Rays strike two-year deal with Percival

The Rays bolstered their bullpen by reaching agreement with veteran reliever Troy Percival on a two-year deal Thursday night.

"We're just finishing up a couple things but basically we're there,'' agent Paul Cohen said. "Troy's very excited.''

Percival, 38, took and passed a physical for the Rays on Thursday in St. Petersburg and will be introduced on Friday after completing a deal that is worth $8-million over two years and could exceed $10-million based on appearances and games finished.

Percival starred for the Angels when Rays manager Joe Maddon was a coach in Anaheim, spent two seasons retired following an elbow injury (sustained at Tropicana Field in a July 9, 2005 game) and made an impressive comeback last summer with St. Louis, posting a 1.80 ERA in 40 innings over 34 games.

He would join, and could possibly supplant, Al Reyes as the Rays closer. Percical chose the Rays over several teams, reportedly including the Yankees and Brewers.

Also Thursday, RHP Matt Garza and SS Jason Bartlett, the two key pieces acquired from Minnesota on Wednesday for RF Delmon Young, said they were excited to join the Rays.

"I was surprised because I didn"t think I was really leaving Minnesota, but after thinking about it, it's a great opportunity for me,'' Bartlett said. "They've got a lot of young talent over there and from what I heard it's a great group of guys and I heard the coaching staff is awesome. ... It sounds like a good fit for me and I'm excited.''

Comments

[mike]

BOOM!! Things are looking up for the Rays!

[Ryan Callahan]

MAN! I guess the front office decided to stop taking the stupid pills. Their recent roster moves which include putting some prosepcts on the 40 man, doing to delmon trade for pitching, and now the hopefull signing of troy percival, they are now looking like really good owners. they are finnaly looking to improve the team right now, and i am very pleased with their efforts lately, which is something i couldnt say about them earlier on.

[TonyC]

this all depends on the money. i wouldn't spend big bucks on any reliever that had the elbow injury that percival sustained.

[DRaysfanatic]

the proof is in the pudding and as I read the pudding leaves, the Rays will finish fourth in their division. Wow!!!

[Tampabaysportsfanatic]

Great deals for the Rays. They are putting together a very solid squad that will compete next season and beyond.

[Bob R.]

Wow!! Pitched 40 innings the last 2 1/2 seasons. What's the over/under on innings? I say 12...that would come to $333,333 per inning. What a bargain!!!

[rr]

There is nothing surprising here. All along it should have been clear that the Rays have had a solid plan to build a contender. Year one was to build the depth in the system and trade whatever few chips the previous groups left (Huff, Lugo) to add young players. Year two was to assess what we had and identify the gaps while continuing to build the system. Year three is to fill those gaps. You may recall that at the beginning of the year Friedman said they would no longer trade established major leaguers for prospects, only for other major leaguers, and as with every other promise, they have done exactly what they said.

Nobody can be sure what the result will be, but the intention is clear and the plan's execution is outstanding. Maybe Young flourishes and Garza flops, but the Rays gained a high ceiling starter, a legitimate major league shortstop and a prospective closer. They addressed 3 weaknesses. Maybe Percival falls apart, but signing him gives the lie to the nonsense that the Rays' actions proceed purely from stinginess. Clearly, they will take a risk-NOW, WHEN IT MAKES SENSE TO, NOT BEFORE WHEN IT DID NOT-and spend money to help the team win.

Critics cannot have it both ways, saying the Rays will not spend money on questionable talent because they are cheap and then arguing that they should not sign Percival. They outbid at least 2 teams, including probably the Yankees. I don't like committing much to relievers, but it is just two years, not something stupid like the Orioles did with Baez or someone will do with Riske or the White Sox did giving 4 years to Linebrink.

[Mike]

Hey Bob R, Whaat does this team need to do to make fans like you happy. First they complain about the stadium. After free parking, stadium improvements, and a push for a new park. They still complain. The Rays decide to trade a "me" player with an attitude for a Starting pitcher and a proven Shortstop. The fans still complain. Then We sign one of the best RP's available on the market for a total of $8-10 million, and they complain about that. As fans we need to get a bit more knowledge before we go firing off at the hip about these moves.
Us fans need to make up our minds. The new ownership is trying to make a winner, not throw out a bunch of washed up stars and call them "The Hit Show." The money is bieng spent, and will be spent when Kaz, CC, Pena, and Shields come due for arbitration and need new contracts. This team is an impact reliever and maybe a catcher away from going to the playoffs. Give them a chance...

[btr]

I knew it. There's just no pleasing some of you people. "Bob R.," my sympathies for the botched lobotomy.

Percival's an injury risk, but a) he's good -- nothing in his peripherals last year screams "fluke," plus he has a long history of succeeding in the AL; b) he's a well-liked guy who had a good rep for being a mentor for younger pitchers in Anaheim. I don't see how anyone could complain about this, unless you're a moron like "Bob R."

[Bob Arrrrrr]

Bob R isn't a Rays fan. He's not even the real Bob R. He stole the name. His only goal is to criticize everything and try to anger real Rays fans. If they got Johan Santana for $1, he would say they should have bought a double cheeseburger at McDonald's instead.

[Charlie T]

Thank you Ryan Callahan, Tampa bay sports fanatic & rr. You have it all right. Glad to see the real Rays fans take a stand. I am tired of the Whiners & Criers I guess by now they know who they are.

[Ryan Callahan]

so happy that we made this deal happen. and at a good price too, a max of 10 million over 2 years, thats pretty good. its lookin like we will exceed the 35 million dollar point at this rate, and that is a good thing, go rays front office, for the moment at least.

[Ryan Callahan]

and shut the hell up bob r.

[Yborbob]

The Rays must really want that stadium, all these move have the potential to help now.

[Tampabaysportsfanatic]

Percy chose the Rays over the Yankees, that is saying something about his relationship with Maddon and his desire to close. I think he is ready to go and will be a great closer for us next year.

[Bend over here it comes again]

What fantasyland do you jerks inhabit? The Yankees never made overtures for Percival.

[rr]

"Apparently the Yankees threw more cash at him, but he opted for the closing opportunity in Tampa Bay. I wonder where that leaves Al Reyes."
______________________________________
Since none of us is privy to the negotiations we cannot be sure who offered what. The statement above is from mlbtraderumors.com which does a pretty good job of tracking free agent and trade activity. I know I read similar comments at some Yankee sites.

The issue seemed to be with Percival twofold. He wanted to close and he wanted 2 years. Apparently the Brewers would not go to 2 years and the Yankees have Rivera. It is certainly possible that NY made an offer as they are desperate for someone to set up Rivera.

[Charlie T]

Geoff Jenkins from the Brewers is a free agent & a Left handed hitter lifetime 277 hitter & 20 + HR per year. A left hand OF would be a great help to fill in & DH. What do you think?

[Faker]

BOHICA is correct. The Yankees don't need Percival. That's not an area they have a need nor is it where they are making off-season moves. When they do not sign a free agent closer this off season, you will know you are wrong and BOHICA is correct.

[rr]

I would love to see the Rays sign Jenkins, although I am not holding my breath. Let's see how many years he gets.

Incidentally, just to beat a dead horse, here is another reference to the Yankees' interest in Percival. It is from riveravenueblues.com. As it is a blog, I certainly do not offer it as authoritative, and the author does not like a Percival signing. In the comments, along with a number of very complimentary remarks about the Rays, one writer expects Percival to fail. But the point is that it is perfectly reasonable to think the Yankees did bid on Percival.
__________________________________
"Whether they want to pursue this philosophy or not, the Yankees won’t be overspending on bullpen help this year. Two pitchers the Yanks had targeted to some degree — Troy Percival and David Riske — have opted to go elsewhere, and that’s probably a good thing.

Percival, the Yanks’ other target, is heading for a two-year, $8 million payday with the Rays. While the Yanks were willing to pay Percival more to set up for Mariano Rivera, the Rays are offering Percival and his 324 career saves a chance to close. Maybe now the Rays will actually manage to beat the Red Sox once in a while."

[Ray of Sunshine]

Pitchers are always a risk. Especially 38 year olds who were out of baseball for 2 years with an elbow injury. That being said, he rebounded nicely last year and if he stays healthy he could have a big impact. With Percival pushing everyone up from the back of the bullpen (Reyes to setup, Wheeler to 7th inning, etc.) and with Garza pushing everyone back from the 3rd slot of the rotation the Rays pitching staff looks a lot more formidable. I still hate to see Delmon go, but I read that Bartlett was playing injured most of last year so maybe he is a serious upgrade at SS. As much as I liked Harris we certainly could use better defense at SS. The NDRO (are they the NRO now?) certainly have shown a different approach this offseason. While one can debate the wisdom of the Delmon trade and the Percival signing I applaud their efforts at improving the team and loosening up the pursestrings. But while I liked Jenkins and the other FA 1B/OF (whose name escapes me) mentioned as possible acquisitions I'm afraid they're well past their prime and I wouldn't want to spend too much money on them. At least it shows the NRO is concerned that Rocco, Dukes and Gomes may not fill the void left by Delmon's departure. With a physically healthy Rocco or a mentally healthy Dukes (2 big ifs) in the OF this team could be interesting. I don't want to see Jonny in the OF, the man has all the tools of a DH.

[Tunamanz]

At least the Rays are being smart about there spending. What has the highest payroll in baseball got the last few years......absolutely nothing but first round exits. Just like the movie Tommy Boy, who's your favorite baseball team.....is it the Yankees! What a bunch of A-Rod, I mean D-Rod, strokers.

Go Rays! Keep up the great trades.....don't forget to move Badelli and Dukes!

[wilson]

If you believe the tale that Percival took less money so he can close rather than be a setup man, you are incredibly naive.

[rr]

No, Wilson. Under the guise of being worldly wise, it is you who are being naive in applying the same motivations to all people.

There are numerous examples of players taking less money to be more comfortable somewhere else or to play a different role, including at least one this year. Glavine passed up a lot of money to move from NY to Atlanta. Incidentally, years ago, Maddux was offered considerably more money by the Yankees but also chose less to go to Atlanta.

Gordon picked Philadelphia two years ago because he wanted to close again. Percival made it very clear that one priority was to close, and when you are getting millions anyway, that might indeed have made his mind up about TB instead of NY.

In fact, that is the point. Had the Rays been unwilling to go to $4 million per for 2 years, had they been cheap as they are often accused and only committed $2-3 million per which is now below the going rate for name relievers, I am sure he would have signed elsewhere. But the Rays decided they wanted him enough to commit more.

It is a risk, as would be any signing, especially for a reliever. He is old and coming off severe injury. His 40 innings last year are promising, but not conclusive. As someone noted, he only pitched on consecutive days twice, once in a blowout for .1 inning. So it might turn out a mistake. But many have criticized the Rays in the past for not taking those risks. Then, the criticisms were wrong. Now, with a firmer sense of what the team needs to move to contention, the Rays think it is time to take those risks. And again, the critics are wrong. All along the issue has been timing, not spending.

[Ray of Sunshine]

I have no trouble believing Percival signed for less money with the Rays to close. He is 12th on the alltime Saves list with 324 Saves. With several good years he could surpass Dennis Eckersley for 5th place. When you're dealing with millions of dollars sacrificing a few bucks to enhance your position among the alltime greats is a small price to pay.

[rr]

I would like to apologize. There is no way that Percival would reject a higher offer by the Yankees. After all, he wants to be with a winner, not a ten-year loser given the choice. Obviously he didn't have that choice.

[Faker]

Glad you know hot to admit your mistakes, rr. The Rays were obviously bidding against nobody to get this sore-armed has been.

[rr]

Actually , if he gets as many as 5 saves, I'd be surprised. We should have traded for a healthy closer who has pitched a lot more than 38 innings in 3 years.

[btr]

Faux-"rr," you should be eviscerated.

[imposter needs a girlfriend]

see name

[btr]

I'm going to agree with rr on this one. Percival is a total gamble with so few innings pitched in 2 1/2 years. Probably was signed because he is a buddy of doofus madden. Now I read the Rays might sign Darren Erstad, another crony of Clueless Joe. We gave up 90 RBIS and a great outfield arm for a very real question mark.