The 38-year-old right-hander, who came out of retirement to go 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 34 appearances for St. Louis in 2007, will make $8 million during the next two seasons. In addition, he'll have a chance to earn another $4 million-plus in performance incentives.

A four-time AL All-Star, Percival is 12th on the all-time saves list with 324. He is 33-41 with a 3.02 ERA in 639 career games with the Cardinals, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels, where he spent the first 10 years of his career and built a close relationship with Rays manager Joe Maddon.

Percival left baseball after injuring his right forearm in while pitching for Detroit and missing half of 2005 and all of 2006. He signed with the Cardinals in June 2007 and worked almost exclusively in middle relief this year.

He could fill several roles for Tampa Bay, including the closer's job currently held by Al Reyes. At the very least, his addition provides Maddon with more options in the late innings.

The signing comes two days after the Rays bolstered their starting rotation and defense by acquiring right-hander Matt Garza and shortstop Jason Bartlett from Minnesota in a deal that sent right fielder Delmon Young, infielder Brendan Harris and a minor league prospect to the Twins.

Percival had eight seasons with 30 or more saves for the Angels, including 40 in 2002 when he posted a career-best 1.92 ERA and also had an outstanding postseason while helping his team win the World Series.