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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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Navi jogs, squats, says he’ll be back next week

Posted Mar 25, 2010 by Roger Mooney

Updated Mar 25, 2010 at 01:38 PM

ROGER MOONEY

PORT CHARLOTTE Dioner Navarro said he will change his approach at the plate this season.

“Nothing but ground rule doubles,” he joked Thursday morning as he jogged to catch up with his teammates Thursday morning on Field 5 at the Charlotte Sports Park.
Yes, Navarro was jogging.

Five days after thinking his season was over after a home plate collision with Minnesota’s Jacque Jones that left Navarro with a painfully bruised nerve in his left shin, the Rays catcher resumed baseball activities.

“It’s great that he’s moving along because he means a lot to us,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “He should be fine by the opening of the season.”

Navarro hit in the cage and worked in the bullpen, where he squatted 50 times.

“We were testing it pretty good,” Navarro said before the game with the visiting Twins.

Navarro said there is some tightness around the nerve, but other than that he felt fine.

“A really good day overall,” he said.

Navarro said he wants to return to the line up Tuesday when the Rays play the visiting Red Sox.

“That’s the goal,” he said. “I’ll do my best to trick them.”

Maddon said he wants Navarro to play a couple of times next week, the final week of Grapefruit League action.

“I want him to play, but we don’t feel he’s lost a lot yet,” Maddon said. “He took some dry swings. He’ll be able to take some BP, those kinds of things to keep his swing, because his swing was really looking good. He was throwing really well, his arm strength, his arm stroke was looking good. He was doing everything really well. He’s not going to miss that much that it should really take him away from that, but I do want him to get back out there.”