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MLB Top 5: Tampa Bay Rays Second Basemen and Shortstops

Originally posted on LWOSports.com | By Kevin Rakas | Last updated 10/7/24

By Kevin Rakas

This is the third article in a series that looks at the five best players at each position for the Tampa Bay Rays. In this installment are second basemen and shortstops.

The Tampa Bay Rays have been known for their versatility throughout their history, and the second basemen are no exception. While many of the shortstops play just one position and focus on defense, a few of the players at the keystone position have found success in other spots on the field and can hold their own offensively.

The best Second Basemen and Shortstops in Tampa Bay Rays History

Second Basemen

Honorable Mentions – Sean Rodriguez played every position but catcher during his 13-year major league career, including eight during his five-year stint with Tampa Bay (2010-14). The Miami native was drafted by the Angels in 2003 and had two brief callups with the big-league club before he was traded to the Rays late in the 2009 season. Rodriguez was a starter at a different position each season but spent the most time at second base (205 games), totaling 185 runs, 331 hits, 40 home runs and 172 RBIs in 553 games overall. He appeared in 12 postseason contests, totaling six runs and five hits, plus a homer and a pair of RBIs. Rodriguez had two stints with the Pirates (having his best season in 2016) and played with the Braves, Phillies and Marlins. He was hired as a player development instructor with Philadelphia in 2022.

Brent Abernathy was selected by the Blue Jays in 1996, and after four minor league seasons, he was traded to the Devil Rays and won a gold medal with Team USA in the Summer Olympics in 2000. He started two years for the young Tampa Bay team, showing he was able to get on base and score runs while being a capable defender. Abernathy was waived by the Devil Rays after just two games in 2003 and spent the rest of the season with the Royals. He spent most of the next four years in the minor leagues with five teams, with his only major league action being a 24-game stint with the Twins in 2005. Abernathy played two seasons with independent teams and retired in 2009. Other than the gold medal, his biggest baseball moment may have been a third inning walk that, in hindsight, ruined what would have been a perfect game for Boston’s Derek Lowe in April 2002 (he still threw a no-hitter).

While not as versatile as Rodriguez, Logan Forsythe appeared at all four infield positions plus left field and designated hitter during his three seasons with Tampa Bay (2014-16). The first-round pick of the Padres in 2008 found more playing time and improved his offensive output after being traded to the Rays. He set career highs in 2015 with a .281 average, 152 hits, 33 doubles and 68 RBIs to go with 17 home runs, and he followed that with personal-best totals of 76 runs and 20 homers. Forsythe was traded to the Dodgers the next year and was a key piece for a team that went to the World Series. He played with four teams over his final four seasons and retired after a short minor league stint with the Brewers in 2021. Forsythe now works as a television analyst for his alma mater, the University of Arkansas.

5. Miguel Cairo – The native of Venezuela signed with the Dodgers in 1990 but was traded, first to the Mariners and then the Blue Jays, following the 1995 season. After a brief stint with the Cubs, Cairo was the fourth pick of the Devil Rays in the expansion draft and was a started for the team’s first three seasons. He hit .275 in three seasons in Tampa Bay, totaling 373 hits in 389 games and ranking ninth in franchise history with 69 stolen bases. Cairo bounced around to eight teams over the next dozen years, which included two stints each with the Yankees and Cardinals and a one-year run with the Phillies in which the team reached the World Series (but he did not play against his former Yankee teammates). He played his final game with the Reds and was the last of the original Rays players still in the major leagues when he retired in 2012. Cairo was an assistant with the Reds, held a player development positing with the Yankees and was a bench coach for the Nationals and White Sox, which included a 34-game stint filling in as manager while Tony La Russa missed time for medical reasons in 2022.

4. Akinori Iwamura – Not every Japanese player coming to the U. S. can be a Nomo, Ichiro or Ohtani. Iwamura began his career with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, earning three All-Star selections, six gold gloves, two Best Nine honors and a Japan Series MVP Award in nine seasons in his home country. He signed with the Rays in 2006 and started at his natural third base position before converting to second base to accommodate budding star Evan Longoria. Iwamura had a career year with Tampa Bay in 2008, batting .274 and setting personal bests with 91 runs, 172 hits, 30 doubles and 48 RBIs. He was the team’s leadoff hitter during the run to the World Series (which also saw the emergence of his “rayhawk” hair style), batting .273 with eight runs, 18 hits, four doubles, one homer and five RBIs in 16 postseason games. Iwamura suffered an ACL injury in a play at second base the following year. He is tied for fourth in franchise history with a .354 on-base percentage, and he ranks sixth in triples (21) and eighth in batting average (.281). Iwamura split 2010 between the Pirates and Athletics before returning to his home country to play four more seasons.

3. Jorge Cantú – He was born in Texas and raised in Mexico, where he was spotted while playing in a tournament in high school. Cantú signed with the Devil Rays in 2003 and made his major league debut the following year, batting. 301 in 50 games. He was expected to be a utility infielder but took over at second base following the retirement of Roberto Alomar during spring training. Cantú responded with one of the greatest seasons in franchise history. He earned MVP considerations after batting .286 with 73 runs, 171 hits, 40 doubles, 28 home runs and a career-high 117 RBIs, which is the second-most on the team’s all-time list. Cantú saw his numbers fall off dramatically over the next two years and he was traded to the Reds in 2007, finishing his Rays career with a .272 average, 338 hits, 44 home runs and 200 RBIs in 332 games. He had two great seasons with the Marlins and spent time with the Rangers (he went 0-for-1 in the 2010 World Series) and Padres before his major league career came to an end in 2011. Cantú continued to play for another decade in his home country as well as Korea before retiring in early 2023.

2. Brandon Lowe – The Virginia native suffered a broken fibula in a college game with Maryland two days before the 2015 draft (the Rays took him in the third round), but he recovered and became the most productive hitter on the current roster. Lowe made his debut in 2018, and he earned his only All-Star selection to date and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting after hitting 17 home runs the following year. He had a solid 2020 season and showed power in the playoffs, hitting four home runs, including three in the World Series loss to the Dodgers. “Bam-Bam” continued to terrorize opposing pitchers the next year, setting career highs with 97 runs, 132 hits, 39 home runs (tied for second in team history) and 99 RBIs. He missed more than half the 2022 season with a lower back injury and hit 21 home runs in each of the next two campaigns despite facing other ailments. In August 2023, Lowe hit his 100th home run in 477 games, giving him the record for fewest games to reach the mark by a second baseman. However, his season ended with a fractured kneecap, and he missed time in 2024 with an oblique strain. In his seven seasons with Tampa Bay (2018-present), Lowe ranks fourth in franchise history in home runs (126) and slugging percentage (.482), seventh in RBIs (363) and strikeouts (668), ninth in runs (336) and total bases (1,036) and tenth in games (611) and walks (244) to go with 527 hits and 127 doubles. In the postseason, he amassed eight runs, 13 hits, five homers and nine RBIs in 29 games.

1. Ben Zobrist – The Illinois native was drafted by the Astros in 2004 and was sent to the Rays in the trade for Aubrey Huff two years later. Zobrist made his debut as a shortstop later that season, but he didn’t become a starter until he moved to second base. He was a utility sub during the 2008 campaign and went 1-for-11 in the postseason as the Rays reached their first World Series. Zobrist took over at the keystone position after an injury to Iwamura and had a breakout season, earning his first All-Star selection with setting career highs with 27 home runs and 91 RBIs to go with a .297 average and 91 runs. After a down year in 2010, he rebounded to tie his personal best RBI total and set marks with 99 runs, 158 hits and 46 doubles (tied for second in team history).

Zobrist began to move positions more in his later years with the club, eventually appearing everywhere but pitcher (which he did in his final season with the Cubs) and catcher. He hit 20 homers for the third and final time in 2012 as a right fielder and returned to second base and earned a second All-Star selection the following year. Zobrist recorded his 1,000th career hit in 2014 and was traded after the season to the Athletics, ending his nine-year tenure in Tampa Bay (2006-14) ranked second in franchise history in doubles (229) and walks (542), third in games (1,064), runs (565), hits (1,016), triples (32), RBIs (511) and total bases (1,651), fourth in stolen bases (102), tied for fourth in on-base percentage (.354) and sixth in home runs (114) and strikeouts (701) to go with a .264 average. Although he was versatile throughout his career, his ability to excel at multiple positions was seen by a national audience when he won championships in back-to-back years (2015-16) with the Royals and Cubs. Zobrist was especially good in 2016, earning his third All-Star selection and being named World Series MVP after batting .357 with five runs, 10 hits and two RBIs against the Indians, including a game-winning double in Game 7 that gave the Cubs their first title in more than a century. He retired in early 2020, was part of a high-profile divorce that involved his ex-wife having an affair with their pastor and was a counselor at a Christian summer day camp in his home state.

Shortstop

Dishonorable Mention – Wander Franco is an example of immense talent being squandered. The native of the Dominican Republic was a top international prospect when he signed with the Rays in 2017 and rose to the top spot among minor leaguers when he made his debut with Tampa Bay four years later. Although he wasn’t called up until June and played just 70 games, Franco finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting after batting .288 with 39 RBIs, and he tied a record for a player aged 20 or younger by getting on base in 43 straight games. After he hit two home runs in a loss to the Red Sox in the Division Series, the Rays signed him to a massive extension in the offseason and the pressure to produce continued. Franco missed nearly half of the 2022 season thanks to a strained quad and hand surgery. He finally realized his potential the following year, earning an All-Star selection and hitting .281 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.

Unfortunately, that was the high point for Franco’s career and life. The 2019 MLB All-Star Futures Game participant was placed on leave by Major League Baseball in August 2023 and removed from Tampa Bay’s roster after authorities in his home country began investigating accusations of a relationship between the star and a minor. Nearly a year later, Franco was charged with sexual abuse and exploitation against a minor, as well as human trafficking.

Honorable Mention –Felix Martinez was signed by Kansas City after a brief stay in Japan in 1993, and he spent seven seasons in the Royals organization (including 56 major league games over three years) until he was waived and signed first by the Phillies and then by the Devil Rays in 2000. He used his range and solid throwing arm to become a two-year starter with Tampa Bay, although that was the extent of his major league career. Martinez was released by the Devil Rays during spring training in 2002 and had failed stints with four clubs (including a second try with the Royals. He was more successful playing for independent teams, as well as in Mexico and his native Dominican Republic, before retiring following the 2009 season.

5. Kevin Stocker – The University of Washington product was drafted in the first round by the Phillies in 1991 and made a splash in his debut two years later. Stocker’s first game came in early July, and he overcame an early error by making a stellar throw home to force out the potential go-ahead run. His sacrifice bunt set up the winning runs to score, giving Philadelphia a 7-6 win over Los Angeles in a marathon 20-inning game that took more than six hours to complete. Stocker earned Rookie of the Year consideration and became the starter on a Phillies team that went to the World Series that year. He stayed in the City of Brotherly Love until 1997 when he was traded to the Devil Rays during the expansion draft for outfielder Bobby Abreu, who would earn two All-Star selections in nine seasons with the Phillies. Stocker played 231 games in a little more than two seasons with Tampa Bay before being released and finishing his career with Anaheim in 2000. Following his playing days, he owned a smoothie shop and worked as an analyst with CBS Sports Network, the Pac-12 Network and the Phillies.

4. Yunel Escobar – He defected from his native Cuba in 2004 and was drafted by the Braves in the second round the following year. Escobar became a productive player, earning Rookie of the Year and MVP consideration in his early years with Atlanta and continuing once he was traded to Toronto. He was sent to the Marlins after the 2012 season in a 12-player trade that centered around Jose Reyes and was moved to the Rays two weeks later. Escobar’s production at the plate dropped slightly during his two years with Tampa Bay, but he had 253 hits in 290 games, won a fielding title in 2013 and popped to second base in a late September game as the last batter against future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera. He played one season with the Nationals and two with the Angels, ending his major league career in 2017.

3. Willy Adames – The native of the Dominican Republic is arguably the biggest offensive threat for the Rays at this position. He was signed by Detroit in 2012 and was sent to the Rays two years later as part of a three-team trade that also included David Price. Adames played in the MLB All-Star Futures Game in 2016 and made his debut two years after that, hitting 10 home runs in 85 games. He had his best season in a Rays uniform in 2019 amassing 69 runs, 135 hits, 20 homers and 52 RBIs. After a decent campaign the following year, he was traded to Milwaukee in May 2021, ending his four-year run in Tampa Bay (2018-21) with 289 hits, 43 home runs and 124 RBIs in 332 regular season games. He also appeared in 26 postseason contests, totaling six runs, 13 hits, the homers and six RBIs, with three coming against the Astros in the 2020 ALCS and helping the Rays reach their second World Series. Adames has worked on his power game with the Brewers, and his 107 home runs in four years (including a career-high 32 in 2024) have made him one of the most sought-after free agents on the market.

2. Jason Bartlett – He was drafted by the Padres in 2001 and traded to the Twins the following year. Bartlett became a key member on Minnesota’s small ball teams in the mid-2000s before he was traded to the Rays following the 2007 season. He continued to play to his strengths, working his way on, stealing bases and scoring runs, especially in 2009. That campaign was particularly meaningful because it included his only All-Star selection, a 19-game hitting streak (which stood as a team record for 15 years) and making the last out of a July perfect game thrown by Mark Buehrle of the White Sox. Bartlett finished the season with a then-team record .320 average (now second) and set career highs with 90 runs, 160 hits, 14 home runs, 66 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.

After one more season as a starter, Bartlett was traded back to the team the drafted him, the Padres, finishing his three years with the Rays ranked fifth in franchise history with a .288 average and tenth with 61 steals to go with 409 hits and 150 RBIs in 400 games. He was also a member of the 2008 pennant-winning team and totaled eight runs, 15 hits, one home run and three RBIs in 19 postseason contests. Bartlett played two seasons with San Diego, sat out the 2013 campaign returned to Minnesota to play three more games the following season before he retired.

1. Julio Lugo – He was born in the Dominican Republic, moved to New York as a teenager and played at a small college in Oklahoma before he was drafted by the Astros in 1995. After five years in the minor leagues, Lugo was called up to Houston, posting decent numbers at the plate while showing versatility in the field by starting at both middle infield and all three outfield spots. He was let go by the Astros after he was arrested and charged with assaulting his wife (she alleges that she exaggerated the story, and he was found not guilty in July). The Devil Rays quickly signed Lugo, and he responded with a .275 average, a career-high 15 home runs and 53 RBIs. He followed that with two stellar seasons, beginning by equaling his batting average, adding 83 runs, 160 hits and 21 stolen bases and setting personal bests with 41 doubles and 75 RBIs in 2004. Lugo was even better the next year, posting career highs with a .295 average, 89 runs, 182 hits and 39 steals. He was hitting .308 through the first four months of the 2006 season when he was traded to the Dodgers. Lugo finished his four-year stint with Tampa Bay tied for sixth in franchise history in average (.288), seventh in stolen bases (88) and tenth in hits (550) and triples (15) to go with 283 runs, 107 doubles, 40 home runs, 212 RBIs and 807 total bases in 505 games.

Lugo signed with the Red Sox the following year but, after one good season, he did not exhibit the same production he had with the Devil Rays. He had 13 hits in the 2007 postseason, including five against the Rockies to help his new team win its second title in four years. Lugo’s next two seasons were affected by a quad injury and surgery to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his knee. He played with four teams over his final three years and, after a failed tryout with the Indians, he played one season of independent ball and a final winter league in his native country before retiring in 2013. Following his playing career, he was arrested in the Dominican Republic on kidnapping and gun possession charges in 2015. The alleged altercation stemmed from an architect using the player’s money for personal gain instead of the tourism project for which it was intended, and the charges were later dropped. Lugo was working as a television panelist when he suffered a heart attack and passed away in 2021, one day before his 46th birthday.