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By JOHN ROMANO
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 21, 2000
ST. PETERSBURG -- Just about the time Miguel Cairo was due for a raise, the Devil Rays decided they were due for a change at second base.
The Rays moved Cairo, and five other players, off the 40-man roster Monday to make room for minor league prospects who needed to be protected before next month's Rule V draft.
Quinton McCracken, Jim Morris, Ozzie Timmons, Jeff Sparks, Cedric Bowers and Cairo were designated for assignment, giving the Rays 10 days to trade or release them. Prospects Matt White, Bobby Seay, Brent Abernathy, Jesus Colome, Jason Standridge, Delvin James and Travis Phelps were added to the roster.
Cairo, 26, was the only surprise on the list, although the Rays had been intimating for months that they could have a new second baseman in 2001.
Although Cairo was the Rays starter at second for the franchise's first 2 1/2 years, club officials felt he had not progressed much. By the end of last season, Bobby Smith and Russ Johnson were sharing time at second.
Now that he is arbitration eligible, Cairo was likely to triple his $295,000 salary.
With Smith and Johnson available at a much lower salary, and with Abernathy on the horizon, Cairo's value was significantly decreased.
"We think Miguel Cairo will continue his career in the major leagues, but with the combination of Brent Abernathy, Bobby Smith and Russ Johnson, we liked the competition at second base," general manager Chuck LaMar said. "By the end of the year, we just felt we needed to go in a different direction."
Cairo hit .275 in his three seasons and is the club's leader in stolen bases with 69. He is second to Fred McGriff in career games and at-bats. But Cairo did not excel in many facets the Rays considered necessary in a second baseman. He did not move runners over, he did not take pitches or draw walks and he had concentration lapses defensively.
"From a statistical standpoint, he played solidly for us," LaMar said. "However, he must do the little things that come with the job at second base. He struggled at times to do those little things."
McCracken, 30, was in a similar situation as Cairo. Still coming back from a serious knee injury, McCracken was not likely to be more than a role player in the outfield. With the Rays, McCracken would have commanded a minimum salary of $1.5-million. If he is not traded and clears waivers, another team can sign McCracken for much less money.
The Rays already have paid McCracken $3.7-million over two seasons when he had just 179 major league at-bats.
"Quinton McCracken was our second selection in the expansion draft and our first MVP, and he did everything he possibly could for this organization," LaMar said. "But it got to a point, because of the injury, we thought he would be an extra player. As an extra player he was going to make a salary of $1.5-million, and we had to make that decision with him."
Morris, the former high school chemistry teacher who made a storybook journey to the majors, is recovering from elbow surgery. If he clears waivers, he could sign a Rays minor league contract. Tampa Bay might also try to re-sign Timmons if he clears.
The prospects had to be added to the roster because they had accumulated enough time in the minor leagues to be eligible for the Rule V draft. The draft prevents teams from stockpiling talent in the minors.
Nearly half the players on Tampa Bay's 40-man roster have one year or less of major league service time. "I haven't seen the other 40-man rosters, but I don't think there is any question that we have more young players protected than any team in the majors," LaMar said.
ATHLETICS: Rightfielder Matt Stairs, who hit 122 homers during 41/2 seasons with Oakland, was traded to the Cubs for right-handed pitcher Eric Ireland.
BOSTON: Red Sox legend and Citrus County resident Ted Williams, who had a pacemaker implanted Nov. 6, was released from Shands Hospital in Gainesville, and returned to his home in nearby Hernando.
CUBS: Sammy Sosa was upbeat about talks with the Chicago Cubs on a contract extension. Sosa, who led the majors last season with 50 home runs, said he expected some team to meet his salary demand, reported at $100-million for six years. "I think Chicago is going to come through," Sosa said. "If they don't sign me, definitely I'm going to move. Right now we're talking and let's see what happens. I think it's going to happen."
INDIANS: Ellis Burks, 36, became the first free agent hitter to change teams this off-season, agreeing with Cleveland on a $20-million, three-year contract. Burks hit .344 with 24 home runs and 96 RBI in 393 at-bats last season for the Giants.
MARLINS: Florida purchased the contracts of right-handed pitchers Wes Anderson, Gary Knotts, Blaine Neal and Claudio Vargas, left-handed pitcher Geoff Goetz and outfielder Abraham Nunez at Class AA. Anderson, 21, went 6-9 with a 3.42 ERA in 22 games at Class A, striking out 91 in 115.2 innings. Goetz, 21, who attended Tampa's Jesuit High School, was 6-2 with five saves and a team-leading 1.75 ERA in 27 games at Class A this season.
YANKEES: New York released right-handed relief pitcher Jason Grimsley, 33, who was 3-2 with a save and 5.04 earned run average om 63 games last season.
- Information from Times wires was used in this report.