After the news broke yesterday that Evan Longoria would be out for anywhere from 4-8 weeks with a partial hamstring tear, word came from the Rays brass that Will Rhymes would be called up from triple-A Durham. Good move? If anything, it was the best move that Tampa Bay could make, without having to acquire any talent that may be available on the market, or without having to bring Brignac back up. Mind you a couple of things.

A) Brignac was 2-20 prior to being sent down to Durham.

B) Brignac is out of options. Sure the Rays would love to trade him. However, I’m also fairly certain that they’d like to get something for him, as opposed to he being snatched away from the organization by anyone else.

Rhymes offers the Rays a bit more depth in the infield, as well as more production the plate than say Brignac or Johnson. With Brignac’s 2-20 showing to start the year, compounded with the loss of a .329 hitting Longo, the Rays are going to need to utilize as many tools as possible to fill that gap until his imminent return to the roster. Rhymes has posted a .231 BA/.300 OBP/.341 SLG/.295 OBA line in Durham so far in 2012. BUT, one only needs too look at his career numbers (below) to see what he’s capable of.

Rhymes is a plus infielder, comparable to Johnson or Brignac. Plus, he’s a career .283 hitter that can put the ball in play. Now, he’s not going to get all Longo on the ball or anything. He does, however, posses decent speed and the ability to play small ball…something the Rays will need in the wake of the Longoria injury.

The question begs: who’s at third? We saw Elliot Johnson play third the last two nights. Though a solid fielder and a speedy runner, Johnson doesn’t offer Tampa Bay much in terms of consistent performance at the plate. I’d assume he’d play there part of the time. There’s always Sean Rodriguez too.

Now mind you, this just being off the cuff speculation, but what about putting Ben Zobrist in at third? We already know that he can play second, short, and the OF…what about third? Leave SeanRod at SS, platoon second with Johnson/Rhymes/Keppinger, and leave Joyce in RF.

4/30/12 Update: According to MLB Trade Rumors, Hideki Matsui is now officially a Ray…or a Durham Bull, whatever.

Of the acquisition, Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman had this to say,

“Over the past two decades, Hideki has been one of the most consistently productive hitters in the world. We are happy to add his ability, approach and professionalism to our organization.”

MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that a minor league deal between the Rays and Hideki Matsui (formerly of the Yankees, Angels, and A’s) is imminent. Matsui, 37, posted a .251/.321/.375 line with 12 home runs and 28 doubles in 585 plate appearances in 2011. However in the second half of the season he finished strong, posting a .295/.353/.425 line. Over the last nine years Matsui has posted a .285/.363/.467/.830 line with 173 career home runs and 753 RBI’s.

According to Marc Topkin of the Times,

Matsui would likely go to extended spring training in Port Charlotte then report to Triple-A Durham providing, at the least, insurance if current DH Luke Scott were to sustain an injury.

This isn’t a horrible move. And though the terms of the contract haven’t been released, it could be assumed that Friedman and Co. got him on the cheap…which is a plus. However, with Johnny Damon only making $1.25 MM this season with the Indians, why didn’t the Rays just re-sign Damon and place him in the same insurance role? I’d have to wonder if Damon’s off-season comments were enough to burn the bridge between he and the Rays organization? But that’s neither here or now.

In the end, as with the Brandon Allen acquisition, the Matsui acquisition is all about bolstering depth in places where Tampa Bay may lacking; insurance, if you will, if Luke Scott gets injured, or Brandon Allen doesn’t work out. I also tend to think it gives the Rays an opportunity to clear out some dead wood on the roster if and when it’s necessary, similarly to how the Allen acquisition found Reid Brignac in AAA.  Any-who, with an .696 OPS, and (again) with the assumption that Matsui will be signed on the cheap, I really don’t see a downside with this move.