In their ongoing effort to rebuild the bullpen the Rays “have expressed interest in” Manny Delcarmen, according to Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times.
Delcarmen was traded from the Red Sox to the Rockies in August and then non-tendered last month after posting a 4.99 ERA and 38/32 K/BB ratio in 52 innings between the two teams.
He was a standout setup man for Boston in 2007 and 2008, posting a 2.81 ERA with 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings during that time, but in the two seasons since then he has a 4.74 ERA and 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
Despite his recent struggles Delcarmen still averaged 93 miles per hour with his fastball last season, so it makes sense that the Rays would try turning the 28-year-old right-hander around in a middle relief role.