Remove the label of free agent from the home run champions slate. Barry Bonds is the newest member of the Tampa Bay Rays. The AL East leading Rays are expected to add a thunderous jolt of offensive prowess and media frenzy to their lineup with the late season addition of the 42-year old Bonds.
The announcement could come later this morning as the surging Rays begin the second of a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics. As if the questionable timing does not appear peculiar enough, the seven-time MVP might make his American League debut Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum, minutes away from the city in which he established himself as one of the premier sluggers in major league history.
After returning from the Rays 2-1 defeat last night, rumblings were blatantly evident among A's fans on the train system that Bonds was now back, and ready to wreck havoc on AL pitchers en route to a potential World Series run with the surging Rays.