Rays sign Roberto Hernandez

The Tampa Bay Rays have finalized a one-year, $3.25 million deal with free-agent right-hander Roberto Hernandez, reports Bill Chastain of MLB.com:

Tampa Bay bolstered its pitching staff on Tuesday by bringing veteran right-hander Roberto Hernandez into the fold.

Hernandez, formerly known as Fausto Carmona prior to the discovery that his identity had been falsified, signed a one-year deal worth $3.25 million; an additional $1.85 million can be earned in incentives.

The Rays were reportedly close to a deal with the 32-year-old right-hander last week, but did not finalize an agreement until yesterday. It is unclear whether Tampa will use Hernandez primarily as a bullpen arm or as a spot starter, but he gives the pitching staff some of the depth back that they lost in the James Shields/Wil Myers deal no matter what role ends up being.

Hernandez missed all but the final few weeks of the 2012 season because of the identity issues that surfaced last January in the Dominican Republic. The right-hander made just three starts for the Indians in September upon his return to the States, posting a disappointing 7.53 ERA in 14⅓ innings.

Hernandez has never quite lived up to the promise he showed in his sophomore 2007 season, when he paired with CC Sabathia and posted a 3.06 ERA in 215 innings to lead Cleveland to the ALCS. In the five years since then, the right-hander owns a 5.06 ERA and just 1.35 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 114 starts.