Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Montoyo wins Tampa Bay award

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays named former Biscuits manager Charlie Montoyo their inaugural Player Development Man of the Year on Wednesday.

Montoyo has been a manager in the Devil Rays' minor-league system since joining the organization in October 1996. He's slated to manage Class AAA Durham this year after leading the Biscuits to the Southern League championship last fall. Montoyo was with Montgomery for three seasons.

The Rays also named Paul Kirsch as their inaugural Scout of the Year. Kirsch has also been with Tampa Bay since 1996 and is responsible for Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. He signed former Biscuits pitchers Jason Hammel and Jeff Ridgway, who are on the Rays' 40-man roster.