Fragen und Antworten » The playoff-contending Tampa Bay Rays acquired

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- From last place to the middle of a pennant race. Its been a fast-moving week for David DeJesus. The playoff-contending Tampa Bay Rays acquired the veteran outfielder from Washington on Friday, just four days after the Nationals picked him up from the struggling Chicago Cubs. Washington will receive a player or cash considerations. Tampa Bay got a versatile player they have coveted for years while continuing to strengthen a roster chasing a post-season berth. The second-place Rays entered Friday nights game against the New York Yankees trailing first-place Boston by one game in the AL East. The DeJesus deal came on the heels of the Rays reuniting with former No. 1 draft pick Delmon Young, who signed a minor league deal on Wednesday. "Our biggest focus was on augmenting our depth," executive vice-president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "Essentially, weve got a 37-game season, and were doing everything we can to put together the most talented team we can going down the stretch." DeJesus flew from Kansas City, where the Nationals were opening a weekend series, to St. Petersburg on Friday. Rays manager Joe Maddon immediately inserted him into the lineup, playing left field and batting seventh. "Thats what Im here to do -- play baseball," DeJesus said. The 33-year-old DeJesus was acquired by the Nationals on Monday, and he played in three road games with Washington. In 87 games overall with the Nationals and Cubs, he batted .247 with six homers and 27 RBIs. DeJesus has also played with Kansas City and Oakland during a career in which he has batted .279 with 86 homers and 513 RBIs in 11 seasons. He has never played on a team that has reached the post-season, so he is thrilled to be joining a contender. "I went to bed (Thursday night) thinking Im a Nat. I woke up and Im not a Nat anymore. Its been crazy," DeJesus said. "Its an opportunity to come here and help out and be in a pennant race. Ive been on a lot of losing teams, and this is exciting for me." Friedman said the left-handed hitting DeJesus likely will play a lot against right-handed pitchers. The Rays believe he is also capable of playing all three outfield positions and is a good baserunner. "Weve had our eyes on him for some time. We tried to acquire him when he was with Kansas City," Friedman said. "He just does a lot of things that we really appreciate and value. "The fact that we play 37 games in 38 days also factored in. Having as much depth as we possibly could was important, In our minds, this arguably is the deepest roster weve ever had." DeJesus is appreciative of a chance to "start over, start fresh." "I started with one of the worst teams, now Im with one of the best teams in baseball," the outfielder said. "I just want to be here to help out the guys in any way possible, be a veteran leader and just go out there and play hard. 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A wide-eyed 18-year-old visiting North America for only the second time in his young life, Caboclo immediately noticed the "big tower" his new home is best known for.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Determined to learn exactly what caused his mystery illness in 2011, Trevor Bayne made repeated visits to the Mayo Clinic over the last two years, asking questions about his health and medical history. The youngest winner in Daytona 500 history wasnt sick and he wasnt suffering from any of the symptoms -- nausea, fatigue, double vision and numbness in his arm -- that had sidelined Bayne for five races in 2011. He just wanted an answer. Bayne finally got it in June when doctors confirmed that the 22-year-old Bayne has multiple sclerosis, a diagnosis he revealed publicly Tuesday. "I think MS takes time to diagnose and, as a doctor, you dont want to jump right in and give a diagnosis to somebody," Bayne said. "I think a smart doctor is going to continue to do things. Obviously, its a different kind of condition than something where you can just see it immediately, so over time they just evaluate you and the doctors just run a bunch of different tests." Bayne, who was 20 when he won the Daytona 500 two seasons ago, will compete as scheduled at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series finales. He will also run a full Nationwide schedule next season for Roush Fenway Racing and a partial Cup schedule for The Wood Brothers. Baynes younger sister, Sarah, also has MS, but he said the disease wasnt something doctors were particularly looking for when he was hospitalized in 2011. "MS is not a hereditary or family kind of condition, so its something that is an individual basis," he said. "They dont connect them at all because its not a family kind of thing." Bayne first felt numbness in his arm during a race at Texas in 2011, six weeks after his Daytona 500 victory. At the time, he assumed it was related to an insect bite on his elbow that had become irritated and developed a rash. He was admitted to the Mayo Clinic three weeks later for nausea, fatigue and double vision. Bayne underwent a spinal tap, doctors ruled out Lyme disease, and ultimately discharged him with a diagnosis of an "inflammatory condition." It was never made clear if it was related to the insect bite, and Bayne said in later interviews he believed he was suffering from Lyme disease. Now hes not sure, and says the 2011 illness "is what led to my eventual diagnosis this year." "Obviously, Ive been going to the Mayo Clinic regularly for checkups and evaluations, and they started checking on me and researching," he said. "We ddidnt have a diagnosis then, so this is what has led to the diagnosis.dddddddddddd" MS is a potentially disabling disease in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Symptoms can be mild, such as fatigue, or severe, including paralysis or loss of vision. There is no cure, but treatment can help manage symptoms and reduce the progress of the disease. MS is not technically hereditary, but having a relative such as a parent or sibling with MS can increase an individuals risk of developing the disease over the general population. Studies have shown there is a higher prevalence of certain genes in populations with higher rates of MS, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Roush Fenway Racing President Steve Newmark said Bayne was dogged in his push for a definitive diagnosis. "I think that it was refreshing that he actually got a diagnosis because there had been some uncertainty about what had unfolded previously, so I know it was comforting to him and thats why he pursued it so strongly," Newmark said. "The reality of it is if Trevor wasnt a race car driver and didnt have the means, he probably would never have been diagnosed at this point. It was through his determination of just regularly getting checked that it came to light." Bayne, who competed in his first triathlon last December, said hes not taking any medication and suffers no symptoms. He was diagnosed during a whirlwind three weeks in June in which he was married, making frequent trips to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and won his only Nationwide race of the year at Iowa. He said he needed time to accept and process the diagnosis, and chose now to go public with his disease because hes doesnt want to hide from it. Bayne is a devout Christian, and often gives motivational speeches. "I think anybody that gets a diagnosis is going to sit back and think about it, What does this mean? What does it mean to my family? What does it mean to me and my partners? Our team? The more and more I thought about it, and the more and more I realized that I was fine, the more and more it sunk in that everything is going to be OK," Bayne said. "Why not help other people through their struggles and point them in the right direction? For me, I feel like thats what Im called to do, so why be silent about it and why just sit back on our heels and not do anything? Im a race car driver, thats what I do, but its not all of who I am." ' ' '