

At his peak he was ranked the number six prospect by Baseball America and number seven prospect by Baseball Prospectus. As a tenth round pick in 2006 he was a huge success.

I will always remember him for his impact he made on the 2011 season. He he hit ten homers and stole 20 bases in 287 plate appearances. The combination of speed and power was incredible to watch. He never lived up to the unreasonable expectations he set after his first extended run in the majors, but he was a really good baseball player.