2011 Tampa Bay Rays season
| 2011 Tampa Bay Rays | |
|---|---|
| A.L. Wild Card winners | |
| Major League affiliations | |
|
|
|
|
| Location | |
|
|
|
|
| Results | |
| Record | 91–71 (.562) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Stuart Sternberg |
| General manager(s) | Andrew Friedman (de facto) |
| Manager(s) | Joe Maddon |
| Local television |
Sun Sports (Dewayne Staats, Brian Anderson) |
| Local radio |
Tampa Bay Rays Radio Network, Andy Freed, Dave Wills (English) Genesis 680 (Spanish) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The Tampa Bay Rays 2011 season was the team's 14th season of baseball. Despite starting the season 0-6 and trailing the Boston Red Sox by 9 games as late in the season as September 1, the Rays captured the AL Wild Card and made consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in franchise history. However, they lost to the Texas Rangers in four games in the Division Series, the second year in a row they lost to Texas in the first round of the playoffs.
The Rays declined the options of reliever Dan Wheeler and infielder Willy Aybar, and added Elliot Johnson to the 40-man roster on November 3, 2010. Becoming a free agent, Wheeler stated that he was open to re-sign with the Rays, saying the two sides talked about "keeping the lines of communication open." Aybar is eligible for arbitration, and therefore remains under the team's control.
Seven of the Rays' nine free agents were offered arbitration on November 23, 2010. Those players were left fielder Carl Crawford, utility player Brad Hawpe, and relievers Grant Balfour, Rafael Soriano, Randy Choate, Chad Qualls, and Joaquín Benoit. All seven players declined arbitration. First baseman Carlos Peña and reliever Dan Wheeler were the two players not offered arbitration.
On December 3, 2010, the Rays tendered first baseman Dan Johnson, while infielder Willy Aybar, catcher Dioner Navarro, and relievers Lance Cormier and J. P. Howell were nontendered. Howell, who missed the entire 2010 season with a shoulder injury and will reportedly miss the beginning of April in 2011, was expected to re-sign with the team, and did so on December 14.
...
Wikipedia