Hot-Stove: Rays DFA Jerry Sands, Sign Four Players to Minor League Contracts

I wrote the other day of the acquisition of LHPR Pedro Figueroa from the Oakland Athletics. In that piece, I speculated over who the Rays might designate in order to make room for Figueroa on the 40-man roster. It turns out the recently acquired 1B/OF Jerry Sands became the DFA candidate of choice. Sands could still be an asset to the Rays if no one claims him by January 17th.

Hot-Stove: James Loney Officially Re-Signs, Rays Pick-up Pedro Figueroa, Etc

Loney is slated to make $1MM in 2014, $7MM in 2015, and $8MM in 2016, and has received a $5MM signing bonus. For the 29 year-old first baseman, this represents a significant rise in salary and offers him some job security — after all, he signed a one-year, $2MM prior to the 2013 season.

Hot-Stove: Balfour – A Ray Once More?

The Rays intensified their interest in re-signing Grant Balfour days after the Baltimore Orioles walked away from a two-year, $15MM deal with reliever because they had concerns with his throwing shoulder. That interest only increased following the results of a second opinion from Rays team doctor, Koco Eaton.

This Week in Rays Baseball: Rays Announce Renovations to the Trop, Sign Reliever Mark Lowe, and More

It’s time for another edition of This Week in Rays Baseball — the first in some time. I digress. First on the docket, details on the Rays previously announced renovation of Tropicana Field have surfaced. They’re planning what is being called a 360-degree “interior stadium fan access” with the creation of walkways behind the outfield seating …

Wil Myers Wins AL Rookie of the Year, Braves Get A New Stadium, and Other Random Bits of Ephemera

Wil Myers has been named the 2013 AL Rookie of the Year, beating out fellow teammate Chris Archer and the Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias. Myers, the Rays’ third AL Rookie of the Year in the past six seasons, received 23 of 30 first place votes, while Iglesias came in second with five votes and Archer scratched the surface with one vote. The Marlins’ Jose Fernandez won the award on the NL side, to which we retort, “Ha ha, Puig!”