Lot of new faces on display for Rays

A lot of new faces will be on display for the Rays this spring with half of their 40 man roster made of players who were not on the roster when last season ended.

Of the 62 players in camp, 25 (40%) joined the organization during the off season and 33 (53 percent) are in their first major league camp with the Rays. Only six of the 62 players have more than two years of service time with the Rays and no one has more than five years.

Three new faces scheduled to see action today in Port Charlotte against a Pittsburgh Pirates split squad are Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta and Cesar Ramos.

Farnsworth and Peralta figure to be fighting for the closer’s job left vacant after Rafael Soriano left for the Yankees. The 34 year-old right-handed Peralta held opposing hitters to a .170 batting average after joining the Washington Nationals last year at the end of June. He is considered a sleeper who might have come into his own last year after focusing on his curve and split while discarding his slider.