The Tampa Bay Rays have signed 36-year old righty swinging catcher Jose Molina to a 1-year, $1.8 million dollar deal. Molina played in 55 games for the Blue Jays last year and he was 48 for 171 (.281 avg, .757 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 3 homers, 15 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 666 games in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 430 for 1,787 (.241 avg, .630 OPS) with 183 runs scored, 29 homers, 163 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Molina is an outstanding defensive catcher with a rifle for an arm. He will share time likely with either Robinson Chirinos or Jose Lobaton in 2012 for the Rays.

The Tampa Bay Rays have dealt 28-year old lefty swinging catcher John Jaso to the Mariners for 26-year old righty reliever Josh Lueke and either a player to be named later or cash. Jaso played in 89 games last year for the Rays and he was 55 for 246 (.224 avg, .651 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He played in 203 games in his three years with the Rays and he was 146 of 595 (.245 avg, .705 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 10 homers, 71 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Rays are going in a new direction behind the plate now with Jaso out of the picture. Josh Lueke got his first taste of the majors last year for the Mariners and he worked in 25 games (0 starts) in which he was 1-1 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Lueke also pitched in 30 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball and he was 2-4 with 11 saves, a 2.76 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has now pitched in 149 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 10-17 with 38 saves, a 3.11 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Lueke has only allowed 193 hits while whiffing 261 batters in his 220 innings pitched in the minors, which is impressive. He also only walked 56 batters in the minors, so his control problems with the Mariners will likely be fixed. Lueke has a big time arm, but he has had problems off the field in the past. Hopefully, pitching coach Jim Hickey will bring out the best in Lueke as he has a huge upside. I like this deal from the Rays’ side of things.

30-year old switch-hitting 2B/OF Ben Zobrist finished tied for 16th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award with James Shields and Victor Martinez of the Tigers. Zobrist played in 156 games for the Rays last year and he was 158 of 588 (.269 avg, .822 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 20 homers, 91 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He has now played in 604 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 542 of 2,108 (.257 avg, .782 OPS) with 317 runs scored, 72 homers, 314 RBIs and 67 stolen bases. Zobrist is so valuable to his team because he can play almost anywhere on the field defensively while hitting for power and stealing some bases.

The Tampa Bay Rays are a team that watches their pennies. With that in mind, here are the three free agents that I think they should consider signing up for 2012:

1. Alex Gonzalez - Shortstop was a Black Hole for the Rays last year. They have young shortstops on the way, but I like the idea of signing up Alex Gonzalez on a 1-year deal. He has a good glove still and he hits for random power.

2. Vladimir Guerrero - If the Rays don’t bring Johnny Damon back in 2012, Valdimir Guerrero makes a lot of sense on a 1-year deal. He has ties to manager Joe Maddon from their time together with the Angels. Guerrero’s power might be fading but he’s still a .300 type hitter and the Rays need someone like that.

3. Casey Blake - Casey Blake can play all over the place, so Maddon would love to have him on his team. He can handle 1B and 3B, as well as a spot in the corner outfield. The Rays can likely get him on the cheap due to his recent injury problems.

57-year old Joe Maddon has won his second A.L. Manager of the Year Award in 2011 (his first one was in 2008). Maddon led the Rays to a 91-71 (56.2%) record as they won the A.L. Wild Card on the last day of the season. He did so despite the Rays cutting $30 million bucks off the payroll heading into last year. Maddon now has a 522-501 (51%) record in his first 8 years as a major league manager. Maddon really knows how to coach up the talent he has on the roster, so the Rays are going to be good for a while.