The Rays have signed 29-year old lefty swinging 1B/DH Hank Blalock to a minor league deal that will pay him $925,000 dollars if he makes the Rays with a possible additional $350,000 bucks in incentives. Blalock played in 123 games for the Rangers last season and he was 108 of 462 (.234 avg, .736 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 25 homers and 66 RBIs. He has now played in 910 games in his major league career and he is 943 of 3,504 (.269 avg, .794 OPS) with 499 runs scored, 152 homers and 535 RBIs. This was a great signing for the Rays as Blalock will help out at DH and he will back up Carlos Pena at 1B in 2010.

The Rays have signed 32-year old righty reliever Joaquin Benoit to a minor league deal. Benoit missed all of last season due to rotator cuff surgery. He has now pitched in 273 games (55 starts) in his major league career and he is 30-26 with 8 saves, a 4.79 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. This was a nice low risk move for the Rays as Benoit has a big time arm.

The Rays have signed 28-year old righty swinging infielder Angel Chavez to a minor league deal. Chavez played in 127 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 112 for 442 (.253 avg, .615 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 4 homers, 39 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He last played in the majors in 2005 with the Giants. Chavez has played in 10 games in his major league career and he is 5 for 19 (.263 avg, .579 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Chavez will likely start the year in AAA and get a call to the show if the Rays need him.

The Rays have signed 30-year old righty swinging infielder J.J. Furmaniak to a minor league deal. He played in 118 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 87 for 378 (.230 avg, .609 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 5 homers, 48 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Furmaniak last played in the majors in 2007 with the A’s. He has played in 29 games in his major league career and he is 8 for 43 (.186 avg, .606 OPS) with 8 runs scored and 2 RBIs. This signing is little more than a organizational depth move for the Rays.

The Rays have claimed 26-year old righty reliever Mike Ekstrom off waivers from the Padres. He pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Padres last season and he was 0-0 with a 6.38 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Ekstrom also pitched in 42 games (1 start) in AAA-ball last season and he was 4-2 with a 1.73 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. The Rays will likely stash Ekstrom at AAA and reward him with another call to the majors if he is solid again in the minors.