Aside from the occasional placement of a player on the disabled list, it's beginning to look suspiciously like Tampa Bay GM Chuck LaMar only comes into the office around once a month. In late June, the Devil Rays overturned 20% of their roster. Yesterday, Tampa designated Doug Creek and Dave McCarty for assignment, demoted Jason Smith, recalled Victor Zambrano, and added Carl Crawford and Andy Sheets to the roster. The only moves made between the end of June and yesterday were related to the activation of Ryan Rupe from the disabled list, returning Rupe to the DL, and placing Wilson Alvarez on the DL.

I predict the next set of Devil Ray moves to happen August 16th, unless he starts doodling on the roster while discussing Randy Winn trades prior to the July 31st deadline. Now, we'd best examine this recent flurry of activity, but first I'll take a look at the injured players.

Tampa activated Rupe from the DL July 11th. In his first start following his return, he reportedly aggravated his knee while covering home after a wild pitch and consequently had to leave that game against Oakland in the third inning. The next day he returned to the DL, once again due to tendinitis in his right knee. His first stint on the disabled list lasted only 16 days, but it's safe to assume that Tampa will likely be more cautious about bringing him back this time. The team has yet to announce a schedule for his rehab.

During the short time he was active, Rupe took the roster spot of Russ Johnson, who is on the restricted list for personal reasons. Johnson left the team the Saturday before the All-Star break and was expected back after the break, however the Devil Rays had not heard from him as of last week.

Brandon Backe replaced Rupe on the roster. Tampa drafted Backe out of Galveston Texas Junior College as a position player in the 18th round of the 1998 draft. He threw two innings that season but primarily played in the field for Princeton in the Rookie level Appalachian League. Backe had limited power and no speed to complement his poor plate discipline, so the Devil Rays decided to have him switch to pitching in 2001. He experienced immediate success as a reliever in the A-level South Atlantic League and was quickly moved through A+ to AA last season. Amazingly the Rays had the 24-year-old righty starting in the AA Southern League at Orlando to start this season. He has 14 starts in 20 appearances, totaling 92.1 IP with a 45:37 K:BB while allowing 91 H and 9 HR.

The Baseball America Prospect Handbook claims he has four pitches, "complimenting his [93 mph] fast ball with a curveball, slider and changeup", though John Sickels commented in the 2002 Minor League Scouting Notebook that Backe "doesn't have a breaking pitch or changeup yet." While I think highly of Sickels' work, the surrounding information seems to support Baseball America's comments and provided he has four pitches, I can understand why Tampa might try to use him as a starter. However, his AA stat line indicates he's much more suited to a relief role where he can concentrate more on his control over a shorter span of innings. Tampa evidently reached a similar conclusion, as the relief appearances are reportedly due to a move back to the pen in the last two weeks.

I'm troubled that he's had no AAA experience prior to his major league promotion, but since the Devil Rays plan to use him exclusively in relief, he should be able to put together an acceptable performance. Jorge Sosa has once again replaced Rupe in the rotation.

The Devil Rays placed Alvarez on the DL last week with elbow tendinitis. Earlier in the season, Alvarez spent 45 days on the DL with a strained rib cage muscle. Although he's only 32, Alvarez's most recent injury troubles have caused him to contemplate retirement. He lost large portions of the 1998 and 1999 seasons to shoulder problems and only pitched a handful of innings in the minors in 2000 and 2001 following shoulder surgery in May of 2000. While Alvarez ultimately decided to go through with rehabbing the elbow, LaMar has announced he will be limited to relief work if he's able to rejoin the team this season.

Alvarez is in the final year of a five-year, $35M contract he signed with the Devil Rays before the 1998 season. During the course of that contract, Alvarez provided Tampa with 349.2 IP in which he allowed 344 H and 50 HR with a 266:171 K:BB for a 4.71 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. Provided his elbow problem doesn't linger, I see no reason for him not to sign with someone this off-season, though obviously his injury history suggests that interested clubs limit their risks by offering short-term contracts, and even with one-year deals, he's unlikely to receive overly large offers.

Considering that the majority of his injury problems stemmed from his now repaired shoulder, his stat line this season suggests that he could do quite well in relief. In 47 IP this season, he has a 31:24 K:BB with 55 H and 10 HR allowed. His primary trouble has been with homers and you'd prefer he cut back on his walks, but a move to relief should help him with both those problems as well as to increase his already nice K/9.

The Devil Rays called up Luis de los Santos to replace Alvarez on the roster and in the rotation. De los Santos signed with the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic in 1995. He worked his way through the system and achieved target skill levels. He did not play last season due to injury. A move from AAA to Rookie ball in 1999 indicates a probable beginning of his injury problems, as does the fact he only had 15 innings in 2000. Tampa signed him as a minor league free agent this off-season. He had 11 starts in 18 appearances at AAA Durham in the International League. In 86 IP, De Los Santos allowed only 73 H and 6 HR with a 54:13 K:BB.

I'm concerned that he might need more time in AAA considering his limited experience at the level and recent extended absence from the minors His first start went poorly, but I expect him to remain in the rotation until Rupe returns. The 24-year-old could still turn into an acceptable starter, or more likely, a quality reliever.

The Devil Rays' decision to designate Doug Creek for assignment is one of the worst moves I've seen this season. Creek's having an off-year, likely because Tampa has indiscriminately thrown the left-handed specialist against a high number of right-handers this year. Nevertheless, his numbers still haven't fallen so far that the Devil Rays shouldn't be able to acquire a nice prospect in trade, particularly considering that Creek is only making $650K this season. The team has 10 days to either trade, outright, or release him; a player needs to pass through waivers if they're outrighted or released. With 10 days until the July 31st trading deadline, Tampa will likely try to trade Creek. However, I doubt any team will give up much when he could easily be available on waivers in a week.

I know Creek likely wouldn't have been a part of next season's team, but they could have potentially received something of value in return for Creek. Now they likely won't receive compensation and will have to pay the salary of a player not contributing to the team.

McCarty was signed as a minor league free agent, so I have fewer objections to his designation for assignment. Given his unimpressive performance in his limited playing time and the fact that he was readily available to all teams as a free agent, I doubt the Devil Rays will be able to trade him. His presence on the team allowed Carl Crawford to spend another month at AAA, which was more beneficial to Tampa than anything McCarty could have done at the plate.

The Devils Rays drafted Carl Crawford out of Houston's Jefferson High School in the second round of the 1999 draft. Crawford played rookie ball after signing, spent 2000 in the A-level SALly League, and then moved up to AA Orlando last year. His plate discipline has always been weak, but he has very good speed and moderate power potential. This season he has 105 H, 17 2B, 9 3B, and 7 HR with a 20:69 BB:K and 26/34 SB% in 353 AB at AAA Durham for a .297 BA, .335 OBP, and .456 SLG.

Although I'm worried that he still needs to work on his strike zone judgment, he's likely better off learning from the major league coaches given Tampa's low expectations this season. I'm also more inclined to support this move knowing that the Devil Rays employ Richie Hebner, whom we've previously discussed as one of the worst hitting coaches in baseball, as their AAA hitting instructor. According to an MLB.com article by Paul C. Smith, Crawford is "the youngest Devil Ray ever at 20 years and 349 days."

Crawford should develop into a very good leadoff hitter with the proper tutelage. He will play full-time in the majors as the starting left fielder, though the Devil Rays intend to hit him low in the lineup until he has more experience. I have no objections to him hitting ninth, though if they intend to hit him any higher it should be leadoff.

Zambrano didn't suffer from his major league control problems while at AAA, so hopefully he'll be able to pitch without frequent walks following his recall. A month at AAA didn't make Jason Smith any more prepared for the majors than he was when he broke camp with the team, so his demotion makes sense. Sheets signed a minor league deal with the Devil Rays this off-season. He'll serve as another infielder, though the Tampa infield is already somewhat crowded. The 30-year-old has shown unusual power and even some speed at AAA this season but his plate discipline still remains poor.