TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Rays Rearrange 40-Man Roster

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARC LANCASTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 21, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays added four players to their 40-man roster Tuesday, protecting them from possible selection in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

Catcher John Jaso, left-hander James Houser and outfielders Fernando Perez and Jason Pridie had their contracts purchased on the final day minor-leaguers could be added to the roster in advance of the winter meetings.

The Rays went into the day with one open roster spot, so they had to clear three players off the 40-man to make room for the new additions. Relievers Brian Stokes and Jon Switzer were designated for assignment, giving the team 10 days to trade them, release them or outright them to the minors. The Rays also traded outfielder Chris Snelling, who was claimed off waivers from Oakland last month, to the Phillies for cash considerations.

The newcomers to the roster spent last season either at Triple-A Durham or Double-A Montgomery. None is necessarily in line to make the Rays' Opening Day roster next season, but they figure to be among the first line of reinforcements as the year goes on.

"We feel like all four players have a chance to be very good major-league players," said Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman. "A good thing from a roster management perspective is that all four are going to be at the upper levels of the minors as opposed to in A-ball. Each one of them has some things that they need to work on to reach the major-league level, but we're confident that each one will play at Tropicana Field for years to come."

• Jaso, 24, is a left-handed hitter who has posted four consecutive seasons hitting better than .300 in the minors. He hit a career-best .316 for Montgomery in 2007, adding 12 homers and 71 RBIs while drawing 59 walks and striking out just 49 times.

• Perez, 24, is one of the more impressive all-around players in the farm system. The Columbia University product brings plate discipline (.423 on-base percentage last year) speed (10 triples, 32 steals), very good defense and off-the-charts intangibles.

• Pridie, 24, hit .303 with 32 doubles, 11 triples and 14 homers between Montgomery and Durham last year. He also stole 26 bases while seeing time at all three outfield positions.

• Houser, 22, is a Sarasota native whose 2007 campaign (5-4, 3.65 ERA in 20 starts for Montgomery) was marred by a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug. He was handed a 50-game suspension in August, and because the Biscuits had only 14 games remaining, he will have to serve the rest of the ban at the start of next season. Despite that misstep, the second-round pick (2003) remains one of the Rays' most well-regarded pitching prospects.

Stokes and Switzer, both 28, have spent their entire careers in the Rays' organization. Stokes spent all of 2007 in Tampa Bay, struggling to a 2-7 record and 7.07 ERA in 59 appearances. Switzer was 0-2 with an 8.05 ERA in 21 relief outings for the Rays last year.

NOTEWORTHY: Tickets for the Rays' 2008 home opener, April 8 against Seattle, will be available in an online pre-sale Friday. Tickets will be available beginning at 9 a.m. at www.raysbaseball.com and www.raysbeisbol.com. Opening Day tickets can be purchased by phone and at box office locations beginning Monday at 9 a.m. Single-game tickets for all other regular-season games will go on sale in February.

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT