NEW YORK --The Tampa Bay Devil Rays purchased the contract
of infielder Eric Munson on Thursday from Triple-A Durham and
designated outfielder Reggie Taylor for assignment.
The 27-year-old Munson was batting .289 with 16 homers and 46
RBIss in 66 games for Durham before being called up for Tampa Bay's
game against the New York Yankees. He was the designated hitter
Thursday and batted sixth.
Munson played parts of five seasons for the Detroit Tigers,
hitting 19 homers in 109 games in 2004. But the Tigers didn't offer
their first-round pick from the 1999 draft (third overall) a
contract after he hit just .212 last season and he signed with
Minnesota.
After being released by the Twins during spring training, Munson
signed with the Devil Rays.
Taylor was called up by the Devil Rays on June 7 and was hitting
.184 (4-for-22) with one RBIs in his first big league action since
2003, when he played for Cincinnati.
The Devil Rays have 10 days to trade Taylor, place him on
waivers or assign him outright to the minors.