Luis

Ordaz

He had a double in two at-bats on Thursday. It’s possible that the Rays will activate Ordaz on Sept. 1 and use him as a utlityman, but they long ago replaced him with a similar talent in Tomas Perez.

Ordaz had been on the disabled list since April 6 with a left knee injury. The Rays long ago replaced him with Tomas Perez.

Ordaz, who last played in the majors for the Royals in 2002, hit .255/.278/.388 in 103 games for Triple-A Durham last season. He’ll again play for the Bulls in 2005.

Ordaz will be a candidate to serve as a utilityman should injuries strike, but that’s certainly all he is. The 30-year-old hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2002.

He’s scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday. If B.J. Upton is available in your AL-only league, pick him up just in case. Mixed leaguers could always do the same.

Maybe this seems like a bad break for Ordaz -- he made the major league roster only to get hurt in his first game -- but since it means he will be making the major league minimum for at least two months, it’s hardly all bad. He’s due to undergo knee surgery, and there probably won’t be a roster spot for him once he’s healthy.

Ordaz was hurt during Monday’s game. The important thing for the Rays is that it doesn’t look like Julio Lugo will be joining him on the DL. As a result, B.J. Upton stays in Triple-A and Russell Branyan takes Ordaz’s roster spot. It’s an obvious upgrade. If Lugo doesn’t start Wednesday, Nick Green will play.

The Nick Green pickup left no room for Ordaz or Shane Halter on the Tampa Bay roster.