Randy Ruiz/Lyle Overbay

[daweasle]

I just saw Lyle Overbay limping off the field with some type of groin injury or knee not sure which.

I am curious - if Overbay were out for a significant time (even the first two weeks) do you think Randy Ruiz would be the primary 1B?

I like this guy and want to use him in my corner infielder spot - but currently he is only elig at UTIL in my league.

is Ruiz's defensive ability good enuf to play every day for two or three weeks if needed?

(I haven't watched him play defense much but I know he carries a decent bat with him to the plate)

in 2009 he hit 35 HR between minors(25 in AAA) and majors(10 in aug/sep) and he's hit over 300 3 years in a row (2007 in AA, 2008 in AAA and 2009 -320 in AAA and 313 in MLB)

[Kelly_Leak]

I would think they would slide Lind to 1B and have Ruiz DH full time if Overbay were to miss some time. There were rumblings of Lind playing 1B in the offseason when Overbay was on the trading block.

[daweasle]

obviously ruiz is already 30 years old - and not really considered a top prospect but these past three years numbers show he has improved whatever held him back.

and as far as I see the only thing between him and consistent playing time is jose bautista and lyle overbay (overbay can't hit lefties, and bautista can't hit anyone)

I guess it makes sense to have it setup something like:

1B Overbay
LF Bautista/CF Wells/RF Snider(also struggles vs lefties)
DH Lind
Super Sub- Ruiz - playing 4-5 days a week whenever any of these guys need a break. unfortunately I think ruiz would struggle to play OF positions other than maybe LF.

[Trav The Ump]

Live in Canada, get stuck watching a LOT of Blue Jay's games. Lind goes into 1st no questions asked. Bautista, Wells, Snider take the OF and Ruiz goes into DH. Odd day you might have Reed or Gathright in there and depending on who starts hotter between Snider and Ruiz is who DH's on those days.

My draft is Sunday, I'll be keeping my eye on Ruiz as an end game DH pick (use DH not util). Took Jack Cust an awfully long time to find his way to the majors too. Just saying.