Rays signed LHP Matt Moore to a five-year, $14 million contract with club options for 2017, 2018 and 2019. The deal carries a maximum value of approximately $39.75 million. It's a risk to give a pitcher with just 9 1/3 career innings that much money, but if Moore pitches like everyone feels he will, the deal should be a very favorable one in the long run for the Rays. Though executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says this doesn't necessarily mean Moore is locked into a rotation spot for 2012, we would expect room to be cleared for him by a trade of either Wade Davis or Jeff Niemann sometime before spring training.

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that the Rays have signed Matt Moore to a five-year, $14 million contract. Crasnick says the deal also includes several club options that could raise the total value of the contract to $37.5 million over eights years, and there are also escalators that could push it past $40 million. It's always a risk to lock up anyone this young, especially a pitcher, but these kind of deals very often turn out to be club-friendly if the player cashes in on their potential. Moore, 22, has thrown just 9 1/3 career innings aside from his two postseason starts, but he's viewed as the best pitching prospect in the game.

Rays manager Joe Maddon considers Matt Moore a "wild card" as he sets future rotation plans. Moore will not appear again during the ALDS despite a dominant effort in Game 1, as the Rays will go with David Price and Jeremy Hellickson in Games 3 and 4, respectively, before bringing James Shields back for Game 5. But, it would be surprising if Moore doesn't get at least one more start during the ALCS, assuming the Rays make it there.

Matt Moore dominated in his second major league start Friday, tossing seven shutout innings to lead the Rays to a 9-0 win over the Rangers in Game 1 of the ALDS. Rays manager Joe Maddon gambled in a big way by starting Moore, but the move paid off big-time. The rookie left-hander shut down the high-powered Rangers' offense, allowing just two hits (both by Josh Hamilton) while striking out six, walking two and hitting a batter. He topped out at 98 mph on the radar gun and threw 62 out of 98 pitches for strikes. With James Shields, David Price and Jeremy Hellickson lined up behind him, suddenly the Rays look like the favorites in this series.

In his fourth appearance and first postseason start, Matt Moore pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks in Tampa's 9-0 win over Texas. Moore looked as good as advertised, shutting down the Rangers high powered offense while striking out six. Catcher Kelly Shoppach provided the bulk of the offense with two home runs and five RBIs, and veteran Johnny Damon homered in the second as the Rays took a 6-0 lead and never looked back. James Shields will take on lefty Derek Holland in a much anticipated Game 2 matchup.

Matt Moore will start Game 1 of the Rays' ALDS matchup against the Rangers. A risky move by Rays manager Joe Maddon, but one that has the potential to pay off in a major way. Moore, baseball's top pitching prospect, has registered a 2.89 ERA and 15/3 K/BB ratio through his first 9 1/3 major league innings. He fanned 11 hitters in his first major league start last Thursday against the Yankees. James Shields will start Game 2 vs. Texas.

Matt Moore was as good as advertised Thursday in the first start of his major league career, punching out 11 Yankees while tossing five scoreless innings and allowing four hits and a walk in a 15-8 win. Jaw-dropping would be a fair way to describe the performance. Having clinched the division the day before, the Yankees were resting a few of their regulars, but there was still plenty of firepower in the lineup and Moore simply shut them down. After that performance, we've got to think the Rays will at least consider putting him into their postseason rotation should they get there, though he would ultimately probably be used as a weapon out of the bullpen. At the very least, he's certainly left the impression that he could handle being given a rotation spot at the beginning of next season. Baseball top pitching prospect, Moore holds a 2.89 ERA and 1.29 WHIP while striking out 15 over the first 9 1/3 innings of his MLB career.

Matt Moore will make his first major league start on Thursday against the Yankees. With the Rays staring up at a 2 1/2-game deficit in the American League Wild Card standings, it'll be a high-pressure start for the 22-year-old left-hander. But he's equipped to handle it. Moore, baseball's top pitching prospect, registered a 1.92 ERA and 210/46 K/BB ratio in 155 innings between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham before earning a mid-September promotion to the major leagues. Jeff Niemann has been bumped to Saturday.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Tuesday that either Matt Moore or Alex Torres will start Saturday against the Blue Jays. The Rays need a spot-starter due to Wednesday's doubleheader against the Yankees. "We're talking about [which of the two it will be]," said Maddon. "We have to adjust things a bit within the bullpen to fill that day up. We're not ready to reveal exactly what we're doing, but we're talking about it." The Blue Jays aren't exactly the most promising matchup, but Moore has impressed enough that he could be worth a shot in AL-only and deeper mixed formats if he gets the call.

Matt Moore gave up one run over three innings of relief in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Red Sox, as the Rays pulled to within three games in the AL Wild Card race. In his second big league appearance, Moore allowed two hits and two walks while striking out two. It looked like he was done after his second inning of work, but Rays manager Joe Maddon made the gutsy call of having him pitch the eighth inning. The move paid off, as he was able to sit down Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz and Conor Jackson in order. Impressive poise by the young left-hander. Joel Peralta struck out two in the ninth for his fourth save.