With the additions of Luke Scott and Carlos Pena, let’s take a look at what the Tampa Bay Rays’ lineup might look like come Opening Day.

1. Desmond Jennings, LF

2. B.J. Upton, CF

3. Evan Longoria, 3B

4. Carlos Pena, 1B

5. Ben Zobrist, 2B

6. Matt Joyce, RF

7. Luke Scott, DH

8. Sean Rodriguez, SS

9. Jose Molina, C

The Rays’ offense finished seventh in baseball with a 31.6 WAR and you could easily see how they might be even better in 2012.

First, Sam Fuld and Justin Ruggiano and their combined .665 OPS played 94 games in left in 2011. That won’t happen in 2012. The majority of the playing time will go to Desmond Jennings and that is a big upgrade.

Desmond hit .231/.335/.434 with 10 HR’s in 248 PA’s in 2011. He also chipped in 19 SB’s. Bill Jamesprojects a 17 HR, 65 SB season out of Jennings, so the Rays will get an offensive boost in left.

Secondly, if all goes right, Pena and Scott should outproduce what Johnny Damon and Casey Kotchman gave the Rays last season. Damon and Kotchman combined for 26 HR’s in 2011. Pena should outproduce that by himself.

Lastly, expect Longoria to have a better season. He only played in 133 games last year and dealt with nagging injuries all season. Longoria is a 150+ games a year player and unless he gets hurt again, having him in the lineup for 20 more games is going to make a huge difference.

Longoria also suffered from a little bit of bad luck in 2011. Yes, he hit 31 HR’s, but he only had a .239 BABIP. That’s about 70 points lower than his career average. That had a lot to do with his .244 batting average last season. Odds suggest Longoria will see his BABIP rise in 2012.

There is a lot to like about this Rays’ lineup. They have speed with Jennings, Upton, and Zobrist. They have power with Longoria, Pena, and potentially Scott. And they have nice filler guys like Joyce and Rodriguez.

The Rays have a complete lineup that should score plenty of runs in 2012.

You can follow The Baseball Index on Twitter @ baseballindex

By The Baseball Index