26-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff Niemann finished fourth in the voting for the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League. Niemann pitched in 31 games (30 starts) for the Rays last season and he was 13-6 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Niemann proved the front office of the Rays right when they traded Edwin Jackson and went with him in the rotation instead. Niemann has a nice upside and he should continue to improve with age.

The Rays have signed 26-year old lefty reliever R.J. Swindle to a minor league deal. Swindle pitched in 6 games (0 starts) last season for the Brewers and he was 0-0 with a 16.20 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 9 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-0 with a 12.71 ERA and a 2.38 WHIP. Why would the Rays take a chance on a pitcher who has been so lousy in the majors you ask? It’s because good lefty relievers are hard to find and he is still young enough to get his act together in the majors. After all, Swindle pitched in 37 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 4-1 with 2 saves, a 1.43 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. This was a good low risk/high reward signing for the Rays.

The Rays have claimed 27-year old right reliever/starter Ramon Ramirez off waivers from the Reds. The Rays likely netted them a solid pitcher for free by claiming Ramirez who was the #17 rated prospect in the Reds’ entire minor league system heading into the 2009 season. He pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Reds last season and he was 0-0 with a 3.65 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. In parts of two years in the majors, Ramirez has worked in 16 games (4 starts) in which he is 1-1 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. Ramirez also pitched in 31 games (20 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 6-7 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. This was a really good move for the Rays who are trying to add relievers with nice upsides and they have now gotten two of them so far this off-season (Ramirez and Jesus Chavez).

UPDATE: The Rays have released Ramon Ramirez likely opening up a roster spot for a new player.

The Tampa Bay Rays have traded 30-year old lefty swinging 2B Akinori Iwamura to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 26-year old righty reliever Jesus Chavez. Iwamura played in 69 games for the Rays last season and he was 67 for 231 (.290 avg, .745 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 1 homer, 22 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. In three seasons with the Rays, Iwamura played in 344 games in which he was 379 for 1,349 (.281 avg, .747 OPS) with 201 runs scored, 14 homers, 104 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. Iwamura’s injury last season really gave Ben Zobrist a chance to show what he can do and he will likely replace him as the starting 2B in 2010. Jesus Chavez gives the Rays a nice arm from the right side to help out in the bullpen. He pitched in 73 games (0 starts) for the Pirates last season and he was 1-4 with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Chavez has now pitched in 88 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-5 with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. The Rays weren’t going to pick up Iwamura’s option for the 2010 season so it was smart to get something for him and Chavez fills a need for them.

UPDATE: The Rays have traded Jesus Chavez to the Atlanta Braves for 29-year old righty reliever Rafael Soriano who will serve as the closer in 2010. I like the Iwamura trade a lot more than I did before this move.