--RHP Joe Nelson has apparently signed with the team, though no official announcement was made. The 34-year-old told several media outlets that the deal was completed Dec. 24. Nelson was 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA for the Marlins last season.
--C Shawn Riggans has been working out at Tropicana Field three times a week in an effort to rehab from season-ending knee surgery last September. Riggans appeared in only 44 games in 2008 but managed to provide some big moments for the team. While he had only 30 hits, he drove in 24 runs. --OF Dan Johnson was traded to the Yokohama BayStars for cash. Rays fans will long remember Johnson, whose pinch home run off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth Sept. 9 in Boston tied the score and allowed the Rays to come back for a 5-4 victory, their first at Fenway Park last season.
--RHP Juan Salas is 1-0 with a 5.69 ERA in nine appearances with Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League. The right-hander had little impact on the Rays last season after missing all of spring training because of visa problems. He appeared in only five games with the Rays and was not included on the postseason roster.
--INF Willy Aybar is playing third base for Licey in the Dominican league. He has eight RBI in his first 13 games.
BY THE NUMBERS: O -- Number of games C Shawn Riggans started in his high school career at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, a baseball power in South Florida.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We plan for and expect the Yankees and Red Sox to have the highest payrolls in the game. Their player expenditures are four to six times ours. This puts into perspective what we were able to accomplish in 2008, and it highlights our challenge in 2009 and beyond." -- Rays president Matt Silverman on the Yankees' recent spending spree.
