Rays Sign Outfielder Rocco Baldelli to Minor-League Deal

Filed under: Rays , AL East , MLB Injuries When the Rays made it to the World Series in 2008, they got a boost late in the season from Rocco Baldelli . They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but the Rays appear to be trying their best to disprove that maxim. The Rays signed Baldelli, who had been serving as a special assistant coach, to a minor-league contract Monday. He hasn't played a game since he was with the Red Sox last season but could be in the lineup when the Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs take the field on Monday night. To call Baldelli's career star-crossed would be an understatement. He was the sixth overall pick of the 2000 draft, finished third for the 2003 Rookie of the Year Award and kept showing improvement in his first few years. He also kept getting hurt, missing the entire 2005 season and half the 2006 season with knee and elbow problems and much more time in recent years with channelopathy, a condition that causes fatigue and muscle problems.