Bradford waiting after Burrell's neck flare-up

Chad Bradford is ready to come off the disabled list, but a hint of uncertainty about Pat Burrell's status prompted the Rays to put the reliever in a holding pattern.

Initially expected to return to active duty Saturday after the Rays optioned reliever Jeff Bennett to Durham the night before, Bradford instead saw his roster spot snapped up by Reid Brignac, who was recalled from Triple-A and arrived about an hour before the game.

It sounds as if Brignac's stay - and Bradford's wait - will be brief. The initial diagnosis on Burrell was that the neck stiffness that forced him out of Friday's game isn't nearly as severe as the bout that landed him on the disabled list in early May.

Manager Joe Maddon said Burrell likely would be available for pinch-hitting duty today and should be back in the starting lineup by Tuesday.

"It's not an awful thing like last time, when he had all kinds of things locked up and felt it through his arm and down into his hand," Maddon said. "He's not getting the same sensations."

Burrell said he was focused on getting treatment immediately so as not to exacerbate the issue. He tried to play through it for a while earlier this year and ended up missing 29 games.

"Having been through this the first time, I don't want it to get to the point where I have to miss any length of time," Burrell said. "The best thing to do is just rest it for a day or so and then move forward. I could probably have played; I just didn't want to make it worse. I think with a little bit of rest, it'll get better."

Should Burrell be deemed ready to return Tuesday, Brignac likely would head back to the minors then, with Bradford taking his roster spot.

"Chad has got to hang for a bit," Maddon said. "We had to get Reid up here in order to bolster the bench a bit. With Willy (Aybar) playing and the bench being so limited, we needed somebody else that could play the infield, too, possibly, so that's what we did."

Bradford, who made three appearances on his rehab assignment and experienced no problems with his lower back, threw a bullpen session before Saturday's game to stay loose.

Reeling in the picks

The Rays continued to work toward Monday's deadline to sign picks from this year's draft by officially bringing four top-10 selections into the fold Saturday.

Signing Saturday were OF Todd Glaesmann (third round), C Luke Bailey (fourth), 1B Jeff Malm (fifth) and LHP Kevin James (ninth).

Baseball America reported Glaesmann got a $930,000 bonus, Bailey $750,000 and James $625,000 - all substantially over MLB's recommended figures for their draft slots. Malm also is believed to have been agreed to a deal that exceeds his slot recommendation.

Those deals leave three of the Rays' top 10 picks still unsigned, including the top two: 2B/OF LeVon Washington and SS Kenny Diekroeger. Tenth-round SS Derek Dennis also has yet to sign.

College appears likely for Diekroeger (Stanford) and possibly Dennis (Michigan), and the Rays still don't seem optimistic about coming to terms with Washington, who would head to Florida if he doesn't sign.

Odds and ends

The Rays sent 25-year-old 1B Rhyne Hughes to the Orioles as the player to be named in the deal that brought Gregg Zaun to Tampa Bay last week. Hughes had 22 homers between Montgomery and Durham this year. ... Relievers Randy Choate and Russ Springer swapped uniform numbers. Choate is now wearing 37 and Springer 36. ... OF Fernando Perez is on what Maddon described as a "little bit of a respite" from his rehab assignment after experiencing some discomfort in his neck. ... Burrell and B.J. Upton will sign autographs for kids 14 and under between noon and 12:30 p.m. today.

Marc Lancaster