Rays sign OF Hideki Matsui

[DaaBoTownSox]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Hideki Matsui has signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, and the two-time AL All-Star will report Wednesday to extended spring training in Port Charlotte.

Tampa Bay wants to add depth in the outfield and at designated hitter. The 37-year-old has played nine seasons in the major leagues, including seven with the New York Yankees.

Matsui has a .285 career average with 173 home runs and 753 RBIs for the Yankees, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics. He hit .251 with 12 homers and 72 RBIs for the A's last season.

Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman announced the deal Monday, calling Matsui "one of the most consistently productive hitters in the world" over the past two decades.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/78...or-league-deal

[daddies4angels]

With Luke Scott in the fold im kind of surprised by this move

[Old Sweater]

He hit .251 with 12 homers and 72 RBIs for the A's last season.

That isn't that bad for playing half his games in Oakland to go with 9 in Seattle and 9 in Anaheim. Matt Holliday had awful cup of coffee stats in Oakland that improved as soon as he got traded to the Cards.

The bad thing for Matsui though is that the Rays ballpark factor for hitters is only 92.

Why every great hitter on the planet don't want to play for the Rockies is a mystery to me.

[Cubs Fan]

The Rays are one of those good teams that chase people like these. Wish the Cubs were one.....

[RickD]

Well I am glad to see he gets a chance to keep playing but his better days are behind him.

[soberdennis]

It is nice to see him get a chance again. Yankee fans will not soon forget Godzilla.

[Switch Pitcher Coach]

I thought Godzilla was done, but they might want him for the end of the season, as when he was MVP with the Yanks. Can he rise to the occasion? He is pretty long in the tooth, but he might do it with others in the line up, as he was pretty lonely in the line up of the Angels and Oakland. Look at what has happened with Pujols so far! He will certainly rise to the occasion if he faces Darvish and other Japanese pitchers, as he knows he will go prime time here in Japan. I bet his price tag was much reduced, so maybe the Rays got a better bargain. Where can I find the price tag? I'll look again at the top of this thread.