The Tampa Bay Rays have signed 28-year old righty reliever Lance Cormier to a minor league deal. Cormier pitched in 45 games (1 start) for the Orioles last season and he was 3-3 with 1 save, a 4.02 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has now pitched in 168 games (24 starts) in his major league career and he is 17-21 with 1 save, a 5.53 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Cormier will have to make the Rays as a long reliever but that won’t be easy considering the depth they have there.

The Rays have lost 25-year old righty Jae-Kuk Ryu on waivers to the Padres after they designated him for assignment to make room on the roster for Gabe Kapler. Ryu pitched in 1 game (0 starts) last season for the Rays and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. Ryu has now pitched in 28 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 1-3 with a 7.49 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. The Rays won’t likely miss Ryu much as they have a lot of other young pitchers that they like better than him.

The Tampa Bay Rays have signed 33-year old righty swinging outfielder Gabe Kapler to a 1-year, $1 million dollar contract. He played in 96 games for the Brewers last season and he was 69 for 229 (.301 avg, .838 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 8 homers and 38 RBIs. Kapler has now played in 946 games in his major league career and he is 724 for 2,654 (.273 avg, .756 OPS) with 398 runs scored, 72 homers, 340 RBIs and 71 stolen bases. Kapler will likely be platooning in RF with either Matt Joyce or Gabe Gross in 2009 and that’s a good thing for the Rays as he has hit lefty pitchers well in his major league career.

The Tampa Bay Rays have claimed 28-year old righty reliever Dewon Day off waivers from the Red Sox. Day pitched in 35 games (13 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 1-9 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He has also pitched in 13 games (0 starts) in his major league career in which he is 0-1 with a 11.25 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP. Day has a good arm but he’s a big longshot to make the Rays’ opening day roster.

UPDATE: The Rays have designated Dewon Day for assignment to make room on the roster for newly signed Lance Cormier.

The Tampa Bay Rays have signed three players to minor league deals. 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Ray Sadler and pitchers Randy Choate and Julio DePaula will be in spring training next month with the Rays. Sadler played in 126 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 123 for 452 (.272 avg, .855 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 25 homers and 78 RBIs. He has also played in 3 games in his major league career and he is 2 for 8 (.250 avg, .875 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. 32-year old lefty reliever Randy Choate might have a decent chance of making the Rays as the second lefty in the bullpen behind J.P. Howell. Choate pitched in 27 games (3 starts) in A+AAA ball last year and he was 0-4 with 2 saves, a 4.95 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He has also pitched in 196 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 5-7 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. 26-year old righty reliever Julio DePaula will be a long, long shot to make the Rays out of spring training. He pitched in 51 games (5 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 3-5 with 2 saves, a 5.70 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. He has also pitched in 16 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with a 8.55 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.