I thought he was still a Marlin.

 

 

 

 

ST. PETERSBURG -- Tampa Bay signed four players to Minor League deals on Tuesday: outfielder Shelley Duncan and right-handed pitchers Jamey Wright, Juan Carlos Oviedo and Juan Sandoval.

Each was extended an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

 

Duncan, 33, spent the 2012 season with the Indians and hit .203 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs in 81 games. Over the last three seasons with Cleveland, he has totaled 33 home runs with 114 RBIs in 242 games.

The right-handed-hitting outfielder also played parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues with the Yankees. He is the son of former Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan and the brother of former Major League outfielder Chris Duncan.

 

Wright, 38, is a 17-year Major League veteran who has a 4.89 ERA over 592 career appearances (246 starts). In 2012, he went 5-3 with a 3.72 ERA in 66 relief outings for the Dodgers. He transitioned to a full-time role in the bullpen in '08 and has compiled a 4.15 ERA in 357 2/3 innings pitched since then, the second-most relief innings in the Majors in that span.

Wright was a first-round selection by the Rockies in the 1993 Draft. He has also spent time with the Brewers, Cardinals, Royals, Giants, Rangers, Indians and Mariners.

 

Oviedo (formerly known as Leo Nunez), 30, spent 2012 with the Marlins' organization but did not pitch in the Major Leagues. He spent the first 3 1/2 months of the season on the restricted list and then underwent Tommy John surgery in September after injuring his right elbow in a rehab assignment with Triple-A New Orleans.

The reliever logged 92 saves as Marlins closer from 2009-11 and has a career 4.34 ERA over seven Major League seasons with the Royals and Marlins. His contract with the Rays includes a club option for 2014.

 

Sandoval, who turned 32 on Jan. 13, split the 2012 season with Mexico City and Oaxaca in the Mexican League, combining to go 7-3 with a 2.97 ERA in 67 relief appearances. He has played the last two seasons in the Mexican League and is a veteran of 10 Minor League seasons. The Dominican native originally signed with Seattle in 2002 and has also spent time in the Brewers and Phillies organizations.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130122&content_id=41106024&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

I feel like I made a joke about this last year. That the Rays would sign him and he would become the next Fernando Rodney. Same stuff, really.

NOOOO

Oviedo won't pitch until about August or something anyhow. He had Tommy John I believe. That or some serious shoulder surgery.

Yeah, not sure how he got an invite to spring training after just having tommy john.

Something doesnt add up there. Maybe the Rays thought Leo Nunez had Tommy Johns and that Oviedo is a totally different guy.

I can see this as being a long one year tryout, and the spring training invite as just a perk and a way to have their personal trainers rehab him at the facility all spring training while being instructed by the rays coaching staff for a September call up.

How many teams honestly gave him a ST invite? Just one, maybe two including the rays.

He got a option for next year resulting from the TJ surgery. It hard to doubt my Rays on this.