Rays add INF/OF Hinske

The Rays signed INF/OF Eric Hinske to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training.
Hinkse, 30, spent last season in a reserve role with Boston (hitting .204 with 6 HRs and 21 RBIs) after playing the five previous seasons with the Blue Jays. Hinske, the 2002 AL Rookie of the Year, has a career .255 average with 85 home runs and 339 RBIs in 770 big-league games.
Hinske would provide the Rays with an additional lefthanded hitting option, and provide depth in case of injury, at first base, the corner outfield and DH spots, and could be another alternative at third base if prospect Evan Longoria is not deemed ready for the opening day roster.
Hinske will make $800,000 if he is in the majors.

Comments

[Brad Mofsky]

2002 Rookie of the Year with the Boston Red Sox,signs with the Rays!This is a heck of a bargain and he should work out great against the Red Sox,too! He should do well at Third Base

[Tim]

The Rays get Hinske ???!!! WOW.. I am impressed.. I've always thought the guy is a stud.. congratulations Andrew..

[yo]

this guy sucks he hasn't done a damn thing since his rookie year he has take sophomore jinks way to seriously

[I agree]

I agree. It's cheap, so what's the harm? Think about what people thought of Brendan Harris, Carlos Pena, and Al Reyes. Those 'cheap' signings worked out well.

[frank]

a pretty reliable sign that your best days are behind you? you sign with the devil rays. good luck with your new stadium!

[ryan callahan]

I really like this deal. I am in no way a fan of Rocco Bal"DL"i or Jonny "strikeout" Gomes anymore, so I would be very happy if the RF/DH platoon could be Cliff Floyd and Eric Hinske. He may not be the best of hitters anymore, but he is pretty consistant and i liked the way he played RF for the sox last year when he played. And $800,000 seems to be a lucky number for us, thats what Pena made last year, maybe the number will provide him with great skills. But as long as Baldeli and Gomes aren't playing im happy.

[Sean]

Why are you happy when Rocco is not playing? That doesn't make sense at all.

[sam]

its amazing how ignorant some of you are..its actually quite embarrassing

[Ryan S]

It does look like they want to start Longoria in the minors. If it weren't for the fact that he might hold Longoria back, I would love the Hinske signing. He has a very similar career path as Carlos Pena. He has shown periods of very good play, but for some reason teams have given up on him quickly. At the very least he will be a good backup for 3rd, 1st and DH. He normally hits righties very good, and seems like a clone of Carlos Pena's potential. Not that I would ever expect anyone to have another Carlos Pena type year, but Hinske has always shown that he can mash at times, but has not seen consistent playing time for while. Overall a good signing, he wont even make 1 mil.

[Reality]

If only guys could take HGH and roids again.....

[ryan callahan]

Im happy when rocco doesnt play because he doesnt deserve it anymore. This guy is never healthy, and ive just grown tired of it. He will never be healthy, just face it.

[Andy C.]

Rocco doesn't deserve it? He hasn't been healthy he can't help that. Thats like saying Ken Griffey Jr. doesn't deserve to play for the Reds, or Derek Lee shouldn't start for the Cubs cause they've been hurt. He's been with this losing team for years and want's nothing but to play. Eric Henske doesn't deserve to play. ROY wow what else has he done? At least when Rocco plays he's productive. And this lucky number cause he's making $800,000.00??? You obviously don't have sound baseball logic. Why don't you start following Ping Pong instead.

[ryan callahan]

how can u compare rocco balDLi to Ken Griffy. Griffy is a hall of famer. first of all, while griffy has been healthy he has managed to hit a lot of home runs. balDLi isnt a home run hitter, but he hasnt been doing great either. lets remember that he was barely hitting over the mendoza line before he got injured last season.

[Andy C.]

I didn't compare Rocco's numbers or HOF qualifications to Griffey Jr. But let us take a look at Baldellis numbers the past few years.

2003 - .289/11 hr/32 2B 156 Games
2004 - .280/16 hr/27 2B 136 Games
2005 - Did not play
2006 - .302/16 hr/24 2B 93 Games
2007 - .204/5 hr/6 2B 35 Games

You're judging a 35 game performance and saying he didn't play well. I'm sure even PAY-ROD had 35 games that didn't go so well during the year. If you projected Rocco's 07 stats for a full 162 game season he would have had 23 home runs. If Rocco is healthy he deserves to get the chance. Dioner Navarro is still our catcher but Rocco can't play outfield? It's obvious by his stats that if he's healthy he produces You can't bad mouth a good ball player because he was injured. It's stupid to do.

[ryan callahan]

well i dont like navarro either. look, when he hasnt even played 162 games over the last 3 seasons there is a problem. i know he wants to be healthy, but he needs to take care of his body.