Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reports that the Rays have chosen Reid Brignac over Hank Blalock for their final bench spot, so Blalock “will assess his other major-league options for a few days” after saying earlier this week that he’d refuse an assignment to the minors.
Topkin speculates that Blalock “could end up at Triple-A Durham if he doesn’t find a better opportunity” and manager Joe Maddon noted that he’d be happy to keep the veteran in the organization as a possible in-season call-up.
Of course, Maddon also said “I really think he’s going to have a big year” moments after the team chose not to keep him around as a bench player, so who knows. Don’t expect Blalock to land a big-league job at this point, so whether it’s with the Rays or another team he’ll likely need a productive stint at Triple-A to re-surface in the majors.
