The Last Remaining Tampa Bay Devil Ray

The first Devil Rays team was a ragtag bunch of castoffs, over-the-hill players, and underperforming youngsters. Even though the odds were stacked against them, several parlayed the chance they were given by the Devil Rays into long and, sometimes, distinguished careers. Others fizzled out quickly, or got stuck in the development mire that is the boundary between AAA and the Big Leagues. The last player remaining from the 1998 Opening Day Roster is Phillies utility player Miguel Cairo, although two other players have a claim on the title.

Miguel Cairo (INF/OF)- Miguel Cairo is the quintessential super-utility journeyman. Cairo was selected 8^th overall in the expansion draft. During his tenure as a Ray, he played in 389 games as a nearly-everyday utility infielder. He also recorded his best offensive years while with the Rays. Cairo's left the Rays in 2000 when he was released. Since then, he has played for 11 teams (two of them twice) across 14 seasons. He has played every position on the field except pitcher and catcher. For all his versatility, Miguel Cairo does not have eye-popping statistics: a .266 career batting average, 881 hits, and 27 home runs. He is valued for his defense. Thanks to his versatility, he is the last remaining player from the Devil Rays 1998 Opening Day Roster.

However, several other players joined the Rays during that first season. They were minor league call-ups and trades received during the highly fluid inaugural season. Two of them are still playing.

Outfielder Randy Winn made his major league debut with the Devil Rays on May 11, 1998. He was not on the Opening Day roster. However, he appears to be on pace to be the last remaining player from the 1998 Roster. Winn played five full seasons with the Devil Rays from 1998-2002. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners, where he played for two seasons before being traded to his current team, the San Francisco Giants. He has been an everyday outfielder for whatever team he played for since the 2001 season. At age 35, he shows no signs of declining production and figures to have several seasons left in the tank.

Pitcher Jason Johnson joined the Devil Rays as a member of the expansion draft. He started thirteen games for the Devil Rays in April and May of 1998. He finished his sole season with the Devil Rays with a record of 2-5 and an ERA of 5.70. At the conclusion of the 1999 training camp, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for OF Danny Clyburn and a pitching prospect. Johnson found a home in Baltimore, and was a member of the starting rotation for five seasons, along with two more full-time starting campaigns with the Detroit tigers. Since the Tigers released him in 2006, Johnson has bounced around the league filling gaps on injury-riddled teams. He filled the role of a long reliever for four teams in 2006 (26 total games), and played in Japan in 2007. He had an unremarkable 16-game stint with the Dodgers in 2008.

He continues to hold on, and is now pitching for the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. He is hoping for a late season call-up and his 12^th major league campaign. It seems that Jason Johnson's career is fading fast. However, he has proven his willingness to pitch in the minors and wait for his chances. It is possible that retirements could cause Jason Johnson to back in to the title of "last original Devil Ray."

An honorable mention for last original Devil Ray should go to catcher Mike DiFelice. He joined the Rays as the 20^th pick of the 1997 expansion draft. He was on the 1998 Opening Day Roster. The most successful period of his 13-season career was with the three and a half seasons he had with the Rays, where he was a fixture as the #2 catcher. After a trade in 2001 sent him to the Arizona Diamondbacks, he bounced around the league and played for six other teams before returning to the Rays in 2008 for seven games at the end of his career.

The reason Mike Difelice is mentioned here at all are three distinctions he owns. He was the second-to-last active player from the 1998 Opening Day Roster. He holds the title of being the last player from the 1998 Roster to suit up in a Rays uniform. He also is one of only two franchise players (the other being Dan Wheeler) to have worn all three of the team's uniforms.