Rays/MLB

Devil Rays decline Meadows' option

By EDUARDO A. ENCINA
Published November 4, 2006

The Devil Rays declined to pick up their option on 31-year-old reliever Brian Meadows, the team announced Friday.

Meadows was 3-6 with a 5.17 ERA and eight saves in 54 relief appearances. In a bullpen that struggled to have defined roles, he was a long reliever, setup man and closer during the season.

"We made the decision ... not to exercise Brian's option for '07," executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "Brian did a good job for us in '06, and we are still in the early stages of trying to piece together a dynamic bullpen for '07."

Meadows at one point converted eight straight save opportunities after taking over the closer role from the injured Tyler Walker, but shortly after, he allowed 11 runs in three appearances spanning 31/3 innings and his ERA went from 3.97 to 5.65. On the season, he allowed 17 of his 30 inherited runners to score.

"After those tough three outings in a row, I kind of thought that it would be up in the air," Meadows said from his home in Troy, Ala. "But I think that when you take those three outings away, I had a pretty good year. It really didn't surprise me. I've been around long enough to know this is a business. Now, we just kind of wait and see what happens."

Meadows, a nine-year veteran who could have made up to $1.05-million had the team picked up his option, said he would be open to re-signing for less as a free agent. The Rays signed him for $650,000 after he was released by the Dodgers after spring training.

Eduardo A. Encina can be reached at eencina@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 4, 2006, 01:45:14]