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.
01/30/10 12:00 AM EST It's a normal winter day throughout the baseball world, and away from the Hot Stove reports, buzzing Internet rumors, TV talking points and front-office plotting, there are other things going on. Joe Maddon is riding his bike. The manager of the Tampa Bay Rays pedals the beachside streets near his Southern [...]
01/28/10 1:21 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays have signed right-hander Matt Bush to a Minor League contract. Bush, 24, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Padres in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft out of San Diego's Mission Bay High School. He began his career as a shortstop, which did not pan [...]
01/27/10 9:00 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — Four players from the Rays' organization have made the just-released list of MLB.com's Top 50 Prospects. Desmond Jennings, Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson and Tim Beckham all made the list, giving Rays fans a sign of more good things to come in the future. Jennings was ranked the highest [...]
01/25/10 8:16 PM EST TAMPA, Fla. — B.J. Upton would entertain a long-term deal if the Rays and he can come to an agreement. "You know what, I'm definitely all for that," said Upton prior to tee-off time for the Second Annual B.J. Upton Celebrity Golf Classic Monday at Tampa's Hunter's Green Country Club. "I [...]
01/22/10 9:25 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — Jake McGee's detour appears near its completion, and he's now headed back for the main path to the Major Leagues, a destination forecast for the left-hander prior to the 2008 season. McGee has the goods. He throws left-handed, stands 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, and, oh yeah, he throws a [...]
01/20/10 3:54 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays have signed 16-year-old left-handed pitcher Stepan Havlicek, a member of the Czech junior national team, to a free-agent Minor League contract. Havlicek was signed last week in Blansko, Czech Republic, by John Gilmore, the Rays' European and Australian scout. Gilmore worked closely with Jiri Vit, an [...]
01/19/10 4:28 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — Three of the Rays' four arbitration-eligible players came to terms on Tuesday, the deadline for Major League players and their teams to swap arbitration figures. Center fielder B.J. Upton will be the only Tampa Bay player headed to arbitration, while the Rays reached deals with shortstop Jason Bartlett, [...]
01/18/10 2:58 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — Hoping to assist with the Haiti relief efforts, the Rays announced Monday they will contribute proceeds from the Tampa Bay Rays 2010 Fan Fest, presented by MetroPCS, to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund and Save the Children. In addition, the Rays and the Rays Baseball Foundation [...]
01/17/10 3:26 PM EST PEORIA, Ill. — Jim Thome has celebrated quite a few memorable "firsts" during the course of his illustrious 19-year-career. There was the first of his 2,138 hits, the first home run en route to his mammoth total of 564, the first of his 1,565 RBIs and the first walk drawn among [...]
01/15/10 8:25 PM EST ST. PETERSBURG — Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett, right-hander Matt Garza, lefty J.P. Howell and outfielder B.J. Upton all filed for salary arbitration on Friday. Major League Baseball's salary arbitration filing period runs through midnight ET Friday. Players under the club's control who have three to six years of Major League service [...]