Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays finalized and officially announced their one-year contract with Luke Scott. Scott was signed to serve primarily as the Rays' new DH. Last season, Scott posted a .703 OPS. What a terrible idea! What has become of the Rays' once-brilliant front office??
Scott, of course, is supposed to be better than that, and was hampered in 2011 by a shoulder injury that he had repaired by a team of medical professionals. The Rays are banking on a rebound.
Oh, and that contract? Buster Olney has details:
Luke Scott's deal: $5 million, with $1m buyout on a $6m option for 2013. And there are bonuses based on plate appearances built in.
I'd call those the contract "deets" if I were horrible. Scott earned $6.4 million with the Orioles last season, so he's taking a pay cut, at least in terms of guaranteed money. But he's not going to go broke.
Something to think about: as an Oriole, between 2008-2011, Scott posted a 119 OPS+. Over that span, he hit .291/.377/.566 at home, and .229/.305/.403 on the road. Meaningful? Not meaningful? Scott's adjustment to Tropicana Field could be even rougher than we thought.