Rays claim infielder Brooks Conrad off waivers

ST. PETERSBURG, FL-The Tampa Bay Rays have claimed infielder Brooks Conrad off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers and have added him to the active roster for tonight's game against the Philadelphia Phillies.  He will wear No. 36.  

In addition, the Rays reinstated infielder Jeff Keppinger from the 15-day disabled list, recalled right-handed pitcher Brandon Gomes from Triple-A Durham, placed outfielder Matt Joyce on the 15-day disabled list with a left external oblique strain, optioned outfielder Rich Thompson to Durham and designated infielder Drew Sutton for assignment. Right-handed pitcher Joel Peralta also dropped his appeal and will begin serving his eight-game suspension tonight.

Conrad, 32, signed a minor league contract with the Brewers in January and was assigned to Triple-A Nashville out of spring training.  Combining two stints in the majors with the Brewers, he played in 25 games at four infield positions (7-1B, 4-2B, 2-3B, 1-SS).  In 25 games at Triple-A, he hit .405 (30-for-74) with 10 HR and 28 RBI in 21 games including eight homers and 22 RBI over his last nine games.

The switch-hitting infielder has spent parts of five seasons in the majors and has a .212 batting average (79-for-372) with 16 home runs and 62 RBI in 256 career games.  He played his only two full seasons in the major leagues with the Atlanta Braves from 2010-11, hitting 12 HR with 46 RBI in 198 games.