10:40am: The deal is now official. The Rays announced Mejia has been signed to a minor league pact and invited to spring training. 10:00am: The Rays are finalizing a deal to bring free agent catcher Francisco Mejia back to the organization, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It’ll be a minor league contract with an invite to spring training for the ISE client. Mejia … [Read more...] about Rays Re-Sign Francisco Mejia To Minor League Deal
Rays Notes: Lowe, Chang, Littell
The Rays are shutting down outfielder Josh Lowe from all baseball activity for the next six days due to inflammation in his left hip, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Lowe could be out of games for up to 15 days while he lets the issue calm down, but manager Kevin Cash tells Topkin that the team is “not overly concerned” and doesn’t think Lowe is in jeopardy of … [Read more...] about Rays Notes: Lowe, Chang, Littell
Rays Notes: Uwasawa, Devenski, Alexander, Ramirez
Longtime NPB right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa will be one of the more interesting non-roster players in Rays camp but also throughout the league in general. The 30-year-old righty reportedly turned down guaranteed offers to ink a minor league deal with Tampa Bay that’d pay him a $2.5MM base in the big leagues with another $1MM available via incentives. The former Nippon-Ham … [Read more...] about Rays Notes: Uwasawa, Devenski, Alexander, Ramirez
AL Notes: Mejia, Bellinger, Yankees, Carter, Twins
The Angels released Francisco Mejia earlier today, and the veteran catcher has already had some “initial talks” with the Rays about a return to Tampa, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Mejia spent the last three seasons as part of the Rays’ catching mix, having time with Mike Zunino, Christian Bethancourt, and Rene Pinto before Tampa Bay designated Mejia for … [Read more...] about AL Notes: Mejia, Bellinger, Yankees, Carter, Twins
AL East Notes: Sale, Tiedemann, Ramirez
The Chris Sale-for-Vaughn Grissom trade between the Braves and Red Sox caught many in baseball by surprise, including Sale himself. The veteran southpaw related in a recent appearance on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast (hat tip to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford) that being dealt “wasn’t even in the realm of possibilities. That wasn’t even a thought that crossed my mind” heading … [Read more...] about AL East Notes: Sale, Tiedemann, Ramirez