“According to Ken Rosenthal, the Rays are close to signing Pat Burrell to a two-year, $16MM deal. It’d be a solid move, as the Rays can increase his value by not using him in the field. The ‘08 Rays struggled against lefties (.726 OPS) and Burrell crushes them (.952 OPS in ‘08).”

This is a strong move for the Rays for whom Burrell and his 2.8 win value in 2008 will replace the sub 1.0 Cliff Floyd as the Rays primary DH. As MLB Trade Rumors notes, Burrell’s fielding woes will be mitigated and he’ll help the Rays woeful performance against left handed pitching. Very underrated, but very strong move by the Rays.

The A.L. East keeps getting tougher.