ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Adding yet another bat to their revamped lineup, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays agreed Sunday to a $5.75 million, two-year contract with Gerald Williams.

	Williams

Williams had the best season of his career in 1999, becoming the leadoff hitter for the Atlanta Braves in the final two months of the season. Williams, 33, hit .275 and had career highs in homers (17) and RBI (68) as the Braves went 39-14 when he was at the top of the order.

But the outfielder batted only .176 in the World Series as the Braves got swept by the New York Yankees.

Williams, who made $1.4 million this year, gets $2.5 million in 2000 and $3 million in 2001. Tampa Bay has a $4 million option for 2002 with a $250,000 buyout.

Last Monday, the Devil Rays acquired third baseman Vinny Castilla from the Colorado Rockies and agreed to a $34 million, four-year contract with Greg Vaughn. They join a lineup that already has Jose Canseco and Fred McGriff.

Castilla, Canseco, McGriff, Vaughn and Williams hit a combined 161 homers last year -- 16 more than the Devil Rays' team total.