Weekend Catch All

Minor Moves: Satow and Barroso
Matt Eddy had two Rays minor league transactions from over the holidays: LHRP Josh Satow was released and SS Joel Barroso was signed. Other than a few youtube videos there isn't much information out there on Barroso. Expect to see the 21 year-old shortstop on one of the Rays U.S.-based short-season rosters this summer.

The release of the 26 year-old Satow might seem a bit of a surprise after his 2.26 ERA and 55-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 55.2 innings for Charlotte last summer. But Satow really struggled in 2010 when he was promoted to Montgomery for half the year (6.85 ERA, 32-28 SO-BB in 44.2 IP), started back at Charlotte in 2011, and never made it back to Montgomery despite solid numbers across the board. He was originally picked in the 25th round of the 2008 draft out of Arizona State and ends his four-year Rays career with a 2.90 ERA and 242 strikeouts in 232.2 innings. I wouldn't be surprised him make someones AA roster out of spring training. Here are his stats broken down by season and affiliate:

Year   Age     Affiliate  W  L  ERA   G GS SV    IP BB  SO  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2008    22 Hudson Valley  3  0 1.23  19  0  2  36.2 17  46 1.309  7.6  0.0  4.2 11.3
2009    23 Bowling Green  4  0 2.29  44  0 20  63.0 15  65 1.000  6.9  0.3  2.1  9.3
2009    23     Charlotte  0  0 0.00   2  0  0   2.0  1   2 2.000 13.5  0.0  4.5  9.0
2010    24     Charlotte  4  1 1.76  22  0  9  30.2  9  42 0.880  5.3  0.3  2.6 12.3
2010    24    Montgomery  1  4 6.85  23  2  1  44.2 28  32 1.858 11.1  0.4  5.6  6.4
2011    25     Charlotte  4  5 2.26  45  0 13  55.2 14  55 1.060  7.3  0.8  2.3  8.9
4 Seasons                16 10 2.90 155  2 45 232.2 84 242 1.221  7.7  0.4  3.2  9.4

2012 Minor League Staffs
The Rays unveiled the 2012 coaching staffs for all seven U.S.-based affiliates. The biggest change to me is R.C. Lichtenstein moving up to become Montgomery's pitching coach, switching places with Bill Moloney. We've talked about the importance of Lichtenstein before, in particular with Wade Davis, Jake McGee and Matt Moore. It should be interesting to see how he helps the pitchers handle the wall many hit at AA after three years with Bowling Green working on the transition to full-season ball. I've included how many seasons each manager has been in their current position in parenthesis, notice the continuity.

Durham Bulls (International League):
Manager - Charlie Montoyo (6th)
Pitching Coach - Neil Allen
Coach - Dave Myers
Athletic Trainer - Matt Rankin

Montgomery Biscuits (Southern League):
Manager - Billy Gardner Jr. (6th)
Pitching Coach - R.C. Lichtenstein
Coach - Ozzie Timmons
Athletic Trainer - Kris Russell

Charlotte Stone Crabs (Florida State League):
Manager - Jim Morrison (4th)
Pitching Coach - Steve Watson
Coach - Joe Szekely
Athletic Trainer - Scott Thurston

Bowling Green Hot Rods (Midwest League):
Manager - Brady Williams (3rd)
Pitching Coach - Bill Moloney
Coach - Manny Castillo
Athletic Trainer - Jeremy Spencer

Hudson Valley Renegades (New York-Penn League):
Manager - Jared Sandberg (3rd)
Pitching Coach - Kyle Snyder
Coach - Dan DeMent
Athletic Trainer - Brian Newman

Princeton Rays (Appalachian League):
Manager - Michael Johns (3rd)
Pitching Coach - Darwin Peguero
Coach - Reinaldo Ruiz
Athletic Trainer - Nick Flynn

GCL Rays (Gulf Coast League):
Manager - Paul Hoover (1st)
Pitching Coach - Marty DeMerritt
Coach - Wuarnner Rincones
Coach - Hector Torres
Athletic Trainer - Chris Tomashoff

Minor League Coordinators:
Field Coordinator - Jim Hoff
Field Coordinator - Bill Evers
Pitching Coordinator - Dick Bosman
Pitching Coordinator - Dewey Robinson
Hitting Coordinator - Steve Livesey
Hitting Coordinator - Matt Quatraro
Outfield/Baserunning Coordinator - Skeeter Barnes
Catching Coordinator - Jamie Nelson
Medical Training Coordinator - Joe Benge
Rehabilitation Coordinator - Joel Smith
Strength and Conditioning Coordinator - Trung Cao
Equipment Manager - Tim McKechney
Assistant Equipment Manager - Shane Rossetti


Winter Development Program
The Rays third winter development program begins Monday. Here are the 28 players expected to attend the three-day event according to Stacy Long:

Pitchers: Jeff Ames, Alex Colome, Jake Floethe, Taylor Guerrieri, Jesse Hahn, Lenny Linsky, Parker Markel, Wilking Rodriguez, Enny Romero, Blake Snell, Albert Suarez, and Jake Thompson

Catchers: Luke Bailey and Justin O'Conner

Infielders: Ryan Brett, Derek Dietrich, Johnny Eierman, Tyler Goeddel, Jake Hager, and Brandon Martin

Outfielders: Kes Carter, Granden Goetzman, James Harris, Mikie Mahtook, Ty Morrison, Cody Rogers, Josh Sale, and Drew Vettleson


Fernando Rodney Signed
The Rays have signed RHRP Fernando Rodney to a $1.75 million major league contract for 2012 with a team option for $2.5 million in 2013 or a $250,000 buyout. Here is what the team had to say:

Rodney, 34, went 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA (32-IP, 16-ER) in 39 relief appearances for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2011. He held opponents to a .224 (26-for-116) batting average and recorded 26 strikeouts. A strained upper back forced him to spend 35 games on the disabled list from June 9–July 21, and he pitched in just two of the Angels final 29 games to end the season.

“Fernando’s pure stuff is top-notch and can beat hitters both in and out of the strike zone,” said Rays Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. “We feel he will be able to maximize his ability with us to further strengthen our bullpen.”

And here are what the numbers have to say:

Year   Age Team  W  L  ERA   G GS SV    IP  BB  SO ERA+  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2002    25  DET  1  3 6.00  20  0  0  18.0  10  10   72 1.944 12.5  1.0  5.0  5.0
2003    26  DET  1  3 6.07  27  0  3  29.2  17  33   72 1.753 10.6  0.6  5.2 10.0
2004    27  Did not play
2005    28  DET  2  3 2.86  39  0  9  44.0  17  42  150 1.273  8.0  1.0  3.5  8.6
2006    29  DET  7  4 3.52  63  0  7  71.2  34  65  130 1.186  6.4  0.8  4.3  8.2
2007    30  DET  2  6 4.26  48  0  1  50.2  21  54  108 1.322  8.2  0.9  3.7  9.6
2008    31  DET  0  6 4.91  38  0 13  40.1  30  49   92 1.587  7.6  0.7  6.7 10.9
2009    32  DET  2  5 4.40  73  0 37  75.2  41  61  104 1.467  8.3  1.0  4.9  7.3
2010    33  LAA  4  3 4.24  72  0 14  68.0  35  53   94 1.544  9.3  0.5  4.6  7.0
2011    34  LAA  3  5 4.50  39  0  3  32.0  28  26   85 1.688  7.3  0.3  7.9  7.3
9 Seasons       22 38 4.29 419  0 87 430.0 233 393  102 1.463  8.3  0.8  4.9  8.2

RP Notes
And finally a couple of site notes. Over the holidays I added links to the Depth Chart. If you click on a player's name his baseball-reference page will open in a new tab on your browser. Not a big deal, but much easier than using bbref's search engine, especially for players with common names.

I also updated the Prospect WebRing. The WebRing is designed to help you find info on other organizations prospects and minor leaguers from sites similar to RaysProspects. It's amazing how many good sites have gone out of business the last few years, so I did the best I could with what I could find. If you know of a better site than any of the ones I have listed please leave a comment or drop me a line at dougmilhoan@raysprospects.com. Sites have to be free (no pay walls) and preferably with a focus on an organization's minor league teams and prospects.