The Rays have designated 25-year old righty swinging infielder Russ Canzler for assignment. Canzler played in 3 games for the Rays last year in his first taste of the majors and he is 1 for 3 (.333 avg, .733 OPS) with 1 RBI. He also played in 131 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 149 of 474 (.314 avg, .930 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 18 homers, 83 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Canzler’s roster spot was needed for Jeff Keppinger and that is why he was DFA’d.

UPDATE: (1/31/2012) - The Rays have dealt Russ Canzler to the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations.

The Tampa Bay Rays have signed 31-year old righty swinging infielder Jeff Keppinger to a 1-year deal. Keppinger played in 99 games for the Astros & Giants last year and he was 105 of 379 (.277 avg, .677 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers and 35 RBIs. He has now played in 586 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 582 for 2,074 (.281 avg, .720 OPS) with 240 runs scored, 32 homers, 215 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Keppinger is a career .324 hitter against lefty pitching and he can play all over the infield, so look for Manager Joe Maddon to use him quite a bit in 2012. I like this signing for the Rays as they need help on the infield.

The Rays have signed 25-year old righty reliever Bryan Augenstein to a minor league deal. He pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA and a 2.47 WHIP. He also pitched in 29 games (3 starts) in A+AAA-ball last year and he was 3-2 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Augenstein has now pitched in 12 games (2 starts) in his first 2 years in the majors and he is 0-2 with a 8.34 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. He will likely start the 2012 season in AAA-ball.

The Rays have designated 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Justin Ruggiano for assignment. Ruggiano played in 46 games for the Rays last year and he was 26 for 105 (.248 avg, .673 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He played in 98 games in his three years with the Rays and he was 44 for 195 (.226 avg, .621 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 6 homers, 23 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Rays needed Ruggiano’s spot on the 40-man roster for Carlos Pena. They won’t miss Ruggiano too much going forward.

UPDATE: (1/30/2012) - Justin Ruggiano cleared waivers and decided to become a free agent rather than accepting an outright assignment to AAA from the Rays.

The Rays have signed 32-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jesus Feliciano to a minor league deal. Feliciano played in 129 games in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 114 for 425 (.268 avg, .662 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 4 homers, 39 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He last played in the majors back in 2010 with the Mets. He has played in 54 games in his major league career so far and he is 25 for 108 (.231 avg, .563 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Feliciano will be a longshot to make the Rays this spring, so he will likely start the 2012 season in AAA-ball.