The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – Tampa Bay Rays – INSIDE PITCH
Competition heats up for fifth spot in rotation
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The competition for the open fifth spot in the Rays rotation got a little more complicated.
Coming into camp, the favorites appeared to be right hander Jake Odorozzi, who showed increasingly better over five stints with the Rays last season, and lefty Erik Bedard, who was signed to a minor-league deal after Jeremy Hellickson underwent Jan. 29 elbow surgery that will keep him out until mid-to-late May.
Also in the mix, but more as longshots, were right hander Alex Colome, who made an impressive debut last summer but didn’t pitch after June due to elbow soreness, and right hander Nathan Karns, a prospect acquired in a trade from Washington just before camp opened.
But Rays officials had another option in mind, and unveiled it this week when they said lefty Cesar Ramos, their long reliever the past three seasons, would get serious consideration.
“If you look at Cesar, he’s a guy who has a bucketful of average to above-average pitches,” Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. “We feel like he’s a guy who can get out right-handers and left-handers, and he had started in the past.”
Ramos made a good impression Wednesday in his first start of the spring, working into the third inning against the Yankees, using his full four-pitch repertoire and making what adjustments were needed.
He had been a starter in college and in the minors for the Padres, and he said he approached the Rays with the idea after Hellickson was injured and found out they had been thinking the same thing.
Manager Joe Maddon said he would like to make a decision by March 15-20, but these things tend to take a while to sort out.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Tampa Bay Rays – NOTES, QUOTES
–RHP Jake Odorizzi, a candidate for the fifth starter’s spot, has a new toy this spring that, based on early results, could be a huge factor in his success. Odorizzi asked RHP Alex Cobb to show him how to throw the hybrid splitter-changeup Cobb calls “The Thing,” and had good results in the two games he has it, although on a limited basis. “It just keeps getting more encouraging each time out,” Odorizzi said after saving Wednesday’s game. “Last time it was good, this time I would categorize it as really good. I’m really happy with the direction it’s heading right now. I think it’ll be a huge, huge plus going into the season.”
–OF Desmond Jennings reported to camp noticeably bulked up, saying he added weight (around 10 pounds, though he wouldn’t say for sure) to offset what he usually loses in the spring in an effort to stay strong all season. One benefit is obviously the potential for added power, and he showed that Wednesday with a home run that went over the left-field boardwalk at the Charlotte Sports Park. “I definitely want to drive the ball more,” Jennings said.
–2B Ben Zobrist appears to be fully over the back soreness and tightness that caused him to miss the first week of workouts. Zobrist made his game debut on March 3, then played again on Wednesday, and plans to do so again on Saturday, all home games for the Rays to reduce stress on his back from travel. Zobrist looked fine Wednesday when he homered, hit a fly to deep center and singled. “I’ve felt really good for at least a few days now,” he said. “So I don’t have any feeling like it might hold me back from continuing to play as much as possible.”
–OF Wil Myers, who won the AL Rookie of the Year award, had his contract renewed by the Rays, the only one of their 21 pre-arbitration players who did not agree to terms. Myers and agent Jeff Berry both said it was a non-issue, that they considered it part of the process, and that Myers was very excited for the season.
–RHP Juan Carlos Oviedo has missed the first three weeks of camp due to visa delays in his native Dominican Republic, though his agent says he has been working out regularly and the Rays say his chances to make the team are intact. Oviedo has not pitched in the majors since 2011, missing 2012 and 2013 due to legal issues stemming from identity fraud as he played as Leo Nunez with the Marlins, and then an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “He’s got great sax appeal.” — Manager Joe Maddon, mentioning 1B James Loney’s musical ability during clubhouse celebrations among the key benefits of his return.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Tampa Bay Rays – ROSTER REPORT
PROJECTED ROTATION:
LHP David Price
RHP Alex Cobb
LHP Matt Moore
RHP Chris Archer
RHP Jake Odorizzi or RHP Alex Colome or LHP Erik Bedard
The biggest move the Rays made in keeping their rotation among the game’s best was not trading Price. Though RHP Jeremy Hellickson will be out into May after Jan. 29 arthroscopic elbow surgery, the rest of the group is strong and talented, each with front-of-the-line stuff.
Odorizzi would seem to be the leading candidate to replace Hellickson, though Bedard was added on a minor league deal and made a solid early impression. Of note, Price, Cobb and Moore all served time on the DL last year, and Archer wasn’t called up until June 1, so the Rays don’t have a starter who pitched for them all of last season.
PROJECTED BULLPEN:
RHP Grant Balfour (closer)
RHP Heath Bell
RHP Juan Carlos Oviedo
RHP Joel Peralta
LHP Jake McGee
LHP Cesar Ramos
RHP Josh Lueke or RHP Brandon Gomes
The Rays extended themselves financially to take advantage of the opportunity Balfour went back on the free agent market after flunking a physical by the Baltimore Orioles. Though the team was already looking at a record payroll, they felt Balfour could have a significant enough role that they added him on a two-year, $12 million deal.
Until then, it appeared the closer would be either Bell or Oviedo, both of whom were successful in that role from 2009-11 .Bell, in San Diego, and Oviedo, in Miami, were successful, but hadn’t done much since. Peralta and McGee form a dynamic duo of setup men.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
1. LF David DeJesus
2. 2B Ben Zobrist
3. 3B Evan Longoria
4. DH Matt Joyce
5. RF Wil Myers
6. 1B James Loney
7. CF Desmond Jennings
8. C Ryan Hanigan
9. SS Yunel Escobar
The Rays spent considerable money, by their standards, to re-sign Loney and extend DeJesus as they worked to keep their lineup relatively intact, then added Hanigan to improve the production from what has been a weak spot behind the plate.
While Longoria is obviously the biggest single force in their lineup, the primary questions surround Myers, who is coming off an AL Rookie of the Year half-season performance, and Joyce, who is switching to primarily a DH role.
TOP ROOKIES: RHP Jake Odorizzi has the possibility to join the list of impressive Rays rookie performers as he will have a chance, and possibly the best chance, to win the open spot in the Rays’ rotation. Similarly, OF Brandon Guyer is the leading candidate for the final spot on the bench as the fifth outfielder. With Wil Myers and Chris Archer graduating to the majors last season, the Rays do not have many advanced prospects who are ready to make an impact, though lefty reliever C.J. Riefenhauser could join Odorizzi and Guyer.
MEDICAL WATCH:
–RHP Jeremy Hellickson (arthroscopic elbow surgery in January 2014) said he felt good in mid-February, and his range of motion was improving. However, he added that he would not know more until he was allowed to start throwing.
———————————————–
