The Rays have signed 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Rocco Baldelli to a minor league deal. He has started his comeback in A-ball but his first game didn’t go too well as he was 0 for 4 with 4 whiffs. The Rays just hope that Baldelli gets in shape with the idea of calling him up when rosters expand in September. Baldelli has played in 447 games (five years) for the Rays and he is 488 of 1,736 (.281 avg, .769 OPS) with 255 runs scored, 55 homers, 234 RBIs and 58 stolen bases. This is a feel good story for the Rays but Baldelli might also be able to help them out with some keys hits during the pennant race. After all, he did play in 62 games for the Red Sox last season in which he was 38 of 150 (.253 avg, .744 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 7 homers and 23 RBIs.

The Rays have signed 41-year old lefty reliever Brian Shouse to a minor league deal. They then immediately placed Shouse on the 15-day disabled list as he has a knee sprain. When he feels a little better he will go on a rehab assignment. Shouse pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Rays last season and he was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He has now pitched in 467 games (0 starts) in his 10 years in the majors and he is 13-10 with 6 saves, a 3.72 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. This was a good move for the Rays as Shouse will give them a 2nd lefty out of the pen when he gets healthy.

The Rays have designated 29-year old lefty swinging DH/1B/3B Hank Blalock. Blalock played in 26 games for the Rays this year and he was 16 of 63 (.254 avg, .668 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He didn’t really get a fair shot to prove what he could do. The Rays needed Blalock’s roster spot because they have activated Gabe Kapler off the D.L. Kapler has played in 38 games for the Rays this season and he is 18 of 83 (.217 avg, .582 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

UPDATE: (7/9/2010) - The Rays have released Hank Blalock making him a free agent.

The Rays have released 30-year old righty swinging 1B Ryan Shealy. Shealy played in 48 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 41 of 172 (.238 avg, .866 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 10 homers and 38 RBIs. This will actually help Shealy find another gig in a organization that can give him a legit shot at working his way back to the majors. With Tampa he would be blocked by Carlos Pena, Hank Blalock and Dan Johnson.

The Rays have signed 25-year old righty reliever/starter Ricky Orta to a minor league deal. He will miss all of this season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery on May 3rd. Orta was the Mariners’ #27 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Orta pitched in 24 games (3 starts) in AA-ball last season and he was 3-2 with 3 saves, a 1.94 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has now pitched in 81 games (48 starts) in his four years in the minors and he is 14-18 with 3 saves, a 4.47 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. I like this signing for the Rays as Orta has a upside that is worth waiting for while he rehabs.