MLB odds: Baldelli set for comeback with Rays

By Jordan Walters
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

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One of the better comeback stories in baseball this year (OK, not quite on Josh Hamilton’s level, but not far off), could come true on Wednesday, when the Rays could activate outfielder Rocco Baldelli.

“I've been waiting a long time to come back, and it looks like something is going to happen," Baldelli said. "I'm very excited."

Baldelli, 26, announced during the spring that he was suffering from a mitochondrial disorder, and he began the season on the 60-day disabled list. That abnormality has kept him in a constant state of fatigue.

In four big league seasons, he has a .282 career average with 48 home runs and 221 RBIs; he hit just .204 with five home runs and 12 RBIs in 35 games in 2007. He has not played in the majors since May 2007 and hasn’t really been healthy since his stellar rookie year. He has played in only 127 of the Rays' past 598 games.

Baldelli finished his rehab stint at Double-A with a .297 batting average and three home runs in 13 games.

"He's really just a man amongst boys down here," says LHP David Price, the No. 1 prospect in the Rays organization. "He's head and shoulders better than every pitcher he faces. When he gets out, he gets himself out, and he knows that. He's unbelievable. He hit a ball the other day that everybody thought was going to one-hop or two-hop the wall, and it went over the fence."

Because of his condition, it’s unlikely Baldelli can be an every-day player. He will return as a part-time right fielder, facing left-handed pitchers and serving as a late-game defensive replacement. That's what he did during his last rehab assignment.

 

He’s confident he’s physically capable of doing the job the Rays envision for him.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “I did it for the entire rehab assignment, so I think I can do it here. It was pretty hot where I was, too, so that didn’t help the situation, to be honest with you. But I was able to get through it and it was good, it was a good experience.”

The possibility of Baldelli’s return is a big reason the Rays didn’t give up top prospects to obtain a bat like Pittsburgh’s Jason Bay at the trade deadline.

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