“It’s a dream come true to appear on the cover of MLB 2K13.”

The Rays’ official Twitter account had a picture of Price on the cover.

Who’s that good looking guy on the cover of MLB2k13? #CyPrice twitter.com/RaysBaseball/s…

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) January 9, 2013

Extremely exciting to see Price acknowledged once again and see Rays talked about in the mainstream media. Hopefully the game will live up to its billing with Price on the cover and many more honors are still to come for Price as a Tampa Bay Ray.

In other news, two Rays finalized contracts to sign in places other than Tampa Bay Rays. His return won’t be coming with the Rays, but it’s very exciting to see Scott Kazmir signing with the Indians, finally getting an opportunity to make a big league team after his career came apart, and the Rays will miss J.P. Howell as he headed to the Dodgers. Good luck to both of them with their new teams and it will be fun to welcome to welcome them back to Tampa Bay when that time comes.

The prototypical reliever comes into a game amped up knowing that it’s his opportunity to overpower hitters, earn his paycheck, and do everything in his power to lead his team to victory. J.P. Howell was not your prototypical reliever. He almost seemed to enter every game scared, wondering if this was the game where his bubble would burst and his career would finally come apart again. He couldn’t simply relax and let his potential come out because he knew he was running on fumes. When he allowed a home run, you saw him put his head down sulking, wondering “why here, why now.” It was as depressing of a site as you’ll see in baseball during that 2011 season when Howell managed just a 6.16 ERA in 46 relief appearances and his frustration only continued to build. And even when Howell was successful and got a huge strikeout to escape a jam, he pumped his fist but always had this look on his face that made it seem like he couldn’t believe what he had just done.

The emotions that play a huge part in Howell’s game were what made him fail so badly as a starter, managing just a 6.34 ERA in 33 starts and 166 innings pitched with the Kansas City Royals and the Devil Rays from 2005 to 2007, as he got too down on himself after a tough inning and could never recover. But out of the bullpen, Howell’s grasp of the fact that any game could be his last was what drove him to all the success he achieved. It made him push himself to the limits and fight through his fear to give hitters everything he had. It made him do everything in his power to make something out of nothing and pull a rabbit out of the hat one more time. For two years in 2008 and 2009 and then in his finale performance in a Rays uniform in the second half of 2012, J.P. Howell left the crowds mystified as he pulled off his act again and again and gave Rays fans a show they will never forget. Best of luck to Howell as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Unfortunately, the Rays had to take the ball out of Howell’s hands after a great run in Tampa Bay, and next season we’ll be seeing him in another uniform. (Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports)

It was back in June of 2006 that the Rays acquired a left-handed pitcher named J.P. Howell from the Kansas City Royals. Howell had been a former first round pick turned failed starter, and he continued pitching like that in call-ups with the Rays in 2006 and 2007. But in 2008, the Rays decided to convert Howell to the bullpen, and the results turned out better than anyone could have expected. For a two-year stretch, Howell was among the best lefty relievers in baseball and a crucial part of the Rays’ sudden emergence in the AL East, going 13-6 with a 2.48 ERA, a 9.9 K/9, a 4.2 BB/9, a 0.8 HR/9, and 20 saves in 133 appearances and 156 innings pitched. He would miss 2010 with shoulder surgery and would feel lingering effects in 2011, but he would finish his Rays career strongly in 2012, managing a 3.04 ERA in 55 appearances on the year including a 1.15 ERA and a Rays record 27.1 scoreless innings pitched from June 14th- until the end of the season. Howell re-signed with the Rays once, after the 2010 season, but unfortunately this time his Rays career is really coming to an end as he agreed to a 1-year contract worth 2.85 million dollars plus incentives with the Los Angeles Dodgers, joining ex-Rays outfielder Carl Crawford and former executive Gerry Hunsicker. Sad to see Howell go, but best of luck to him in Los Angeles and hopefully he can continue progressing back towards his 2008-2009 peak as he moves past his surgery.

Even after letting Howell leave and trading away Wade Davis and Burke Badenhop, the Rays bullpen is still quite impressive. In fact, ESPN’s Buster Olney ranked (Insider-only) the Rays’ bullpen the second-best behind only the Atlanta Braves, with the primary reasons being the dynamic trio of Fernando Rodney, Joel Peralta, and Jake McGee. The Rays have some work to do constructing the rest of the bullpen beyond those three, but a few free agent signings could be coming, and electric arms like Chris Archer, Roberto Hernandez, Cesar Ramos, Josh Lueke, Alexander Torres, and Dane De La Rosa are in the mix right now for the final three or four spots in the ‘pen. Ever since the Rays have become contenders, their bullpen has been a crucial part of their success, going from one of their Achilles’ heels to one of their biggest strengths. From 1998 to 2007, the Rays bullpen was 4th-worst in baseball in ERA (4.65), striking out the 2nd-fewest batters while allowing the 5th-most walks. Since then, the Rays’ relief core has been unbelievable, finishing second to the Braves in ERA at 3.48, improving to just 14th in strikeouts but walking the 3rd-fewest batters. In 2012, the Rays bullpen was at its absolute best, finishing third in baseball with a 2.88 ERA, finishing 4th in strikeouts while walking the 3rd-fewest, and the Rays will look to continue that moving forward even as some of the names change. With Rodney, Peralta, and McGee looking unhittable in the late innings and a group of fireballing middle relievers bridging the gap to get to them, expect another outstanding season from the Rays bullpen in 2013.

We’ve only talked about departures so far, but the Rays did actually make a signing, although they also let another player go. According to Baseball America’s Minor League Transactions, the Rays have re-signed catcher Craig Albernaz to a deal while releasing third baseman Felix Gonzalez. Albernaz, 30, has never hit at all and is not any sort of prospect, but he’s an outstanding defensive catcher and he has become an incredible resource for the Rays as a backup catcher, emergency pitcher (he pitched 6 times in 2012, including two games in a row once), and most importantly, a veteran presence working with the catchers and pitchers in the Rays system. I wrote back in November that I would have been “absolutely shocked” if Albernaz left, and the Rays certainly have every reason to keep him to help out their prospects. (The Rays may have also been the only team willing to offer Albernaz an opportunity to continue his playing career instead of simply instructing full-time.) It’s nice to welcome Albernaz back to the organization, and when pitchers and catchers arrive in the major leagues for the Rays, one thing to remember is that Albernaz likely played a role in their development.

Gonzalez, 22, is another all-field, no-hit type of player, but those guys are many times less valuable at third base. I liked Gonzalez’s defensive tools when I saw him, but he didn’t hit at all in five seasons in the Rays system. Good luck to Gonzalez trying to catch on with another organization.

Joe Smithof the Tampa Bay Times wrote an article about Jose Molina in today’s Tampa Bay Times, but the most interest quote was about fellow catcher Chris Gimenez.

“He’s a great makeup guy, outstanding,” Maddon said. “He goes down to the minor leagues and reinvents himself on the right side of the field. Defensively speaking, you know that pitchers love to throw to him. He’s a total gamer, a strong kid, too. He did a great job, an absolutely fabulous job.”