Houser's suspension ends

LHP James Houser, the Sarasota product who'd been suspended 50 games last August at Double-A Montgomery for  "testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance,'' has been reinstated due to something of an apparent technicality in the rules.
Since the Rays added Houser to the 40-man roster during the off-season, he is no longer "subject to the minor-league rules and is no longer considered suspended,'' Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn said.
Houser was not on the 40-man roster and was pitching for the Biscuits at the time of the failed test, and had served half of his suspension. He also was not allowed to pitch in the Arizona Fall League.
But the Rays had him scheduled to pitch in Friday's spring training opener in Sarasota, and sent word Thursday night that he was now eligible. Vaughn said that if Houser is sent down to the minors after camp and kept on the 40-man roster, the suspension will still be void.

Cal Ripken a Ray?

It's been expected that the Rays would seek to move their Class A Florida State League team from Vero Beach to their new spring training facility in Port Charlotte as soon as next season.

But it would come with an interesting twist: Under a deal in the works, the team would be purchased by a group led by Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, with the Rays as a minority partner.

The sale and move have to be approved by major- and minor-league baseball and the Florida State League, but all are expected to be on board.

Ripken Baseball owns several other teams, including the Abeerden IronBirds and Augusta GreenJackets, and also operates instructional camps that feature the Hall of Famer.

The story was first reported by WZVN TV station.

Rankings galore

Both espn.com's Keith Law and Baseball Prospectus released their rankings today of the game's top 100 prospects, and the Rays are well represented.
Law has 3B Evan Longoria as the No. 1 overall prospect and - more surprisingly - has OF Desmond Jennings, who played last season at Class A Columbus, ranked 11th overall.
He had more Rays, nine, than players from any other team.
The other Rays on Law's list:
15. RHP Wade Davis
16. LHP David Price
26. LHP Jake McGee
49. SS Reid Brignac
72. Fernando Perez
75. RHP Jeremy Hellickson
78. C John Jaso

Law's criteria, as he explained it:
Players who have lost their rookie eligibility are not eligible for this list, nor are players coming over from either of the major Japanese leagues; while they're rookies for the purpose of the Rookie of the Year awards, they're not "prospects" in any sense of the term. I consider a number of factors when ranking prospects, including ceiling, probability, expected time to reach the majors and expected time to become contributors in the majors, but I do not consider factors like whether the player has a place to play in his current organization, or whether his big league club's home park is friendly or unfriendly for him, although I may mention such things in the comments. Unlike last year's list, I've expanded the scope to include players with little or no pro experience.

The Baseball Prospectus list, by Kevin Goldstein, includes six Rays, led by Longoria, who was third overall, behind Reds OF Jay Bruce and Red Sox RHP Clay Buchholz.
The other Rays on his list:
6. LHP David Price
15. RHP Wade Davis
18. OF Desmond Jennings
25. SS Reid Brignac
40. LHP Jake McGee

Prospecting ...

In counting down the days until the start of spring training, one of the most interesting days is when the Baseball America Prospect Handbook arrives. And it came today ...
The experts at BA go 30-deep in their rankings for each team, which even those who follow the Rays closely will find fascinating.
While their top 10 can spur some debate - such as 3B Evan Longoria or LHP David Price at No. 1, OF Desmond Jennings soaring ahead of RHP Jeff Niemann to be No. 6 - it's where they go from there that can be even more intriguing.
Note, for example, how highly - 11th - they rank LHP Glenn Gibson, the low-level minor-leaguer acquired for Elijah Dukes, and how low they place such previously touted players such as RHP Mitch Talbot (21st) and two who could make the opening day roster, OF Justin Ruggiano (27th) and INF Joel Guzman (29th).
So with that big buildup, here's their top 30:
1. 3B Evan Longoria
2. LHP David Price
3. LHP Jake McGee
4. RHP Wade Davis
5. SS Reid Brignac
6. OF Desmond Jennings
7. RHP Jeff Niemann
8. RHP Jeremy Hellickson
9. OF Ryan Royster
10. RHP Chris Mason
11. LHP Glenn Gibson (acquired from Washington for Elijah Dukes)
12. RHP Juan Salas
13. C John Jaso
14. RHP Alex Cobb
15. RHP Eduardo Morlan (acquired from Twins in Delmon Young trade)
16. RHP Josh Butler
17. RHP Nick Barnese
18. LHP James Houser
19. RHP Heath Rollins
20. RHP Matt Walker
21. RHP Mitch Talbot
22. C Mike McCormick
23. RHP Will Kline
24. RHP Wade Townsend
25. OF Fernando Perez
26. C Nevin Ashley
27. OF Justin Ruggiano
28. 1B Rhyne Hughes
29. 3B/1B Joel Guzman
30. OF D.J. Jones

Longoria headed east

Rays blue-chip 3B prospect Evan Longoria on Wednesday was officially named to the USA Baseball team that will compete in the International Baseball Federation World Cup title from Nov. 6-18 in Chinese Taipei.

The 24-man roster is comprised of pro players not on major-league 25-man rosters. Longoria is the only Rays player on the squad, which will be managed by Davey Johnson.

Rays of the future honored

RHP Wade Davis was named the Rays minor-league pitcher of the year and OF Ryan Royster the player of the year. Davis had a combined 2.50 ERA between Class A Vero and Double-A Montgomery. Royster, playing for Class A Columnbus, led the organization with a .329 average, 30 homers and 98 RBIs.

Also, 3B Pat Cottrell was named winner of the Erik Walker Community Champion Award, recognizing a player who exemplifies teamwork, sportsmanship and community involvement.

Other players honored Wednesday include:

Justin Ruggiano – Durham Bulls Player of the Year
Jeff Niemann – Durham Bulls Pitcher of the Year

Evan Longoria – Montgomery Biscuits Player of the Year
Chris Mason – Montgomery Biscuits Pitcher of the Year

Rhyne Hughes – Vero Beach Devil Rays Player of the Year
Jake McGee – Vero Beach Devil Rays Pitcher of the Year

Desmond Jennings – Columbus Catfish Player of the Year
Lewis Rollins – Columbus Catfish Pitcher of the Year

Emeel Salem – Hudson Valley Renegades Player of Year
Alex Cobb – Hudson Valley Renegades Pitcher of the Year

Omar Luna – Princeton Rays Player of the Year
Jeremy Hall – Princeton Rays Pitcher of the Year

Ramon Novas – Rays Dominican League Player of the Year
Juan Santana – Rays Dominican League Pitcher of the Year

Julio Cedeno – Rays Venezuelan League Player of the Year
Omar Bencomo – Rays Venezuelan League Pitcher of the Year

Rays are champs!

Well, the Class A Columbus Catfish are anyway, beating West Virginia (Brewers) 6-0 on Thursday to sweep the South Atlantic League Championship series. For details, check out milb.com

Cantu will report to Durham

Disgruntled and demoted second baseman Jorge Cantu will report to Triple-A Durham in time for Thursday’s season opener and will be focused and prepared to play hard, agent Steve Canter said Tuesday.

But whether Cantu plays again for the Devil Rays could be another issue.

Cantu responded to the demotion by requesting the Rays trade him, and Canter initially didn’t want to address whether Cantu could put his hurt feelings aside to eventually rejoin them or how long he would be willing to stay in the minors. (He contacted the Times later to say Cantu would play wherever he was assigned.)

"Our request was firm. I think that sums it up," Canter said. "I think right now he’s focused on going to Durham and working hard. He’s made the trade request, and we’re going to go from there."

Cantu has been in the majors since coming up in 2004 and was the Rays’ team MVP in 2005. He had a poor and injury-marred season in 2006, has been working hard to rebound and was stunned at the demotion saying, "I am not a minor-league player."

Canter said his conversations with Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman did not include any deadlines for a deal. The Rays are not obligated to honor the trade request.

"The club did not provide a time frame," Canter said. "He’s going to go there and work and turn this into something positive. He’s going to get after it. He’s a tough guy."

The Rays have had concerns about Cantu’s defense, specifically a lack of range, and decided to send him down when they were comfortable that B.J. Upton could do a better job at second base. He also was considered for a part-time designated hitter role and lost out on that to Jonny Gomes. At Durham, Cantu is expected to be primarily a DH.

Canter disputed the Rays’ evaluation of his client.

"The club said they moved Jorge off second base because of his defense. But Jorge didn’t make an error all spring, and his range has vastly improved. So I question the validity of that," Canter said. "I think the facts speak for themselves."

Canter also suggested the Rays might miss Cantu more than they think.

"There are other leaders on the club, but I think this club is going to miss his leadership and his bat," Canter said. "He also was one of the club’s most popular players and appreciates all the support of his fans. That being said, Jorge will go to Durham and turn this into something positive and with class."

This is a big year for Cantu (who has a $410,200 salary in the majors and $213,480 in the minors) because at the end of the season, he was to be eligible for arbitration and the big raise that comes with it. Eligibility is determined by major-league service time, so a long stay in the minors could force him to wait another year before cashing in.

-- Marc Topkin, Times staff

Rays trade Lugo

The Devil Rays traded veteran SS Julio Lugo to the Dodgers minutes before the 4 pm deadline for two minor-leaguers, third base prospect Joel Guzman and outfielder Sergio Pedroza.

Lugo is the fourth veteran traded in the last five weeks.

The Rays had been trying to sign Lugo to a long-term deal.

The Rays have also called up prospect B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist.

Upton on the way ...

The Devil Rays have decided to call up top infield prospect B.J. Upton from Triple-A Durham and he is expected to join them Monday night. Upton is expected to take over at third base.

The Rays had planned on calling him up soon anyway, and the broken hand sustained by Ty Wigginton on Saturday may have expedited the situation.

Upton hit .269 in 106 games at Durham with eight homers and 41 RBIs, along with a league-high 46 stolen bases.

Huff dealt for two more prospects, Upton moved to third

The Devil Rays made another big deal, trading veteran third baseman Aubrey Huff to the Houston Astros on Wednesday for two minor-leaguers.

They also took a big step toward replacing Huff by announcing later that top prospect B.J. Upton would move to third base at Triple-A Durham and would be promoted when he is comfortable there.

The Rays also included about $1.6-million cash in the deal to cover just less than  half of what remained on Huff's $6.75-million salary.

The prospects they got back were both playing for Double-A Corpus Christi: right-handed starter Mitch Talbot, 22, the Astros' second-round pick in 2002, was 6-4 with a 3.39 ERA, eighth best in the Texas League, with 29 walks and 98 strikeouts; and  shortshop Ben Zobrist, 25, a sixth-round pick in 2004, was hitting .328 with 25 doubles, three homers and 30 RBI and was a Texas League All-Star. Both will join the Rays' Double-A team in Montgomery, Ala.

With Huff traded, Ty Wigginton is likely to get most of the playing time at third until Upton, who has been playing shortstop, is ready.

Josh Hamilton cleared to play

Josh Hamilton, the No. 1 overall pick of the 1999 draft who has been suspended since February 2004 because of persistent drug and alcohol problems, has been cleared by Major League Baseball to play. He is expected to join the Devil Rays’ short-season Class A team at Hudson Valley (N.Y.).

Hamilton, who spent two weeks working out at the Naimoli Complex during extended spring training, has been waiting to hear if he can take the next step in his comeback. “It feels awesome,” Hamilton said. “It’s what I’ve been looking for. I’m very excited to get started.”

Hamilton, 25, says he has been clean since October and is drug tested three times a week.

--Damian Cristodero, Times staff writer

LOTS OF CHANGES

Joe Maddon said sending Seth McClung to Triple-A Durham to learn to be a closer could be the best thing for his career. It certainly couldn't hurt at this point as the right-hander is 2-10 and has lost six straight. McClung may not see it that way (he always talks about being a starter)but Maddon may be right. McClung has a 96-mph fastball and a good curve, the two absolutes for a closer. And he can be good in short spurts. If he can "harness'' his stuff for a short period and overcome any hurt feelings associated with being demoted and having his job description changed, he might just flourish. In the meantime, Edwin Jackson is being brought up from Durham and added to the pen and Tim Corcoran becomes a starter. Jackson is an interesting case. He pitched so well when he was with the Rays but struggled in Durham. Could be a mind thing in that he believes he belongs in the majors. Perhaps we'll see a better pitcher than he has shown lately.

   You've got to feel bad for Joey Gathright. A fan favorite, he was given every opportunity to stake a claim when Rocco Baldelli was hurt. But he failed and now he is traded to the Royals. Not only that, he was traded for a mid-level minor leaguer in J.P. Howell. It wasn't long ago Gathright was believe to be trade bait for Marlins hotshot Scott Olsen. But Gathright was exposed as a not-ready-for-prime-time major leaguer with bad plate discipline and shoddy defense. It's too bad for the Rays they couldn't pull the trigger on a trade during the winter or spring.

Delmon Young returns ...

DURHAM, N.C. - Devil Rays top prospect Delmon Young returned to the field on Monday night for the Triple-A Durham Bulls, having served a 50-game suspension for throwing his bat at an umpire on April 26.

   ""First of all, I'd like to apologize to the Devil Rays, the fans, my teammates and everyone out there for my actions back in April,'' Young said Monday afternoon at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

   Young, 20, spent much of his suspension working out in St. Petersburg and doing community service work that was part of the disciplinary action handed down.

   He said he learned from the experience and was eager to return to the field.

   ""I want to come out here and play baseball and come out here and have fun and try and move on with it,'' Young said.

   Young was expected to be called up to the major leagues at some point this season. How much the 50-game absence impacts those plans remains to be seen.

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