Rays Add Southpaw Specialist

The Rays filled a much needed bullpen position yesterday when they finalized a deal for the services of southpaw specialist Brian Shouse.

Trevor Miller held down the position last season, but he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals this off-season, which paved the way for the Rays to add Shouse.

Shouse expects to be a much needed upgrade. The 40-year old Shouse appeared in 69 games last season for the Milwaukee Brewers where he amounted a record of 5-1 with a 2.81 ERA. He also held left-handed batters to an average of .180.

Shouse turned down arbitration with Milwaukee after making $2 million in 2008. In 422 career appearances, dating back to 1993, where he made his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Shouse has compiled a 12-9 record with a 3.65 ERA.

"We're excited to add Brian to the organization," Rays executive vice president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman said. "He brings a lot to our bullpen. He's had a tremendous amount of success the last few seasons - especially against left-handers. He generates a lot of ground balls. He doesn't walk guys. He keeps the ball in the park, and we feel like he is going to help diversify our bullpen even more and strengthen it beyond where we were earlier this off-season."

For the Rays, the addition of Shouse and his consistent performance over his career seems to be a step up over what Trevor Miller provided last season where Miller amounted a 4.15 ERA in 68 games - with a career 4.43 ERA in 519 career games.

The past three years, Shouse has amounted 207 games with an ERA of 3.22. Details of the contract were not disclosed, but is expected to include an option for the 2010 season.