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Moriarty9 · 03-01-2009, 08:59 PM

Devil Rays prepare for 2000 season
General Manager addresses offseason plans
November 1, 1999

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Devil Rays surprised everyone across baseball this summer, and now the team finds itself in an unusual position for a third-year team: gearing up to return to the playoffs.

"Hopefully we're not flying too high, too fast, but we have some good young talent and some veterans, and it was a really great mix for us this year," said Tampa Bay General Manager Shaun Moriarty. "Now we have to build on that. We have to keep the key guys with the club, we have to see what we can bring in to help us out either in the lineup, off the bench, or in the rotation or bullpen."

The Devil Rays have already brought back outfielder Rickey Henderson by picking up their team option for the 2000 season. The team declined options on Jeff Frye and Todd Jones. Frye has indicated he will test the market as a free agent while Jones has expressed a desire to stay with Tampa Bay.

The big questions for Moriarty and the Tampa Bay front office will be how to deal with free agents-to be Paul Quantrill and Aaron Sele.

"Those two guys were important for us this year and we'd love to bring them both back, but we don't have that kind of money unless they compromised a bit on their initial demands," Moriarty said. "We've made a couple of preliminary offers and have been told they want more money. We don't have a lot of wiggle room in what we offered, so we'll see what we can do."

Other potential free agents are infielder Jose Hernandez and catcher Scott Servais.

"Fortunately, we're not faced with a number of guys that are going to be filing for free agency, but we still need to find ways to bring in the talent we want within our budget," the GM said. "It will be a challenge."

The team will also have to make decisions on a number of arbitration-eligible players. Some players may be non-tendered, some may go to arbitration, and some may sign contracts to avoid arbitration. Arbitration-eligible players include pitchers Danny Graves, Kevin Millwood, and Chad Ogea, infielder Wilton Guerrero, and outfielder Andruw Jones.

The big name players that may be free agents this year include catchers Mike Lieberthal and Ivan Rodriguez, firstbaseman Rafael Palmeiro, outfielders Moises Alou, Albert Belle, Shawn Green, Rusty Greer, pitchers Paul Assenmacher, Tom Gordon, Trevor Hoffman, and John Smoltz.

03-01-2009, 08:59 PM	#167 (permalink)
Moriarty9 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,855 Thanks: 9 Thanked 3x in 3 posts	Devil Rays prepare for 2000 season General Manager addresses offseason plans November 1, 1999 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Devil Rays surprised everyone across baseball this summer, and now the team finds itself in an unusual position for a third-year team: gearing up to return to the playoffs. "Hopefully we're not flying too high, too fast, but we have some good young talent and some veterans, and it was a really great mix for us this year," said Tampa Bay General Manager Shaun Moriarty. "Now we have to build on that. We have to keep the key guys with the club, we have to see what we can bring in to help us out either in the lineup, off the bench, or in the rotation or bullpen." The Devil Rays have already brought back outfielder Rickey Henderson by picking up their team option for the 2000 season. The team declined options on Jeff Frye and Todd Jones. Frye has indicated he will test the market as a free agent while Jones has expressed a desire to stay with Tampa Bay. The big questions for Moriarty and the Tampa Bay front office will be how to deal with free agents-to be Paul Quantrill and Aaron Sele. "Those two guys were important for us this year and we'd love to bring them both back, but we don't have that kind of money unless they compromised a bit on their initial demands," Moriarty said. "We've made a couple of preliminary offers and have been told they want more money. We don't have a lot of wiggle room in what we offered, so we'll see what we can do." Other potential free agents are infielder Jose Hernandez and catcher Scott Servais. "Fortunately, we're not faced with a number of guys that are going to be filing for free agency, but we still need to find ways to bring in the talent we want within our budget," the GM said. "It will be a challenge." The team will also have to make decisions on a number of arbitration-eligible players. Some players may be non-tendered, some may go to arbitration, and some may sign contracts to avoid arbitration. Arbitration-eligible players include pitchers Danny Graves, Kevin Millwood, and Chad Ogea, infielder Wilton Guerrero, and outfielder Andruw Jones. The big name players that may be free agents this year include catchers Mike Lieberthal and Ivan Rodriguez, firstbaseman Rafael Palmeiro, outfielders Moises Alou, Albert Belle, Shawn Green, Rusty Greer, pitchers Paul Assenmacher, Tom Gordon, Trevor Hoffman, and John Smoltz.