The Associated Press reports Tampa Bay Rays C Dioner Navarro hit .190 with one extra-base hit and 15 strikeouts in 63 at-bats against the Boston Red Sox this season.

News: The Sports Xchange notes that Rays C Dioner Navarro extended his hitting streak to five games Friday at Detroit with a 2-for-5 night.

Analysis: Navarro has developed into a viable starter in mixed Fantasy leagues this season and beyond. He probably won't ever offer elite power totals, but he should continue to improve in that department. For now, he makes a better No. 2 than No. 1 option

Tampa Bay Rays C Dioner Navarro was given the day off Sunday, Sept. 21, against the Minnesota Twins, according to The Associated Press.

Marc Topkin, of the St. Petersburg Times, reports Tampa Bay Rays C John Jaso was left off the team's playoff roster for the ALDS. Jaso will continue to work and travel with the team.

The Associated Press’ Larry Lage reports Tampa Bay Rays C John Jaso received his first career start behind the plate Sunday, Sept. 28.

Brittany Ghiroli, of MLB.com, reports Tampa Bay Rays C John Jaso collected his first major league hit Monday, Sept. 15, with a single in the sixth inning.

Catcher Shawn Riggans' knee has not recovered enough to be placed on the World Series roster, according to the Tampa Tribune.Ideally, the Rays would have Riggans as their backup catcher on the roster. However, he has not fully recovered from his September knee surgery.

Catcher Shawn Riggans reports that Shawn Riggans' knee has not recovered enough to be placed on the World Series roster, according to the Tampa Tribune.Ideally, the Rays would have Riggans as their backup catcher on the roster. However, his September knee surgery has not completely recovered.

Brittany Ghiroli, of MLB.com, reports Tampa Bay Rays C Shawn Riggans (knee) is able to get into a squat behind home plate, but has only practiced blocking balls once. He still needs to improve on popping up from the catching position with power. Riggans did not seem optimistic about his chances of being added to the team's World Series roster.

Rawlings.com reports Tampa Bay Rays 1B Carlos Pena won the Gold Glove Award.

The New York Times is reporting Tampa Bay Rays 1B Carlos Pena and 3B Evan Longoria went a combined 3-for-6 during Game 5 of the World Series, after having gone 0-for-29 with 15 strikeouts during the first four games.

Marc Lancaster, of The Tampa Tribune, reports Tampa Bay Rays 1B Carlos Pena will hit fourth in the batting order for Game 5 of the World Series Monday, Oct. 27.

News: Justin Ruggiano and Dan Johnson hit two-run homers off Red Sox reliever Chris Smith on Monday.

Analysis: Johnson is a nice sleeper for deeper AL-only leagues down the stretch. There is legit pop in his bat and he could earn regular at-bats now and beyond. Ruggiano is a decent young outfielder with speed and pop and a sleeper for AL-only formats, too. Smith is nothing more than a low-end middle reliever for the deepest of AL-only leagues that use true middle men at this point

News: Dan Johnson, who woke up in Pennsylvania in Triple-A and was scratched from Tampa Bay's starting lineup because he didn't get into town until just before the first pitch, was a star Tuesday. Johnson hit a game-tying, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning to help the Rays beat Boston 5-4 and extend their AL East lead to 1 1/2 games.

Analysis: Johnson has pop in his bat and could get at-bats at DH down the stretch. Consider him a sleeper for deeper formats, especially AL-only leagues. A .307 average and 25 homers in Triple-A -- not to mention a clutch homer off one of the best closers in baseball -- suggest Johnson can be a pretty good big leaguer

Nice to see the long ball for Johnson, who was stepping to the plate in the bigs for just the second time this season (and for the first time with the Rays). Clearly, the fourth-year first baseman retains minimal fantasy value as long as he's scrapping for scattered at-bats in a crowded Rays lineup.

The Associated Press reports Tampa Bay Rays 2B Akinori Iwamura had three hits during Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 22. One of Iwamura's hits was an RBI double that helped the Rays score one of their two runs.

Joe Henderson, of The Tampa Tribune, reports Tampa Bay Rays 2B Akinori Iwamura is hitting .355 in the postseason this year.

Rays.MLB.com's Jason Beck reports Tampa Bay Rays 2B Akinori Iwamura (.417 in 24 at-bats) and OF Carl Crawford (.297 in 74 at-bats) have hit Boston Red Sox SP Tim Wakefield well in their careers.

Marc Lancaster, of The Tampa Tribune, reports Tampa Bay Rays 3B Willy Aybar will be the team's designated hitter for Game 1 of the World Series Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Willy Aybar was 2-for-3 with a double, home run, two runs scored and an RBI in Tampa Bay's 3-1 victory over Boston.Aybar is hitting .421 in 27 at-bats in this postseason. He was a critical element in the Rays' Game 4 and Game 7 wins.

Tampa Bay Rays DH Willy Aybar hit a long solo homer in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 7 of the ALCS Sunday night, Oct. 19. His shot gave the team a 3-1 lead.

News: Evan Longoria won the AL Rookie of the Year award Monday by unanimous vote. Following a season of breakthroughs for the AL champion Rays, Longoria became the first Tampa Bay player to win a national award from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The power-hitting third baseman received all 28 first-place votes, becoming the AL's first unanimous rookie winner since Nomar Garciaparra in 1997. Chicago White Sox second baseman Alexei Ramirez was the runner-up after receiving 18 second-place votes. Boston outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury finished third. The Rays were so sure Longoria would become a big star that they gave him a $17.5 million, six-year contract after only six major league games. The deal could be worth up to $44.5 million over nine seasons.

Analysis: Longoria is arguably the third best Fantasy third baseman behind Alex Rodriguez and David Wright. That makes him a second-round pick in most leagues. We think he can go .300-30-100-100-10 in his first full season next year

As expected, Evan Longoria has been named the AL Rookie of the Year for 2008, according to the Associated Press.He became the first member of the Rays to win the award in their 11-year history. He only played in 122 games, but blasted 27 homers and 85 RBI for the AL champs.

No surprise here, as Longoria helped lead the Rays to their first AL East crown, batting .272 in 448 at-bats and beating out all AL rookies in home runs (27), RBIs (85), total bases (238) and extra-base hits (60). Expect him to be among the top five third basemen off the board in 2009.

Marc Lancaster, of The Tampa Tribune, reports Tampa Bay Rays 3B Willy Aybar will be the team's designated hitter for Game 1 of the World Series Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Willy Aybar was 2-for-3 with a double, home run, two runs scored and an RBI in Tampa Bay's 3-1 victory over Boston.Aybar is hitting .421 in 27 at-bats in this postseason. He was a critical element in the Rays' Game 4 and Game 7 wins.

Tampa Bay Rays DH Willy Aybar hit a long solo homer in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 7 of the ALCS Sunday night, Oct. 19. His shot gave the team a 3-1 lead.

The Tampa Tribune reports Tampa Bay Rays SS Jason Bartlett was thrown out at home plate while trying to score the game-tying run from second base during Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 29.

David Ginsburg, of The Associated Press, reports Tampa Bay Rays SS Jason Bartlett recorded three hits in the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday, Sept. 23.

News: Tampa Bay SS Jason Bartlett went 3-for-4 on Tuesday in the first of a doubleheader against the Orioles. Bartlett scored and drove in a run as he doubled and singled twice. He's hitting .287.

Analysis: Bartlett has a 7-game hitting streak going right now. Bartlett is a light-hitting shortstop who has some value in Rotisserie leagues because he steals bases. He'll enter 2009 as a low-end Fantasy option better left for AL-only leagues

Ben Zobrist will start in right field instead of Gabe Gross in Sunday's Game 4 of the World Series, according to MLB.com.Zobrist primarily plays at shortstop but is known as a bit of a super-utility man. He has played all outfield positions this season but has started only once in right. He is 1-for-7 in the playoffs.

With Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels on the mound, Rays manager Joe Maddon went with Zobrist instead of right-handed-hitting Rocco Baldelli, who is 0-for-2 off the Phillies lefty. The switch-hitting Zobrist emerged as the team's super-utilityman down the stretch and closed out the regular season hitting .253 with 12 homers and a .505 slugging percentage. The extra face time only helps his chances of seeing more at-bats next year.

With Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels on the mound, Rays manager Joe Maddon went with Zobrist instead of right-handed-hitting Rocco Baldelli, who is 0-for-2 off the Phillies lefty. The switch-hitting Zobrist played all over the diamond for Tampa Bay, emerging as the team's super-utilityman down the stretch. This only helps his chances of seeing more at-bats next year.

Tom Singer, of MLB.com, reports Tampa Bay Rays OF Carl Crawford said he would love to play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the United States.

Troy E. Renck, of The Denver Post, reports the Tampa Bay Rays might be willing to trade OF Carl Crawford in order to acquire Colorado Rockies OF Matt Holliday in the offseason.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold reports Tampa Bay Rays OF Carl Crawford won the Fielding Bible award at left field, according the annual awards that are decided by a panel of experts and featured each winter in the Bill James Handbook.