Although Fontenot has spent the majority of his major league time at second base, he can also play third and first and you know the Rays place a premium on versatility. In Spring Training, he has even appeared in left for the Rays, a position he has not played since 2007 for the AAA Iowa Cubs. Fontenot, a lefty batter, also has been a respectable hitter for a utility player, posting a .265/.332/.401 batting line, with a little speed and has displayed occasional pop in his bat, which has typically translated more into doubles than home runs. He also has been above average at taking a walk and working the count, as he has reached base via the free pass in 8.8% of his career plate appearances. And thus far in Spring Training, Fontenot has put together a .308/.500/.385 batting line in 18 plate appearances, drawing 4 walks. Most importantly, Fontenot’s play has caught the attention of manager Joe Maddon.

“Fontenot, he’s a nice baseball player, man,” Maddon said. “I don’t know much about him, because he’s been in the other league, but he’s really impressive. He’s got a really good swing, a really good swing. Technically he’s very good. The ball’s always on the fat part of the bat when he hits it.”

Maddon continued to rave about Fontenot, praising his defensive capabilities and stated that he could be a “big part of what we do here….he fits in well.” That fit may also be a major point in his favor. Since the Rays place a high emphasis on camaraderie and a strong, cohesive locker room, his ability to assimilate into the culture may be a deciding factor on whether or not Fontenot makes the team.

Seemingly every year, the Rays are able to make a signing or two that get lost in the shuffle of free agency, yet those players end up playing major roles on the team. Last year, Fernando Rodney and Jeff Keppinger were the latest under the radar signings that made an impact for the Rays. Could Mike Fontenot be next?  His versatility could give him a chance, especially if he takes well to playing in the outfield, as does his solid hitting from the left side of the plate. At the very least, Fontenot seems to have made a fan in Joe Maddon, and that can only be a good sign for his chances of making an impact for the Rays in 2013.

Mike Fontenot, LF
Ryan Roberts, 2B
Sean Rodriguez, CF
Shelley Duncan, 1B
Jack Cust, DH
Chris Gimenez, C
Wil Myers, RF
Cole Figueroa, 3B
Tim Beckham, SS
—-
Jeremy Hellickson, SP

This lineup doesn’t exactly have the Rays’ star power, but it’s still a very interesting lineup featuring a couple players Rays fans will certainly look forward to see in Myers and Hellickson and then a couple of players in Duncan and Cust competing for a backup role on the Rays. Sean Rodriguez is also playing centerfield for the second day in a row as the Rays try to increase his versatility, especially given that Desmond Jennings is the only true centerfielder left on the Rays roster, with Sam Fuld more comfortable in a corner spot. But the player that stands out the most has to be Mike Fontenot in the leadoff spot. Fontenot, a second baseman by trade, his a longshot to make the Rays’ roster, but given that he’s batting leadoff and that the Rays are trying him out in left field, a position he hasn’t played a single time in the major leagues, that has to bode well for him moving forward. This should be a fun game, and hopefully Rays fans will get the satisfaction of watching their team beat the Red Sox, even in watered-down spring training form.

The big Rays news yesterday was that Luke Scott unfortunately left the Rays’ spring training game versus the Twins with tightness in his hamstring. Luckily, though, it seems like Scott is going to be OK, as Marc Topkin wrote about in today’s Tampa Bay Times.

“The muscle’s just tight,” Scott said. “I think (it was the) cold day, a little bit of fatigue from working my legs. I worked my legs pretty hard this week. I’ve had stuff like this many times before. I’m not worried.”

Neither was manager Joe Maddon, who said “he’s fine — honestly” and the decision to remove Scott after his first at-bat was “totally precautionary,” that “when you hear tightness on a cold day like (Sunday), you just want to get him out of there.”

Scott’s 2012 was derailed by injuries, and the Rays brought him back hoping that those issues were mostly behind him. Hopefully this is just a momentary blip and Scott is primed for a strong 2013 season.

Topkin also discussed the Rays’ competition for their backup catcher role, which could get especially intense now that Jose Molina has left Rays camp to join the Puerto Rico World Baseball Classic. Both players are “big Puerto Rico fans” in the WBC hoping that Molina’s PR squad can advance and give them more time to prove themselves. Both players are excited for the opportunity.

“With Molina gone, yeah, this is a big chance for me to be able to play more to show Joe and to show the team I’m ready to stay in the big leagues,” Lobaton said.

“I want to show them I’ve been working my butt off,” he said. “I’m antsy to get in there. Hopefully (Molina’s absence) is a good opportunity for that to happen. Not that I don’t want to play other positions, because that has a value in its own right.”

The Rays’ backup catcher is going to mean quite a bit more to the Rays than to other teams since Molina isn’t a true starter, and hopefully the Rays can find a stable solution to split time with him and find themselves with at least a marginally better situation at catcher than what we saw last season.

Fontenot, 32, was actually a Rays draft picks way back in 1999, although he did not sign. Fontenot spent 2012 with the Phillies, posting a .289/.343/.340 line (86 OPS+) in 47 games and 105 plate appearances before he was designated for assignment in August. Fontenot actually appeared in the same amount of games in 2012 as a player who fits a similar physical profile to him, Will Rhymes. Fontenot is 5’8″, 165 while Rhymes is 5’9″, 155. That’s where the parallels end. For his career, Fontenot has a .265/.332/.401 line (92 OPS+) in 1586 plate appearances. Fontenot has surprising power for his size, slamming 18 home runs for the Cubs between 2008 and 2009. His power comes with a few too many strikeouts while his plate discipline is just average. On the basepaths, Fontenot has solid speed that he shows through good baserunning, taking an extra base 41% of the time for his career, a tick above league average, but he has never been a real stolen base threat, stealing just 17 of 27 bases in his career. It would be interesting to see if the Rays could work with him on that since stealing bases is such a crucial part of their offense. Defensively, Fontenot has the versatility the Rays like, being a primary second baseman with 83 games at third base and 50 at shortstop as well, and he also has played left field a couple times in the minor leagues. Fontenot is a good second baseman, posting a 4.7 career UZR/150 primarily thanks to great range, but he’s not nearly as good at third base or shortstop in smaller samples (-6.7  and -7.0 UZR/150′s respectively) with a lack of arm strength being an issue. Overall, Fontenot is a solid hitter, definitely giving him a leg up compared to several of the utility types we’ve seen on the Rays over the years, and his ability to play a good second base and at least fake shortstop and third base is certainly an asset for him.

In Fontenot, the Rays could conceivably have found a player who could receive starts for them at second base. Fontenot, a left-handed hitter, has a career .273/.339/.412 line versus right-handed pitching and the Rays could view use him second base platoon with the right-hand hitting Ryan Roberts or even have have Fontenot play a part in replacing Roberts if Roberts is non-tendered (more on that later today). Fontenot floundered in his only year as anything near a starter back in 2008, posting a 73 OPS+ in 419 plate appearances, but he has a 90 OPS+ in 618 plate appearances since then and if all else fails he could be a halfway-decent option. It does seem unlikely that the Rays will count on Fontenot for anything at this point, but considering his ability to hit for some power he does have some upside and could force his way into big league playing time. Fontenot is the type of utility player the Rays love to sign but his power gives them the potential for more of a return.

Thompson, who will turn 34 in April, had to be appreciative when the Rays gave him an opportunity in the big leagues for the first time since 2004 and decided to re-sign exactly a month after declining an assignment to Triple-A and electing free agency. Thompson went just 2 for 22 in 23 games for the Rays but did steal 6 of 8 bases including two in his first career MLB start, when he also went 1 for 3 with a walk and an RBI in an inspiring day at the Trop. Thompson posted a .310/.376/.419 line with 17 doubles, 7 triples, 2 homers, 30 RBI, 29 of 36 stolen bases, and 53 strikeouts against 29 walks in 93 Triple-A games and 284 plate appearances between the Phillies and Rays organization. Thompson’s complete lack of power limits what he can do, but he has plus speed and can play all three outfield positions capably so he could be back in the big leagues as a pinch-runner and 4th outfielder at some point and add to his already remarkable story.