Jose Molina Signs With Tampa Bay Rays

12:05 PM ET: Tampa is confirming the deal according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersberg Times. He's also reporting the deal is at $1.5M for 2012 with a $1.5M option or $300k buyout for 2013.

9:13 AM ET:  According to a tweet from John Heyman of SI.com, catcher Jose Molina has signed with the Tampa Bay Rays. This could explain the reasoning behind the Rays trading away last year's starting catcher, John Jaso, to the Seattle Mariners yesterday evening.

Molina has played on four major league teams, most recently the Toronto Blue Jays, as he has been playing in the American League East since 2007, when he was traded by the Anaheim Angels to the New York Yankees. Before the Angels, he played his rookie season, 1999, with the Chicago Cubs, where he played in just ten games.

The most games Molina has ever played was 100 back in 2008 with the Yankees. It remains to be seen if the Rays make him their starting back stop, or if they re sign Kelly Shoppach to split duties with him, or someone else. Jose Lobaton saw MLB action at the end of last season, and the Rays might just be happy with him and Molina splitting time.