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• Welington Castillo was non-tendered by the Arizona Diamondbacks are the Rays are expected to aggressively pursue the catcher
• The Rays announced several promotions and new hires for their club personnel
• The Boston Red Sox are interested in adding Pedro Alvarez
• Former Rays reliever, Joaquin Benoit is close to signing with the Philadelphia Phillies
• After Friday’s non-tender deadline passed with the Rays letting go of one player, Ryan Brett (sadface), their 40-man roster stands at 39

• Another potential Rays free agent target is off the board as the New York Yankees signed Matt Holiday to a one year deal
• The Washington Nationals will be a team to watch at the meetings as they look to make a huge splash, targeting both Andrew McCutchen and Chris Sale
• The Houston Astros added another slugger to their lineup as they signed Carlos Beltran to a one year deal, this has some speculating they’re planning a run for an elite starting pitcher I.E. Chris Archer
• The Today’s Game Era Committee decided on several players who would be part of the Hall of Fame class for 2017 with Bud Selig and John Schuerholz being selected. The Tampa Bay Times wrote a case for former Rays manager, Lou Pinella.
• DAY ONE OF THE WINTER MEETINGS - RAMP UP THE HOT STOVE!

December 5th in Rays History

Three Rays were born on this date - Ryan Garton (1989), Josh Lueke (1984), and Cliff Floyd (1972)

2013 - The Rays re-signed reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo, who had missed the past season with an injury. Oviedo would pitch in 32 games for Tampa Bay in 2014, and finished the year with a 3.69 ERA and a 4.52 FIP.

2014 - The Rays announced they had hired Kevin Cash as their new manager, becoming the fifth manager in franchise history. Since he has taken the reigns the team has a record of 148-176.

Trivia

Having some fun with splits

Tropicana Field suppresses offense, except in the cases of these five players who had OPS’s north of .880 during their Rays days at the Trop (minimum of 100 plate appearances).

Hint - All five of these players are no longer active

1. 152 PA - 1.006 OPS - ?
2. 102 PA - .949 OPS - ?
3. 1,467 PA - .899 OPS - ?
4. 418 PA - .884 OPS - ?
5. 1,159 PA - .882 OPS - ?