Having lost their entire bullpen -- well, five of them at least --to free agency, theTampa Bay Rays are showing real interest in left-hander Brian Fuentes, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Fuentes would presumably close for the Rays, which might give them the edge in negotiations. The majority of those interested are viewing the southpaw as a late-inning matchup arm or a setup man, including the Yankees and Red Sox.
It is Fuentes unlikely to command anything close to the two-year, $17.5 million deal the left-hander inked with the Angels two years ago. There are reports that Fuentes is seeking a three-year deal, but that appears overly ambitious.
SI.com's Jon Heyman tweeted Tuesday that the Red Sox are still interested in Fuentes, despite having signed both Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler, as well as Matt Albers to bolster their bullpen. Fuentes, a southpaw, would essentially replace Hideki Okajima, who was non-tendered last month.
Heyman adds that several other clubs have interest in Fuentes as well, including the Rays, Rockies, Twins, Yankees, Brewers, Blue Jays, Pirates and Phillies. The Phillies, however, may be out now that they have re-signed J.C. Romero, and it appears to be a long shot that the Rays or Mariners would invest that kind of payroll in a setup man.
After the rough winter that was for the Rays (losing Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford and likely Rafael Soriano), they still need to keep with the Joneses in the AL East aka the Red Sox and Yankees. While losing Crawford and Pena is a huge loss to their lineup, they still return the same starting pitching staff that finished 2nd in the AL in ERA (3.78). The Rays plan of attack could be to continue to add to their pitching and adding Fuentes to a bullpen would help. He could serve as a lefty specialist (.128 off him last year) and could fill in as closer (4 seasons of over 30 saves).
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