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Rays Beat: Rays Still Have Holes To Fill, But Core Is In Place

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Marc Lancaster/The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 23, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - It's tempting to declare the Rays' shopping season just about over as we enter the final days of 2007.

Sure, there are a couple of holes still to be filled before pitchers and catchers report, but all indications are the core of the group that will report to the Naimoli Complex in mid-February is in place:

•The bullpen is substantially more stable than at this time a year ago with Troy Percival on hand to join Al Reyes and Dan Wheeler at the back end.

•The Rays have a budding frontline starter in Matt Garza to plug in alongside Scott Kazmir and James Shields when last Christmas only Kazmir could be considered a sure thing.

•The starting shortstop job, ceded to Ben Zobrist almost by default heading into last spring, is firmly in the hands of a more seasoned player in Jason Bartlett.

•The right-field picture isn't as clearly defined as it was last year, when Delmon Young's name could be penciled into the lineup every day, but the Rays should have it covered between Cliff Floyd, Jonny Gomes and Rocco Baldelli.

"I feel like we've been able to accomplish most of the big-ticket items that we identified," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "That said, there are other things that we would like to accomplish and we will work just as hard as we did in the first 2 1/2 months of the offseason. I'm just not sure how much it will yield."

As they look forward to spring training, the Rays have narrowed their shopping list down to a couple of areas of need.

They still could use a left-handed reliever, but the pickings are extremely slim - Jeremy Affeldt and Trever Miller are about all that's left on the free-agent market.

They also are after a super-utility player capable of playing third base and first base (Morgan Ensberg? Corey Koskie? Jeff Cirillo?). Proficiency at third probably would win out in case the Rays need someone to keep the position warm for a month if Evan Longoria opens the season at Durham.

One other possibility is adding a veteran catcher, but that remains low on the priority list. The Rays had talks with Michael Barrett before he decided to accept the Padres' contract offer, and though he is believed to be on the trading block, his $3.5 million salary may be more than the Rays are willing to pay when they expect Dioner Navarro to start the majority of games behind the plate.

NOT THERE YET: Most of the inside of Tropicana Field is now blue rather than green and merchandise featuring the new Rays look is stocked at local retailers. But it may be a while before some of the most fervent Rays fans can display their loyalty by putting a specialty tag bearing the new logo on their vehicle.

Team officials last week were finalizing the design for a license plate to replace the Devil Rays tags currently in circulation, but there are a few more hurdles to cross before drivers can purchase the new tags for an annual $25 fee. Once the Rays submit a new design, it must be approved by the state like every other specialty tag. The team also will have to buy back the remaining supply of Devil Rays tags, said Ann Nucatola, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

That might be a rather hefty purchase. DHSMV statistics showed the Devil Rays specialty tag ranked 82nd among 102 available plates in 2006 with 1,323 sold - the worst showing among all the tags representing Florida's professional sports teams (the Marlins were the closest to the Rays, ranked 66th with 3,028 sold). The University of Florida plate was first overall at 90,436.

NOTEWORTHY: The Rays' official Web site has uniform numbers for the team's new additions. Floyd will wear No. 15, Percival No. 40, Garza No. 22, Bartlett No. 8 and Kurt Birkins No. 24. ... Among returning players, Andy Sonnanstine is switching to No. 21 from No. 38 and David Price has his preferred No. 14 jersey to himself now that Greg Norton is gone. ... Former Rays farmhand Blair Irvin, Tampa Bay's 12th-round pick in the 2002 draft, signed a letter-of-intent to play football for Kansas State last week. Irvin, 24, is a defensive back who attended Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College after giving up baseball following the 2005 season.

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