Rays commit to Huff

ST. PETERSBURG - The numbers on Aubrey Huff's new contract are impressive enough: $14.5-million over three years. But the greater significance may be the statement the Devil Rays made, and the questions they answered, in signing one of their best young players to a rich multiyear deal.

"There's no question there's a message in this," managing general partner Vince Naimoli said Thursday. "We said all along we're going to develop young talent and we're going to hold on to young talent, and that's the message. It's a milestone."

The contract is the first big-money deal the Rays have given to one of their homegrown players, and Huff was a logical choice, coming off the best offensive season in club history (.311 with 34 homers and 107 RBIs) and heading into the first of what would have been three years of arbitration eligibility.

Though the Rays still could trade Huff or lose him to free agency after the 2006 season, the deal would seem to allay fans' concerns that the Rays would make it a practice to get rid of their rising stars as soon as they started to become expensive.

General manager Chuck LaMar called it "one of the most significant days" in franchise history.

"A lot has been said and written that, "Okay, you've got this nucleus of young players either here or coming, but what good is it going to do us as fans and help us win if they are going to go off and play somewhere else,"' LaMar said.

"That's why I think this is truly a historic day for this organization. We're showing everyone - fans, players, competition - that we're going to sign and develop some of the best players in baseball and we're going to keep those players and win a championship here."

Huff, a 1998 fifth-round draft pick, said he is genuinely excited to be part of that process, honored to be rewarded for his efforts and enthused about the team's direction.

"I love the Tampa Bay area and I want to spend the rest of my career here," Huff said. "I'm really excited about the way it's shaping up right now."

Huff expects the team to be at least competitive in 2004 and headed toward the postseason in the near future.

"If we can pull that off in the next few years and create something from the just absolute laughingstock that everybody has always said we are, and come out and turn all those Yankees fans that come out to the stadium into believers, that would be the sweetest thing you could do," he said.

The money, which makes Huff the team's highest-paid player by annual average, is sure to bring pressure, expectations and demands. But Huff, wearing jeans and a casual shirt, insisted it won't lead to major changes in his life.

He plans to take care of his mother, Fonda, a Seminole High math teacher who raised him and his sister - "Whatever I have is hers," he said - and is interested in starting a charitable foundation to benefit kids raised in single-parent homes.

"I'm playing big-league baseball, I've got a good family, there's really not much more you can really ask for," Huff said "I've got a car and a house, what more do you need? I'm not really thinking about anything else."

Huff will get $2.5-million this season, $4.75-million in 2005 and $6.75-million in 2006, plus a $500,000 signing bonus.

The contract covers the three years Huff would be eligible for arbitration, giving the Rays cost certainty in an uncertain market but putting them at risk should Huff be injured or his performance decline.

Huff, 27, gets the security of guaranteed money and retains the opportunity to be a free agent at the end of the deal but could end up underpaid if his performance continues to improve significantly.

"This signing is a statement that we as an organization plan to reward our best young players with long-term security, and certainly Aubrey deserves it," manager Lou Piniella said. "This sends a clear message that we intend on getting better, not only next year but into the future. There's a commitment here to getting better and staying better."

The Rays found the final position player they were seeking, agreeing to terms with versatile left-handed hitter Robert Fick on a one-year contract for $800,000 plus $200,000 in incentives.

Fick, 29, projects to be a busy backup as he has the ability to play the outfield, first base, catcher and DH, as well as pinch hit. He was an All-Star with Detroit in 2002, when he hit 17 home runs and led the majors with 21 outfield assists, but was let go. He signed with Atlanta and hit .269 with 11 homers and a career-high 80 RBIs as the primary first baseman but was released.

His contract will be official once he passes a physical exam.

Former big-league pitching coach Nardi Contreras, a Tampa native, has joined the Rays' minor-league coaching staff, taking a job with the rookie-level Princeton (W.Va.) team.

The Rays kept the staff at their top two affiliates intact: manager Bill Evers and coaches Joe Coleman and Richie Hebner at Triple-A Durham and manager Charlie Montoyo and coaches Dick Bosman and Skeeter Barnes with the Double-A team that moved from Orlando to Montgomery, Ala.

Steve Livesey gets his first managing job with Class A Charleston, joined by coaches Marty DeMerritt and Omer Munoz; Dave Howard returns to short-season Hudson Valley with coaches Rafael Montalvo and Jorge Robles; and Jamie Nelson again will manage Princeton, accompanied by Contreras and Manny Castillo.

Jerry Nyman, who pitched for the White Sox and Padres and has been a coach for 17 years, was hired as minor-league pitching coordinator.