The Rays have signed 25-year old lefty swinging 3B Matt Mangini to a minor league deal. Mangini played in 58 games in AAA-ball for the Mariners last year and he was 78 for 232 (.336 avg, .809 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 2 homers, 41 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He did get into 11 games for the Mariners in 2010 and he was 8 for 38 (.211 avg, .461 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Mangini came into last season as the Mariners’ #18 rated prospect according to Baseball America, as he has a nice upside. But, he was released by the Mariners because of personal problems, so the Rays will likely have to handle him with kid gloves.

The Rays have re-signed 27-year old righty starter/reliever Ricky Orta to a minor league deal. Orta pitched in 4 games (all starts) in Rookie Ball for the Rays last year and he was 0-0 with a 1.12 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. He has now pitched in 85 games (52 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 14-18 with 3 saves, a 4.37 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Orta looked good in his return from a serious injury in 2010 in the minors for the Rays last year.

The Rays have signed 26-year old righty reliever Jhonny Nunez to a minor league deal. Nunez pitched in 32 games (5 starts) in Rookie+AAA-ball last year for the White Sox and he was 4-4 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2009 for the White Sox. He has pitched in 7 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-0 with a 9.53 ERA and a 2.12 WHIP. Nunez was once a very highly thought of prospect, so the Rays are hoping that he’s a late bloomer.