The Tampa Bay Rays made their first major league free agent signing after the lockout on Thursday, agreeing to a one-year deal with reliever Jason Adam.
The 30-year-old spent the last two seasons with the Chicago Cubs, where he appeared in 25 games, including 12 in 2021. He went 1-0 with a 5.91 earned run average last season, aloowing seven runs in 10 2/3 innings. Five of the seven runs game in one outing, on April 25 against Milwaukee. In 79 career big league relief appearances, he hold a record of 6-4, with a 4.71 ERA.
The right-hander was drafted in the fifth round of the 2010 draft out of Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas. He will wear number 47 with the Rays.
To make room for Adam on the 40-man roster, Tampa Bay has placed pitcher Tyler Glasnow (recovery from Tommy John Surgery) on the 60-day injured list.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
