Devil Rays sign 20-game winner
Fassero coming to Tropicana Field
February 16, 1998
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays front office seemed just as stunned as the rest of the baseball world today when it learned free agent pitcher Jeff Fassero had agreed to terms with the expansion club.
"We're actually quite pleasantly surprised by this," Devil Rays GM Shaun Moriarty said during a conference call. "We didn't expect a 35-year-old pitcher coming off a career season to sign with an expansion team, but we certainly owed it to our players, our organization and our fans to at least have a dialogue with Jeff and his representation."
While many thought Fassero would court Tampa Bay only to help drive up his asking price, the veteran lefty - coming off his first 20-win season - decided to sign with the Devil Rays in the end.
"Sure, it's a young team, a young franchise, but they already have some good players here and these guys could certainly make noise this year," Fassero said. "I had options, but there's something about this situation that I like."
Fassero went 20-5 with a 3.18 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 33 starts with the Seattle Mariners last season, his first with the club. He previously had posted a 58-48 record with the Montreal Expos as a reliever-turned-starter for six seasons.
Fassero will earn $8 million this season with a mutual option for the 1999 season at $8.67 million.
Fassero