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2012 TAMPA BAY RAYS MEDIA GUIDE
MINOR LEAGUE OPERATIONS › inTeRnATionAl oPeRATions
Rays staff and players
distribute gear to
local children in Batey
Cachena, near San
Pedro de Macoris,
Dominican Republic
in November 2010.
PHOTO BY
Daniel santana
would share Campo Las Palmas in the Dominican
Republic, long considered the gold standard for
Dominican facilities. Eddy Toledo was hired from
the New York Mets organization to oversee the
Rays Dominican operations. Campo Las Palmas
was home to the Rays baseball academy and a
summer league team until early 2009 when the
organization inaugurated their new academy
located on property adjacent to Dodgers. The
complex has two full diamonds and a half field,
clubhouse, gym, covered batting cages, dining
area and living facilities, which can accommodate
up to 96 players.
In 2007, the Rays celebrated the opening of
their baseball academy—dedicated to Andres
Reiner—and located on the grounds of the Pirelli
tire factory in Guacara, Venezuela, one hundred
miles west of Caracas. In addition to baseball
fields and existing amenities, the newly renovated
facility now includes new dormitory rooms and
offices, as well as an expanded player lounge.
The academy can now accommodate 56 players.
Ronnie Blanco, former general manager of the
Magallanes baseball club in the Venezuelan professional
league, oversees the Rays Venezuelan
baseball operations. In 2007, Tampa Bay players
joined together with Cincinnati Reds prospects
to form a co-op team in the Venezuelan Summer
League (VSL). In 2008 the Rays had a complete
team and have since won two of the last three VSL
championships (2009 and 2011).
The Rays continue to grow their scouting programs
in Colombia—directed by Manny Esquivia
and based in Cartagena—and in Mexico headed
by Eddie Diaz. The Rays have now signed three
players from Mexico since 2010: Armando Araiza,
Oscar Armenta and Rafael Cordoba. In 2012 the
Rays added Chairon Isenia to lead their scouting
efforts in Curacao and Aruba. Carlos Rodriguez is
also heavily involved in the Rays efforts in Latin
America, splitting his time between pro and international
scouting.
Tampa Bay and the city of Marília, Brazil, located
230 miles northwest of São Paulo, have built
a partnership that will include construction of a
training facility beginning in the summer of 2012.
It will be the first baseball academy run by a major
league organization in Brazil. The academy will be
constructed by the city of Marília with additional
funding from the national government, and will
consist of two full playing fields, two diamonds for
youth teams and dormitories, which will accommodate
up to 40 players. Adriano de Souza, who
was hired in 2008 to scout Brazil for the Rays, will
coordinate the academy. In addition to scouting
Brazil for prospects, the Rays will also introduce
baseball to groups between 7 and 14 years of age
in the Marília area. In 2009 the Rays signed their
first Brazilian player, infielder Leonardo Reginatto.
The Rays have also expanded scouting efforts
in the Pacific Rim, Europe and Australia.
Tim Ireland begins his fourth year as Pacific Rim
scouting coordinator. Tateki “Bori” Uchibori, who
served as an interpreter for former Tampa Bay
infielder Akinori Iwamura, scouts for the Rays in
Japan and Korea, while Keith Hsu covers Taiwan.
John Gilmore enters his fourth year in charge
of Europe and Australia. In 2010 the Rays signed
16-year-old left-handed pitcher Stepan Havlicek,
a member of the Czech Junior National Team, to
a free agent minor league contract. Havlicek, the
first player signed by the Rays out of the Czech
Republic, played last summer in the Gulf Coast
League. Also in 2010 Tampa Bay signed Darryl
George, an 18-year-old infielder from Australia
who played his first professional season in 2011.
In 2011 the Rays continued a program to introduce
U.S.-born minor league players to the organization’s
Latin American operations. Six players selected
in the 2011 June Draft—Jeff Ames, Jake Faria,
Jake Hager, James Harris, Brandon Martin and
Blake Snell—spent a week at the Rays Dominican
academy getting a firsthand look at the country
that produces so much major league talent.