Tampa Bay Devil Rays http://www.devilrayslocker.com Daily New about Tampa Bay Devil Rays Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:51:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.2.5 en The Tampa Bay Rays sign Hank Blalock http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/03/08/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-hank-blalock/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/03/08/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-hank-blalock/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:51:09 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/03/08/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-hank-blalock/ 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.

]]> http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/03/08/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-hank-blalock/feed/ The Tampa Bay Rays are hoping that Pat Burrell rebounds in 2010 http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/22/the-tampa-bay-rays-are-hoping-that-pat-burrell-rebounds-in-2010/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/22/the-tampa-bay-rays-are-hoping-that-pat-burrell-rebounds-in-2010/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:41:24 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/22/the-tampa-bay-rays-are-hoping-that-pat-burrell-rebounds-in-2010/ 33-year old righty swinging DH Pat Burrell had the worst year of his career in 2009 for the Rays. He played in 122 games for the Rays last season and he was 91 for 412 (.221 avg, .682 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 14 homers and 64 RBIs. The Rays hope that Burrell is not one of those players who needs to be in the field to hit the ball because it won’t happen with them in 2010. The Rays would take a average season from Burrell which would make him a .254 hitter (.838 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 26.5 homers and 89.1 RBIs in 2010. He didn’t hit a homer against a lefty pitcher last season so he is not really a platoon candidate either.

26-year old switch hitting Willy Aybar is the biggest threat to Pat Burrell’s P.T. in 2010. Aybar played in 105 games for the Rays last season and he was 75 of 296 (.253 avg, .747 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 12 homers and 41 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: C-

]]> http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/22/the-tampa-bay-rays-are-hoping-that-pat-burrell-rebounds-in-2010/feed/ The Tampa Bay Rays sign Joaquin Benoit http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-joaquin-benoit/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-joaquin-benoit/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:55:52 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-joaquin-benoit/ 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.

]]> http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-joaquin-benoit/feed/ Evan Longoria is already one of the best 3B in all of baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/evan-longoria-is-already-one-of-the-best-3b-in-all-of-baseball-for-the-tampa-bay-rays/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/evan-longoria-is-already-one-of-the-best-3b-in-all-of-baseball-for-the-tampa-bay-rays/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:52:22 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/evan-longoria-is-already-one-of-the-best-3b-in-all-of-baseball-for-the-tampa-bay-rays/ 24-year old righty swinging Evan Longoria is one of the best all around 3B in all of baseball right now and he is only getting better. Longoria played in 157 games for the Rays last season and he was 164 for 584 (.281 avg, .890 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 33 homers, 113 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. The sky is the limit for Longoria as a hitter. Longoria played in 151 games at 3B for the Rays last season and he made 13 errors while showing great range. Longoria is quite simply one of the best players in all of baseball and the Rays are going to just sit back and watch him dominate.

26-year old switch hitting Willy Aybar will back up Longoria at 3B again in 2010. He played in 18 games for the Rays at 3B last season and he made 2 errors there while showing above average range. Aybar would do a good job at 3B if Longoria got injured.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: A

]]> http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/evan-longoria-is-already-one-of-the-best-3b-in-all-of-baseball-for-the-tampa-bay-rays/feed/ Jason Bartlett brings a solid bat to the middle infield of the Tampa Bay Rays http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/jason-bartlett-brings-a-solid-bat-to-the-middle-infield-of-the-tampa-bay-rays/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/jason-bartlett-brings-a-solid-bat-to-the-middle-infield-of-the-tampa-bay-rays/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:43:34 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/jason-bartlett-brings-a-solid-bat-to-the-middle-infield-of-the-tampa-bay-rays/ 30-year old righty swinging Jason Bartlett is coming off an outstanding season with the bat in his hands. He played in 137 games for the Rays last season and he was 160 for 500 (.320 avg, .879 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 14 homers, 66 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see if Bartlett can put up huge numbers like he did in 2009 again. After all he has a career batting average of .287 with a .744 OPS. Bartlett will have to hit to make himself useful to the Rays as he made 20 errors in 134 games at shortstop while showing poor range. He makes the highlight reel play once in a while but he is not a consistent fielder.

24-year old lefty swinging Reid Brignac will likely make the Rays in 2010 as a backup infielder. He played in 31 games for the Rays last season and he was 25 for 90 (.278 avg, .745 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Brignac made 2 errors in 28 games at shortstop for the Rays last season but he also showed poor range.

28-year old switch-hitting Ben Zobrist will likely get most of his P.T. in 2010 at 2B and RF for the Rays but he is a natural shortstop. Zobrist made 2 errors in 13 games at shortstop for the Rays last season while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHORTSTOPS IN 2010: B

]]> http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/15/jason-bartlett-brings-a-solid-bat-to-the-middle-infield-of-the-tampa-bay-rays/feed/ The Tampa Bay Rays sign Angel Chavez http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/13/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-angel-chavez/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/13/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-angel-chavez/#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:12:30 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/13/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-angel-chavez/ 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.

]]> http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/13/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-angel-chavez/feed/ The Tampa Bay Rays sign J.J. Furmaniak http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/13/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-jj-furmaniak/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/13/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-jj-furmaniak/#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:09:47 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/13/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-jj-furmaniak/ 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.

]]> http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/13/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-jj-furmaniak/feed/ The Tampa Bay Rays could have a platoon situation at 2B in 2010 http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/04/the-tampa-bay-rays-could-have-a-platoon-situation-at-2b-in-2010/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/04/the-tampa-bay-rays-could-have-a-platoon-situation-at-2b-in-2010/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:16:43 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/04/the-tampa-bay-rays-could-have-a-platoon-situation-at-2b-in-2010/ The way the Rays are set up right now it looks like Ben Zobrist will be playing every day in 2010. He will likely play 2B against righty pitchers and RF against lefty pitchers. What that really does is that it means that Sean Rodriguez will likely be starting at 2B against lefty starting pitchers and Matt Joyce will be starting in RF against righty starting pitchers. 28-year old switch hitting Ben Zobrist will get most of the playing time at 2B for the Rays in 2010 as things stand right now. He had a breakout year for the Rays in 2009 and they are hoping that he can repeat it. He played in 152 games for the Rays last season and he was 149 for 501 (.297 avg, .948 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 27 homers, 91 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Zobrist made 4 errors at 2B in 91 games while showing slightly below average range at 2B last season. Look for him to improve on defense there as he is a natural shortstop.

24-year old righty swinging Sean Rodriguez was the key player in the Scott Kazmir trade last Summer. He played in 5 games for the Angels last season and he was 5 for 25 (.200 avg, .716 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Rodriguez played in 108 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 113 for 385 (.294 avg, 1.005 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 30 homers, 98 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He has a nice upside for the Rays and he will likely start for them at 2B against lefty starting pitchers. He didn’t make any errors in 5 games at 2B for the Angels last season but he showed poor range. He will likely improve his range factor in 2010 so I wouldn’t be too worried about it.

26-year old switch-hitting Willy Aybar will likely be third on the depth chart at 2B this season for the Rays. He showed outstanding range in his 28 games for the Rays at 2B last season but he made 5 errors which is way too many.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: B

]]> http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/04/the-tampa-bay-rays-could-have-a-platoon-situation-at-2b-in-2010/feed/ The Tampa Bay Rays claim Mike Ekstrom off waivers http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/03/the-tampa-bay-rays-claim-mike-ekstrom-off-waivers/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/03/the-tampa-bay-rays-claim-mike-ekstrom-off-waivers/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:54:01 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/03/the-tampa-bay-rays-claim-mike-ekstrom-off-waivers/ 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.

]]> http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/03/the-tampa-bay-rays-claim-mike-ekstrom-off-waivers/feed/ The Tampa Bay Rays sign Alvin Colina http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/03/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-alvin-colina/ http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/03/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-alvin-colina/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:51:18 +0000 chinmusic http://www.devilrayslocker.com/2010/02/03/the-tampa-bay-rays-sign-alvin-colina/ The Rays have signed 28-year old righty swinging catcher Alvin Colina to a minor league deal. Colina played in 67 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 59 for 225 (.262 avg, .766 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 8 homers and 42 RBIs. He has also played in 2 games in his major league career and he is 1 for 5 (.200 avg, .400 OPS) with 1 RBI. Colina will likely provide organizational depth for the Rays and little more.

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