ST. PETERSBURG, FL - JULY 21: Designated hitter Hideki Matsui #35 of the Tampa Bay Rays bats against the Seattle Mariners July 21, 2012 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Seattle won 2 - 1. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays have designated veteran OF/DH Hideki Matsui for assignment to make room for the newly acquired Ryan Roberts, reports Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
Tampa Bay DFA's the great Hideki Matsui.
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) July 25, 2012
Signed by Tampa Bay at the end of April, the 38-year-old struggled mightily in a part-time role for the Rays this season. Godzilla hit just .147/.214/.221 with just two home runs in 34 games this year.
Matsui was DFA'd to make room for infielder Ryan Roberts, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league second baseman Tyler Bortnick yesterday evening. The 31-year-old middle infielder is hitting .250/.306/.357 in 83 games this year.
There is no knowing whether Matsui will draw interest from other teams with the way he has struggled this season, but there are always teams looking for veteran bench help.
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Who would benefit from acquiring Hideki Matsui?
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