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Rays Sign Percival To Be Team's Closer

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By MARC LANCASTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 1, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - From the first day of spring training next February, there will be no mixing and matching or closer-by-committee in the Rays' bullpen.

According to Manager Joe Maddon, the ninth-inning job belongs solely to new addition Troy Percival.

"He's the closer," Maddon said Friday after Percival signed a two-year contract with Tampa Bay. "I've already spoken to Al Reyes about it and Al was totally on board with the whole thing, he was an absolute pro, very respectful. We had a great conversation Thursday. Percy will close and Al's going to set him up."

The responsibility entrusted to Percival helps explain the lucrative deal the 38-year-old received despite the fact that he hasn't closed full-time since the middle of the 2005 season. Percival is guaranteed $8 million over the next two years, but incentives for appearances and games finished could push the total value past $12 million.

Percival said Friday at Tropicana Field that he would happily do whatever job Maddon deemed necessary, but he's still a closer at heart.

"Absolutely," he said. "It's what I've been bred to do. Closing is a state of mind, not so much throwing 100 miles an hour. ... I don't get intimidated by the role, because that's all I've ever known. Last year was actually a little boring for me."

A 3-0 record and 1.80 ERA after not pitching for nearly two full years is boring? Apparently so for a guy with 342 saves. Percival's most recent save came for the Tigers on July 7, 2005, against the Rays at Tropicana Field. He blew a save two nights later and didn't pitch in the majors again until June 29, 2007.

Most assumed Percival's career was over after he tore the flexor muscle in his right forearm off the bone in 2005. He was told recovery time after surgery might be two years and decided he was better off hanging it up. He sat out all of 2006 and signed on as a coach for the Angels, but he noticed when he started throwing a ball around during spring training that his arm felt fine. Great, even.

He decided to mount a comeback, signing with St. Louis and serving mostly as a middle reliever in 34 appearances last season. The success he had convinced him he had at least a couple of years left in him, and the Rays were high on his wish list.

Not only could Tampa Bay offer him the opportunity to become a closer again, the Rays also benefited from having a manager Percival knew he could trust. He and Maddon remain close after spending a decade together with the Angels, and the manager figured heavily in the Rays' pitch. On Nov. 16, Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman flew to California to meet with Maddon, Percival and Percival's agent.

Friedman and Maddon laid out the Rays' strengths and weaknesses and told Percival he could make a significant impact both on the field and in a young clubhouse that has had a leadership void. Percival was sufficiently impressed that he was able to see past the Rays' unfortunate history in a leap of faith based largely on what he knows about Maddon.

"One thing about him is, he had a plan before he got here," said Percival. "I talked to him before he came here; he knew it was going to be a long haul. But when he called me and said I could be a big difference-maker, that was huge for me. He's not going to tell me that just to tell me that. He felt like in the clubhouse and in that bullpen, it would really solidify this team."

Though the Rays filled three frontline positions this week by signing Percival and trading for Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett, they still have work to do. Friedman said adding a left-handed bat "is a priority" and the Rays would prefer to acquire someone with positional flexibility - someone capable of playing right field and first base, for instance.

The Rays also could use a left-handed reliever and have had discussions with Ron Mahay that likely will continue at the winter meetings. Jeremy Affeldt is another southpaw who may be of interest.

DUKES UPDATE: Elijah Dukes ran into trouble in the Dominican Republic Thursday night.

Dukes was ejected from Licey's game at the Gigantes del Cibao after being called out on strikes in the ninth inning. A video clip posted on the Internet shows Dukes yelling at the home plate umpire before the ejection and a teammate moving to restrain him after he is thrown out. A clip from earlier in the game shows him gesturing toward opposing fans as he runs to first base.

"We are not able to properly comment until we have had a chance to speak with Elijah and officials from the Licey ballclub," Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn said Friday night.

Earlier in the day, before the Rays became aware of the latest incident, Friedman said of Dukes:

"We're still doing a lot of work with him and we feel like he's made a lot of positive strides. There's still a lot of things that would have to happen from our standpoint for us to count on him."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or

mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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