Brignac: “Just right now it’s not working out for them and I. I’m not disappointed, I’m eagerly excited about the opportunity to play for another organization, possibly the chance to get a little more playing time. So I’m really excited with the chance to play for somebody else but I’m super gracious what the Rays have done for me. I have nothing but great things to say about those guys, the organization is one of the best organizations in baseball. It’s a little bittersweet. It’s going to be different being in a different uniform and playing for a different team, but it’s going to be a great opportunity for me I believe. There’s no hard feelings.”

“I’m not really surprised. I pay attention to what’s going on and they’re signing infielders, signing infielders, signing infielders. I just knew I possibly could be one of the guys that gets designated. I’m not bitter, I don’t have any animosity toward the Rays, I have nothing but praise and respect for those guys. They gave me the opportunity to live my lifelong dream and play in the big leagues.”

Johnson:  ”I don’t think I’m too terribly surprised. I guess it’s just a matter of this team, the Rays are one of the best teams in baseball, and things like this happen… I feel good about how I played, it was a big improvement over 2011 offensively, so I’m looking forward to 2013 and getting the chanace to do it in the big leagues with somebody else.”

Thanks for all the love and support tweeps! Going to play the waiting game and find a new home soon enough. Thanks for everything Tampa Bay!

— Elliot Johnson (@ElliotJohnson9) February 6, 2013

Brignac and Johnson understand that the Rays gave them their chances to be starting players, Brignac in 2011 and Johnson in 2012, but at the end of the day things simply didn’t work out and the Rays had to move on. It’s been for Rays fans great watching both of them on the team (and also interacting with Johnson on Twitter), but unfortunately they watched both of them fall apart and the Rays had to look elsewhere. Best of luck to Brignac and Johnson wherever they end up- no hard feelings on our end either- and Rays fans can wish them nothing but success as look to continue their careers in other organizations.

Yesterday, the fine folks at Baseball America released their “32nd team,” which was composed of 28 scouting reports of players who had been in their team’s top 31 prospects according to Baseball America but were booted out because of trades. In the Rays case, the huge James Shields trade to the Kansas City Royals netted them Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and Patrick Leonard, and four players who had been considered top 31 prospects were displaced. On Tuesday, Baseball America talked about those four players, RHP Damion Carroll, OF Granden Goetzman, RHP Roberto Gomez, and LHP Alexander Torres. The entire piece is worth the read, but here are a few highlights about each player.

Carroll has a strong, physical frame with excellent athleticism and a low-90s fastball that touches 95. He should add more velocity as he refines his mechanics. All of his secondary pitches need work, though his curveball cuts diagonally and down through the strike zone when he has a good feel for it.

Goetzman is one of the top defensive outfielders in the Tampa Bay system. He has enough speed and arm strength to man any of the three outfield positions. He remains a raw prospect but has five-tool ability provided he can stay on the field.

Gomez has a tall, lanky frame with a live arm. He does a good job of pitching off his 92-93 mph fastball and commands it well to both sides of the plate. His mid-80s slider has a short, sharp break, while his changeup is inconsistent but shows promise.

Torres generates impressive velocity for a lefthander and flashes three pitches with the potential to be solid or better. His fastball sits in the low 90s at times and features nice sink. His cutter/slider has some bite to it, and his changeup sinks as well. Torres throws across his body, which creates deception and generates movement on his pitches but also leads to control issues.

All of these four have the ability to be top 10 or 15 prospects as soon as next year- although Torres is more likely to end up in the major leagues- with Carroll and Gomez looking to further their development on the mound, Goetzman fighting to stay on the field, and Torres striving to rectify his control issues. Other prospects appearing on the “32nd team” weren’t very impressive at all and were only their team’s top 31 because their team had little organizational depth. The Rays on the other hand, have an impressive minor league system stretching well beyond their top 31 prospects, and from top to bottom the Rays are expecting plenty of good things to come from their system in coming years.

Triple-A International League: Gwinnett Bulls 10, Durham Bulls 5

An inning of nightmares sent Josh Lueke and the Bulls to a loss they would rather that not talk about. The loss was especially meaningful for the Bulls not just for what happened in the game, but the implications of the loss.

With the Bulls loss tonight and Charlotte’s win, Durham has been eliminated from the IL South race for the first time since 2006.

— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) August 19, 2012

The Bulls’ incredible run of five straight division titles has come to an end. In this game, Jim Paduch and Josh Lueke utterly imploded to allow an 8-run 5th inning to erase a 4-1 lead. Lueke had one of the worst outings of his life, allowing 6 runs on 7 hits in just two-thirds of an inning. Lueke has been pitching extremely well up until this bump in the road and hopefully this is just a one-time deal and we’ll see him pitching well in the big leagues in September. Lefty Adam Liberatore did strike out 5 while walking none in 2.1 innings of relief, but by then it was too late. Nevin Ashley did have an outstanding game for Durham, going 2 for 2 with a double, a homer, 2 walks, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, Brooks Conrad also homered, and Henry Wrigley went 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored.

Double-A Southern League: Huntsville Stars (MIL) 6, Montgomery Biscuits 5 (10 innings)

If you want to experience just a little bit of what it’s like to be an Angels fan right now, you can think about this Biscuits game. The Biscuits had a 5-0 lead after 3 innings before letting it slip away. The Biscuits scored 5 runs in the second and third innings, with 3 of the runs being driven in by ninth-place hitter Mark Thomas, and starter Jake Thompson gave the Biscuits a strong performance, going 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, striking out 2 while walking 1 and posting a 10-4 groundout to flyout ratio. But the Stars pulled within 5-3 on a Kentrail Davis home run off of C.J. Riefenhauser and tied the game in the bottom of the 8th as Kirby Yates walked the bases loaded before allowing a Brock Kjeldgaard 2-run single. And in the 10th, Davis came through again with a walk-off single against Neil Schenk as the Biscuits had completely fallen apart to lose 6-5. The Biscuits scored 5 runs on just 6 hits, but they talled 11 walks and failed to capitalize, leaving 11 runners on base in the game. Thomas went 3 for 5 with a double, 3 RBI, and a run scored in the loss.

Great to see Torrez come back the way he did. (Credit: Flickr user BeGreen90)

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 9, St. Lucie Mets 8

No disappointment here as the Stone Crabs came up with an incredible comeback of their own. Eliazer Suero tossed 3 shutout innings but came apart in the 5th, allowing 5 runs, just 2 earned after a Riccio Torrez error. On the day he was not that bad, going 3.2 innings allowing just the 2 earned runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 2 and posting a 4-2 groundout to flyout ratio, but the Stone Crabs were down 5-1. However, they pulled within 5-4 in the 5th on a Luke Bailey RBI double an RBI single by Robby Price, and an RBI groundout by Kevin Kiermaier. In the 6th, Alonzo Harris dampened the Stone Crabs’ spirits with a 2-run home run off of Theron Geith to extend the St. Lucie lead to 7-4. The game would remain that way until the 8th. And in the 8th, Bailey came up huge, drilling a 3-run home run to tie the game at 7. But adversity still remained for Charlotte as Daniel Muno singled home a run off of Lenny Linsky to give St. Lucie an 8-7 lead going to the bottom of the 9th. However, the Stone Crabs were not going to be denied. With 2 outs and no one on, Philip Wunderlich was hit by a pitch. Then Steven Tinoco singled. Riccio Torrez, who committed the pivotal error earlier in the game, got redemption with a game-tying RBI double. And an error gave the Stone Crabs a walk-off win by a score of 9-8. Bailey had an unbelievable game, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, 1 homer, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Bailey has notched 6 hits in his last 3 games, all for extra bases. This is the player that the Rays have been waiting for since the moment they drafted him in 2009 and maybe this could be Bailey’s coming-out party. Price went 3 for 4, Tinoco went 3 for 5, and Cody Rogers and Riccio Torrez both went 2 for 5, with Torrez lacing 2 doubles including the game-tying hit in the 9th.

Low-A Midwest League: South Bend Silver Hawks (ARI) 11, Bowling Green Hot Rods 10

This game may very well have been the craziest in the history of the Hot Rods. Unfortunately, they could not come away with a win. This game got off to an incredible start for Bowling Green as they scored twice on bases-loaded walks in the 1st before Drew Vettleson slammed a 2-run homer in the 2nd to give them a 4-0 lead. Roberto Gomez was great in his shortened 3 inning start as the Rays have been holding back his innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits, striking out 4 while walking none. Felipe Rivero struck out 2 in a perfect 4th and then used a double play to face the minimum in the 5th. But looking in the boxscore, there’s a line that nobody wants to see. “Rivero, Fe pitched to 7 batters in the 6th.” It was an inning that you never hope to see your entire career. Better it happen at Low-A than higher up. Rivero allowed 7 runs, 6 earned, on 6 hits as he failed to record an out in the 6th inning and Charlie Cononie allowed 3 more before he could escape the inning as the Hot Rods allowed 10 runs in the inning to fall behind 10-4. That type of inning is enough to demoralize any team. We saw a 7-run 5th inning take the life out of the Angels in the Rays’ game on Saturday night. But the Hot Rods somehow refused to be fazed and came right back. In the 6th, the Hot Rods tallied 2 runs on a Tyler Goeddel RBI double to go along with a Drew Vettleson RBI single. And in the 7th, the Hot Rods put together a rally to tie the game, with Juniel Querecuto drilling a 2-run double, Ryan Brett doubling home a run, and Vettleson singled up the middle to tie it at 10 as the Hot Rods had put together an incredible comeback. Cononie and Frank Santana both tossed scoreless half-innings in the 8th. But in the 9th, the Hot Rods picked the wrong time to fall apart defensively as throwing errors by the third baseman Goeddel and the first baseman Jeff Malm scored the go-ahead run as South Bend won 11-10. Vettleson had a big game, going 4 for 5 with a homer, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Goeddel went 3 for 5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, Jake Hager went 3 for 5, Taylor Motter went 2 for 4 with a walk, his 20th stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored, Malm went 2 for 3 with a double, 2 walks, and a run scored, and Ryan Brett doubled home a run and also stole a base, his 48th of the season.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 6, Lowell Spinners (BOS) 5

No comeback here, but it got awfully scary for the Renegades. Taylor Guerrieri started and pitched well, allowing 1 run on 4 hits in 3 innings, striking out 1 while walking none and posting a 6-0 groundout to flyout ratio. The ‘Gades took a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning on a Joel Caminero RBI double followed by a Jake DePew RBI single, and after the Spinners tallied a run in the bottom of the inning, Ryan Dunn doubled home a run in the 3rd to make it 4-1 Hudson Valley. Jeff Ames then came in for the Renegades and tossed 3 sharp innings, allowing no runs on just 1 hit, striking out 4 while walking none. The Renegades extended their lead to 6-1 with Ames in the game on a Joey Rickard sac fly to score DePew in the 4th before DePew slammed a solo home run in the 6th. Marcus Jensen and Ryan Garton then tossed a scoreless inning each and the Renegades were on their way to a crisp win. But then Dylan Floro had an inning he would like to forget. With 1 out, Floro allowed triple, single, double, with the single and double each plating a run, and then a Luke Maile error made it a 6-4 game with just 1 out. Floro forced a groundout, but then a Roberto Reyes infield single that Richie Shaffer couldn’t handle made it 6-5. But Floro forced Matthew Gedman to ground out to end it as the Renegades won 6-5. DePew had a career day, going 4 for 4 with a double, a homer, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored, Ryan Dunn went 2 for 2 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, and Tommy Coyle stole his 15th base of the season for the Renegades.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Johnson City Cardinals 9, Princeton Rays 8

Oh, Rookie ball. It spawns the types of games that you never see anywhere else, like this one. Blake Snell had a rare bad start, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits in 2 innings, striking out 2 while walking 1, and Daniel Bream allowed a Ricardo Lizcano 2-run shot in the 4th inning to give Johnson City a 5-0 lead. But then the tide completely turned. Reid Redman doubled home a run in the 5th to make it 5-1. Oscar Hernandez slammed a 2-run homer in the 6th to pull Princeton within 5-3. And then in the 7th, the P-Rays the completely reversed their fortunes. Brandon Martin led off the inning with a homer and it was 5-4. An Omar Narvaez RBI single tied the game. A 2-run double by John Alexander make it 7-5. And Ariel Soriano singled home a run to make it 8-5 as suddenly the P-Rays had scored 8 unanswered runs to turn what looked like a sure loss into a relatively comfortable lead. But anything can and does happen in Rookie ball. Nick Sawyer, who has been next to automatic for Princeton this season, came in for his second inning of work as he tried to nail down the save. Sawyer struck out the first two batters of the inning. Saywer then walked Ricardo Lizcano, but he forced C.J. McElroy to hit a groundball to short. But Martin misplayed the ball, scoring a run and keeping the Cardinals alive. And Sawyer then fell apart, allowing a Ildemaro Vargas RBI double, a Jeremy Shaeffer RBI triple, and walk-off single by Trevor Martin as Johnson City won 9-8 with 4 unearned runs in the 9th. Hernandez and Martin both homered and Omar Narvaez, John Alexander, Reid Redman, Willie Argo, and Ariel Soriano all had multi-hit games, but the result was unfortunately a debilitating loss.

An extra inning loss and a walk off victory highlight today’s trip around the minors. Overall, the Rays farm system went 3-4 on the day.

Columbus Clippers 2, Durham Bulls 1 (10 innings)

After their rain shortened game last night, the Columbus Clippers and Durham Bulls played a low scoring extra inning affair, with the Clippers winning 2-1. Columbus jumped out to the lead in the top of the first inning, as Matt LaPorta‘s sacrifice fly drove in the first run of the game. The Bulls tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, as Cole Figueroa hit a two out single, and moved to second on a wild pitch. Henry Wrigley followed with a double, driving in Figueroa. Despite scoring chances for both sides, the game remained knotted at one until the top of the tenth inning. Aaron Cunningham led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, and advance to third on a fly ball. Jason Donald‘s RBI single plated Cunningham with the eventual winning run. Brandon Gomes took the loss in relief, allowing 1 earned run on 3 hits while striking out 3 in 2 innings of work. Rich Thompson was 3-5 in the loss.

Jacksonville Suns 4, Montgomery Biscuits 0 (8 innings)

The Suns capped off a sweep of their five game series with the Biscuits, shutting them out for the third time in their 4-0 victory. Jacksonville scored all their runs in the bottom of the second, highlighted by Chris Guiterrez’s two run, bases loaded double. Jose Alvarez dominated the Biscuits, allowing only 2 hits while striking out 5 in his 8 shutout innings. Nick Barnese bounced back after his rough second inning to pitch 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 5 walks, and 3 hit batsmen while striking out 2. Donnie Webb was 0-1 with a run scored, an RBI, and 2 walks for Jacksonville.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 8, Bradenton Marauders 1

Two four run innings helped the Stone Crabs jump out to a lead, as they cruised by the Bradenton Marauders 8-1. Charlotte jumped on Bradenton starter Eliecer Navarro in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs, highlighted by Riccio Torrez‘s two run home run. The Stone Crabs scored another four runs in the bottom of the sixth, capped by a three run home run by Robi Estrada. The Marauders scored a run in the top of the ninth, however it was not enough as they lost 8-1. Eliazer Suero struggled with his control in the victory, giving up 1 hit while walking 6 in his 5.1 innings of work. Todd Glaesmann was 3-3 with 2 doubles, a run scored, an RBI, and a walk. Lucas Bailey contributed with 2 doubles.

Fort Wayne TinCaps 7, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3

Two errors by Ryan Brett helped the TinCaps jump out to an early 6-0 lead, as Fort Wayne held on for a 7-3 victory. The TinCaps struck in the bottom of the first, as Yeison Asencio hit a one out RBI single. Brett made his first error of the night in the bottom of the third, as his errant throw on an infield single allowed Travis Jankowski to advance to third. Jankowski scored on a Jace Peterson RBI single. Another Brett error factored into the scoring in the bottom of the fourth, as he misplayed a groundball. With two outs in the inning, an RBI single, a wild pitch advancing the runners, and a two run single led to a three run inning. The Hot Rods rallied in the top of the eighth, as Brett had an RBI double, and scored on Alejandro Segovia‘s two run home run. However, Matthew Stites shut the door in the top of the ninth, preserving the 7-3 win. Roberto Gomez took the loss, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts over 3 innings. Segovia and Jake Hager each had two hits for the Hot Rods.

Hudson Valley Renegades 7, Vermont Lake Monsters 5

The Renegades fell behind 5-0 early, but rallied to notch a 7-5 victory over the Lake Monsters. The Lake Monsters scored a run in the top of the second, as John Wooten struck out, but reached first on a wild pitch. Wooten scored on back to back one out singles, giving Vermont an early 1-0 lead. Miguel Marte hit a two run double in the third, and Addison Russell and Bert Vertigan had run scoring singles in the fourth as the Lake Monsters jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The Renegades came back in the bottom of the fifth, using three consecutive bases loaded singles to cut the lead to 5-4. Hudson Valley tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. Deshun Dixon led off the inning with a triple, and scored the tying run on Michael William’s base hit. Luke Maile hit a two run triple with two outs, giving the Renegades their first lead of the game. Dylan Floro picked up the victory with 2 perfect innings, striking out 4 batters. Williams was 3-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI in the win.

Princeton Rays 4, Bluefield Blue Jays 3

After squandering an early 3-0 lead, the Princeton Rays scored a walk off 4-3 victory over the Bluefield Blue Jays. The Rays jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead as Brandon Martin led off the bottom of the first with a double, and scored on Reid Redman‘s RBI single. Princeton added to the lead in the fourth, as John Alexander hit a two run home run, giving the Rays a 3-0 lead. The Blue Jays came back in the top of the seventh, as Matthew Dean had an RBI single, and came around to score on a two run triple by Jorge Vega-Rosado. The score remained tied until the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Ariel Soriano walked and stole second. Following a groundout to short, Brandon Martin hit a game winning single to center, driving in Soriano and giving the Rays a 4-3 victory. Zack Butler picked up the victory in relief, allowing 2 hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Martin was 2-5 with a double and an RBI.

GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 2

The Rays jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but fell as the Twins rallied back for a 4-2 victory. The Rays took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second on Ryan McChesney‘s RBI fielder’s choice. They expanded the lead as Yoel Araujo scored on a double play, taking a 2-0 advantage. The Twins came back in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with one out. After a run scored on a wild pitch, John Murphy hit a two run single to give the Twins the lead 3-2. Murphy came around to score on a double by Bryan Santy. Kyle Pelchy took the loss in relief, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in 1.1 innings of work. Jiminson Natera went 2-4 with a double and a run scored.