Troy Percival News

Last season, the Rays' bullpen ran into a world of pain during the final few months of the season.

Rafael Soriano is obviously a huge boost to the bullpen, his 43 saves more and ninth-inning arsenal better than anyone else the Rays have.

Ia ll say this about the Rays. They identify a problem, they identify a player they want, and they go out and get him.

At the end of the third day of meetings, exchanging phone calls and texts, the Rays appear to have acquired the much-needed piece for their bullpen in closer Rafael Soriano.

Baseball's winter meetings will feel aptly named with snow forecast for Indianapolis much of the week, but maybe the cold temps make the action hotter.

The Rays made numerous bad decisions last winter. First of all, signing Pat Burrell and trading Edwin Jackson, but the biggest mistake was to give manager Joe Maddon a three-year contract extension.

With the free agency period starting last Friday, the Rays find themselves in a somewhat similar situation to last winter.

Major League Baseball crowned a new champion Wednesday night, and Thursday morning it was back to business as players could begin to file for free agency.

Entering Spring Training this past season, the Rays found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place in the battle for the 5th spot in the rotation.

The Rays' bullpen this year was quite the odyssey. There were times we loved it, but just as frequently, there were times we hated it.

Stopping short of just inviting every free agent reliever who possesses a fastball and a slider to spring training, I decided to look into a few individual cases that I think might fit the Rays ' plans in 2010.

That's a bit of an oversimplification, of course, as Friedman and his staff do plenty of wheeling and dealing from April through September.

Manager Joe Maddon said Friday that Howell won't pitch again this season, giving the weary reliever a head start on his offseason rest and recovery.

The death of the Rays 2009 season arrived this week. Belatedly, as it turns out.

Joe Maddon says the recent failings of his bullpen could be more due to emotional exhaustion than physical fatigue, and he won't change the way he's using his relief pitchers over the final three weeks of the season.

After last season, we can never look at the Tampa Bay Rays the same way again. That's what makes this season so deflating.

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Great, I have thrown in the towel for this year. Four straight games of having the lead or being tied going into the eighth inning, and also seven times during the past three weeks.

That's the second part of the series about the organizational depth the Rays will probably have in 2010.

According to Jon Heyman from Sports Illustrated.com , Billy Wagner of the Mets was claimed off waivers from the New York Mets after returning from the disabled list.

With Pedro Martinez, the defending champion Phillies have such an abundance of starting pitching, they have moved Jamie Moyer to the bullpen.