I think this is a great move by the Rays. Scott has seemed destined to become a Ray for a few years now, as his name has usually come up as that extra bat at the trade deadline that the Rays have never traded for. Andrew Friedman finally picked him up in free agency this year.
Scott is fairly versatile, having experience in the OF and, most importantly, DH and 1B. He hits for a decent average and has some good pop, and will slide nicely into the middle of the Rays' lineup. This signing, however, does spell an end to the Johnny Damon era in Tampa Bay. Although Damon's numbers have been declining, he was still productive and was a fantastic presence in the club house. I wish him good luck in his future, and perhaps one day he can return; Joe Maddon always likes to utilize that "Quality Control coach".
There are two major concerns with Scott. The first is that he has sparked a fair amount of controversey over his political and religious views; he has been accused of being racist and got into a type of religious debate with Matt Garza through the media a few years ago. That said, all indications are that Scott is a great teammate and that he's not some kind of locker room cancer. The other bigger concern, however, is that Scott had shoulder surgery last season, cutting his season short. We have seen hoe shoulder injuries have affected BJ Upton, but hopefully Scott will be all healed up. Friedman has signed players coming off of injuries before, and most of the time it has worked out.
With the DH hole in the lineup filled, the Rays 2012 roster is falling into place. The only real issue is at 1B, where possibilties include bringing Casey Kotchman or Carlos Pena back or filling the hole in-house, perhaps with Ben Zobrist or converting Matt Joyce. Besides that, the other things to watch for are shortstop (it looks like they'll stick with Brignac and Rodriguez) and the starting pitching situation, as it still makes sense to either trade Wade Davis or Jeff Neimann.
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