Maybe the Rays gave some of the money they got for Brian Stokes to Troy Percival. If that’s a fact it’s the best thing Brian Stokes ever did for the Rays. Good riddance.

The Rays have signed Troy Percival to a 2-year, $8 million dollar contract with $2 million dollars in incentives. Percival will be the closer for the Rays and he will do a good job as long as he can stay healthy. Percival pitched in 34 games last season for the Cardinals and he was 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. Percival pitched 40 innings last season and he only allowed 24 hits, walked 10 batters and whiffed 36. He showed last season that he still has the stuff to dominate major league hitters. He has now pitched in 639 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 33-41 with 324 saves, a 3.02 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. This was an outstanding move by the Rays.

The Rays have acquired starting pitcher Matt Garza, shortstop Jason Bartlett and reliever Eduardo Morlan from the Twins for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris and minor league outfielder Jason Pridie. The Rays think they improved their pitching staff with this trade and got rid of a headache in the high maintenance Delmon Young. 24 year old righty starter Matt Garza was the key to the deal as he will slot #3 in the rotation behind Scott Kazmir and James Shields. Garza pitched in 16 games (15 starts) last season for the Twins and he was 5-7 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Garza has now pitched in 26 games (24 starts) in his major league career and he is 8-13 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. The 28-year old shortstop Jason Bartlett was also a key in this deal. The Rays believe that Bartlett is a much better defender than Brendan Harris at shortstop and he will add speed to the lineup. Bartlett played in 140 games last season for the Twins and he was 135 of 510 (.265 avg, .700 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 5 homers, 43 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Bartlett has now played in 321 games in his major league career and he is 293 for 1,079 (.272 avg, .703 OPS) with 154 runs scored, 10 homers, 92 RBIs and 39 stolen bases. The third player the Rays got in this deal was 21-year old righty fireballer Eduardo Morlan. Morlan pitched in 43 games in A+AA ball last season and he was 5-3 with 18 saves, a 3.10 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He tossed 69.2 innings and he allowed 58 hits, walked 20 batters and whiffed 99! This was a trade that will likely help both teams.

The Rays have signed OF/1B Chris Richard and catcher Hector Gimenez to minor league contracts. Richard last played in the majors in 2003 with the Colorado Rockies. He has played in 267 games in his major league career and he is 227 of 880 (.258 avg, .776 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 34 homers, 122 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Gimenez is a 25 year old switch hitter who has only two games of major league experience. He was with the Astros in 2006 and he was 0 for 2 with a whiff. Neither of these guys has much of a chance to make an impact for the Rays in 2008.

The Rays have decided that they have seen enough of both righty Brian Stokes and lefty Jon Switzer. Stokes pitched in 59 games last season for the Rays and he was 2-7 with a 7.07 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. Switzer pitched in 21 games for the D-Rays last year and he was 0-2 with a 8.05 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Stokes may get a chance with someone else soon as he has a great arm. Stokes has pitched in 64 games (4 starts) in his major league career and he is 3-7 with a 6.46 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. Switzer has worked in 68 games in his major league career and he is 2-4 with a 6.11 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. He might get another chance with someone because he is left-handed…but make no mistake….he’s awful!