The Tampa Bay Rays, based in St. Petersburg, Fla., participate in Major League Baseball (MLB) and are a member of the American League East Division. The Rays were founded as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998.
12/30/09 10:00 AM EST It's been a long, winding road of a baseball career for pitcher Winston Abreu. It started as a 16-year-old signee of the Atlanta Braves out of the Dominican Republic, back in 1993. It's included time with nine organizations as well as a year in Japan (2008). There were seven summers with [...]
12/26/09 10:00 AM EST ST. PETERSBURG — Looking at what the team had accomplished during the 2008 season and the changes they had made over the winter, it was easy to be optimistic about the '09 season if you were a Rays fan. Alas, the season did not turn out as planned since the Rays [...]
12/24/09 10:00 AM EST ST. PETERSBURG — Dan Wheeler began his second stint with the Rays when he returned to the team in a 2007 trade. In essence, the veteran reliever has grown up in front of Rays fans. Last season, Wheeler finished one game shy of his fifth consecutive year of 70-plus appearances; his [...]
12/23/09 12:45 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — When Joe Maddon declared that Ben Zobrist would be the team's "Super U" player in the spring of 2007, reporters covering the team collectively rolled their eyes. Always enthusiastic, Maddon never fails to give reporters something to write about, so the super utility player sounded like the daily [...]
12/21/09 3:11 PM EST Do you think that if James Shields and Matt Garza have great years as they did in 2008, the Rays could win the AL East and maybe become World Series champions? — Daeshaun B., Brooklyn, N.Y. If Shields and Garza have great years, that certainly would go a long way toward [...]
12/18/09 12:13 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — Speculating on the batting order provides food for thought during the Hot Stove season. Where the Rays are concerned, there are a number of possibilities based on the flexible nature of the players in their lineup. Manager Joe Maddon recently spoke about some of those possibilities while reflecting [...]
12/17/09 4:16 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays named Stan Boroski assistant to Major League pitching coach Jim Hickey on Thursday. Boroski, 46, joins the Rays from the Astros' organization, where he has served as either a coach or scout during the past 18 years, including the past three seasons as pitching coach for [...]
12/16/09 1:42 PM EST Is Ben Zobrist's best position second base, or is it right field? Could he be better if he played only one position to max his potential? – Roberto G., Tampa, Fla. I've asked Zobrist and Joe Maddon that question on several occasions, and the answer always comes back the same: He's [...]
12/14/09 5:44 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays signed eight players to Minor League contracts on Monday, each with an invitation to Spring Training. The following players were signed and will report to Port Charlotte, Fla., when the Rays begin Spring Training in February: first baseman Chris Richard; right-handed pitchers Winston Abreu, Joe Bateman, [...]
12/13/09 5:33 PM EST The offseason is still relatively young, but Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman is making one point very clear: Stabilizing the bullpen is a top priority. During an unsuccessful American League title defense in 2009, Tampa Bay's relief corps finished in the middle of the pack in the league in ERA [...]