Yunel Escobar RUMORS & NEWS

Tampa Tribune "Rays manager Joe Maddon backtracked Tuesday on his comments concerning the gesture Yunel Escobar made while crossing home plate Monday after his ninth-inning home run against the Blue Jays and defended Escobar's action. Maddon said after Monday's game that he would talk to Escobar, adding, "I'm..." May 22

Tampa Bay Times "SS Yunel Escobar responded to constant booing in his return to Rogers Centre by hitting a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning that gave the Rays a late shot before they lost 7-5. But now Escobar, who played 21/2 seasons in Toronto, will have to answer to manager Joe Maddon because..." May 21

Tampa Tribune "We don't know if Yunel Escobar is a solution or a problem. We don't know if he has found a home or the Rays have lost their senses. Anyway, meet the new shortstop. Is Escobar, acquired by trade with Miami, the man to energize the Rays infield? Or is he that that other guy _ the fool who..." March 24

Tampa Bay Times "The first 10 days were spent on the run, hiding from Cuban authorities who might be on to his plans. Next were three harrowing days at sea, with three dozen others crammed into a boat, navigating amid storms and sharks. Then a couple days in a holding cell pending immigration processing before..." March 05

ESPN.com "Yunel Escobar knows some people will never forgive. And some people will never forget. And some people will never be willing to accept a guy who etched a homophobic slur into his eye black last September. There’s nothing he can do to change that. There’s nothing he can do to win them over...." February 18

Tampa Tribune "Before making the trade with the Miami Marlins in December for Yunel Escobar, Tampa Bay Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman made two important phone calls. One was to Jose Molina, the other to Joel Peralta. Could they help Escobar find his way in the Rays..." February 18

Rays Colored Glasses "This offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays grabbed all the headlines with a pair of franchise-altering trades, the first of which netted them every major league player of any value that the Miami Marlins had not named Giancarlo Stanton. The additions of Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, and..." February 10