CHICAGO - The Devil Rays have made some good acquisitions, picking up Julio Lugo when the Astros didn't want him, grabbing Paul Abbott before a market developed, trading for Tino Martinez at a huge discount.
But the Jason Romano transaction was a bad deal.
The trade was made on the recommendation of a Rays senior scout, major-league consultant Syd Thrift, a former GM, expecting the former Hillsborough High star to provide depth at second base and shortstop.
The problem was Romano hadn't played the infield since the 2003 season and was no longer comfortable doing so. Rays officials knew something was wrong when they saw Romano's quotes in the local papers about not having taken ground balls in a year.
Whether Thrift thought he saw Romano play infield this spring, as he told Rays officials, or whether he just thought Romano could play the infield, as he claimed the other day, it was bad information.
Romano said as much Friday when he joined the Reds, who made it a total loss for the Rays by claiming him on waivers.
"They were looking for a middle infielder," Romano told Cincinnati writers. "They thought they saw me play infield in spring training, but I didn't play any in spring training. When I got there they saw I was more of an outfielder, and they've got a pretty good young outfield out there, so it wasn't really a good fit."
Losing Romano isn't that big of a deal, though the Rays would have liked to have him at Triple A in case of injury, but it magnified their mistake. The bottom line is the Rays ended up giving up Antonio Perez, who last season was considered at least a potential big-league utility infielder, and getting only the $20,000 waiver fee.
Romano, meanwhile, sounded like he didn't enjoy the experience with the Rays.
"It was great to be home and play in Tampa, we always talked about doing it," he said. "We got to be there for two weeks, and now we're excited to be back out on the road. Too many tickets and too many people calling all the time."
DRAFT DAZE: The Bucs aren't the only ones talking draft. The Rays have the fourth pick in the June draft that is deep in college pitching but lacks a clear top choice or choices.
"There are a lot of players out there who have not separated themselves," said Cam Bonifay, director of player personnel and scouting. "I think the fourth pick and the 10th pick might be very, very close to being the same type of players. And I'm beginning to think the second pick and the fourth pick might be the same type player."
The Rays plan to go heavy for college pitching but won't know until the three picks are made in front of them whether they'll do so in the first round or grab a hitter (FSU's Stephen Drew?) and add pitching later.
Among the names that could surface: Long Beach State's Jered Weaver, Old Dominion's Justin Verlander, Vanderbilt's Jeremy Sowers, Oklahoma's David Purcey, Clemson's Tyler Lumsden, UCLA's Wes Whisler and Rice's Phillip Humber, Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend.
RAYS RUMBLINGS: How's this for gall? The Rays made Jim Morris a star, launching a career that includes a book, a movie and pricey speaking engagements by calling him to the majors at age 35. Yet Morris is pursuing a grievance against them, claiming he should have been on the big-league disabled list rather than in the minors in 2000. He seeks about $120,000 in pay. ... Work to close Stuart Sternberg's purchase of 48 percent of the team is progressing, and it could be done by Friday. ... ESPN the Magazine has a piece on reliever Chad Gaudin calling him the Slider Master. Washington Post baseball writer Dave Sheinin referred to him as the "right-handed slayer." ... Rays officials say Dewon Brazelton's last outing at Triple-A Durham was his best as a pro.
