…Cliff Floyd and Rich Harden are hurt (you didn’t see that coming, did you?); Floyd is headed for surgery and the leaky boat of the Rays has sprung another leak. Actually, this may be the excuse they need to get Evan Longoria back up to get a power bat in the lineup, with Eric Hinske currently taking Floyd’s playing time.
One guy who could benefit from the chaos in Tampa is Shawn Riggans, who has been stepping in for Dioner Navarro at catcher; I mentioned in the AL East preview that the Rays didn’t have a Plan B if Navarro again fails to hit, but the 27-year-old Riggans is a career .292/.351/.454 hitter in the minors, much of that at AA and AAA, and while he’s not a well-regarded defensive catcher, a strong showing while Navarro is sidelined could persuade Tampa to give Riggans a larger share of the catching duties going forward.