Reid Brignac looking to replace Jason Bartlett on shortstop
The Tampa Bay Rays are looking to set the coming year with a new stance. The exit of Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Jason Bartlett is regarded as a restructuring tactic, given the strength in youths groomed at the club’s training camp. The minor leagues have pushed up a lot of prospects in recent years and one of them is expected to take the regular position in the club.
Reid Brignac, who was regularly seen around the dugout bench during the Rays’ matches will be installed as the first choice shortstop, replacing Jason Bartlett, who was shipped out to the San Diego Padres on a trade deal.
Brignac said, "I'm really excited. My family's excited too. I'm ready for Spring Training to come around now... I can't wait for camp to start. It starts right here in December and January. This month I've been training and I'm going to continue through this next month right through Spring Training. I'll be ready, physically and mentally ready to play every day".
Reid Brignac was a regular player in the American League during the 2010 season. The Tampa Bay Rays player featured in 113 games. He spent most of his games on second base while playing occasionally as a shortstop.
The new shortstop, as he is dubbed in Tampa Bay these days, was one of the leaders in the American League rookie table as he pulled off eight home runs, drove in 45 runs and averaged .256 with the bat. In addition to that, he scored 39 runs to set his team in a better position in the league.
Reid and Bartlett were well acquainted with each other and one served as a mentor for the other. Brignac has a big task ahead of him and the management thinks he is ready to make a case for a strong position in the squad.
However, Reid owes a lot to Bartlett and he recently explained that to the press. Reid Brignac stated, "He taught me a lot of things. Just watching him play, he's an exceptional shortstop. He catches the ball, he gets rid of it. He makes very good plays ... Just watching him play helped my game. You've got to remember I would take ground balls with him every day. We had a good relationship, so if he saw something that I was doing he would tell me and I appreciated that. Not everybody does that".
Tags: