We heard yesterday that Grant Balfour was back with the Tampa Bay Rays on a minor league deal just days after the team had released him. For once, a free agent chose the Rays over teams like the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, although unsurprisingly, it was never about the money. As Balfour told Marc Topkin,
“Headed back to Tampa (Bay), want to be able to pitch back in the show with the Rays.”
With the Rays–that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t want to pitch anywhere else, but he feels a duty to do everything he can to give them something.