Tampa Bay Rays: Could Desmond Jennings Be Sent Down?
To call the Tampa Bay Rays offense anemic would be an understatement. Could they make a truly dramatic change in their lineup and send the struggling Desmond Jennings to the minors?
The Tampa Bay Rays went into this season looking to change their offense. After struggling to hit for any power whatsoever, they brought in players like Logan Morrison, Steve Pearce, and Corey Dickerson to attempt to help Evan Longoria add punch to the lineup. Unfortunately, Morrison and Hank Conger, another offseason acquisition, have disappointed thus far.
Yet, of all the disappointments on the Rays this year, the biggest may be Desmond Jennings. A former top prospect, he was expected to be the next Carl Crawford, but injuries have hampered his production. While he has been a solid player when on the field, he has not become the player that he was expected to be.
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This season, however, Jennings is in the midst of his worst season in the majors, producing a .161/.253/.218 batting line with only three extra base hits. In his past 35 at bats, Jennings has just one hit, and has been taken out of the lineup in favor of Brandon Guyer. In fact, Jennings has struggled to the point where Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times has suggested that he may be sent down to the minors.
It would certainly be a bold move, and one that would shake up the team. However, Jennings does have an option remaining, and as Topkin stated, Mikie Mahtook is coming off the minor league disabled list next week. Mahtook, while no longer a prospect, did have a strong debut with the Rays last year, hitting at a .295/.351/.619 batting line with nine home runs. In AAA, Mahtook had produced a .321/.387/.518 batting line with six extra base hits before getting injured.
With the Rays looking for any possible way to spark their offense, Mahtook may well provide an answer. Unfortunately, to bring Mahtook up, there would need to be a roster casualty. Given that Jennings has not provided any offense over the past few weeks, has been struggling all year, and has an option left, it makes the most sense to send him to Durham.
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The Tampa Bay Rays need to wake up an offense that has not provided much production thus far this year. Sending Desmond Jennings to the minors may just be that wake up call that the Rays need.