Tuesday’s off-day was a mile marker of sorts for the Tampa Bay Rays, denoting the final stretch of Spring Training before the 2015 regular season. That’s right friends, the season starts in a little more than a week from now. Here are a few notes from the off-day.
— Nathan Karns threw 29 pitches (20 strikes, 69% K/BB) over two innings in a minor-league game against the Orioles.
I knew they were going to be swinging early and often so it kind of allowed me to play with some of the pitches that I need to work on, knowing they’re aggressive and making sure (the pitches) are effective, Karns told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times).
Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Karns,
He threw some good curveballs. He looked like he had really good vela going.
— After Bobby Wilson caught a couple of bullpen sessions, he entered the above mentioned minor league game and caught Karns, accruing three at-bats along the way.
— The Rays skipper made it official, INF Nick Franklin, who strained his oblique Monday, will not be ready for opening day.
— It was also a busy off-day for Everett Teaford, Steven Souza, and Jake McGee. Teaford got in a bullpen session before a potential start Friday. Souza got an opportunity to hit in the Rays minor league game, after exiting Monday’s game due to a HBP. McGee threw a 30 pitch bullpen session and was reportedly pleased with his session. McGee will throw five more sessions before facing hitters, with the next bullpen session scheduled for Friday — he’ll throw 30 pitches like today. McGee told Roger Mooney (Tampa Tribune) he’s not pushing it with his bullpen sessions, because he doesn’t want to cause a setback. For what it’s worth, the lefty started throwing curve balls off flat ground Monday, and might throw a few more in 2015 as opposed to the “three or four” he threw in 2014.
— The Rays made public their plans to permanently honor longtime senior adviser Don Zimmer, by retiring his number 66 jersey in an Opening Day ceremony prior to the first pitch.
Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg released a statement on behalf of the team on Tuesday afternoon,
Don Zimmer enriched the lives of everyone in the Rays family, and he played a significant part in the growth of our organization. Zim’s presence has been a gift to the game of baseball, and his influence will be felt for years to come.
It has been a true privilege of my stewardship of the Rays to have had Don as such an important part of our organization. It is with great pride that we honor him and the game by retiring his number.
— A step in the right direction…
Hearing again #Rays Cobb will resume throwing after a few more days rest, likely this weekend
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 25, 2015
The New What Next
Matt Andriese will get the start Wednesday afternoon when the Rays take on the Minnesota Twins. Jeff Beliveau, Steve Geltz, Brandon Gomes and C.J. Riefenhauser are also slated to throw.
Rays 3/25/15 Starting Lineup
Jaso DH
Rivera C
Cabrera SS
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Jennings LF
Kiermaier CF
Souza RF
Beckham 2B
Andriese P
Noteworthiness
It was about a year ago when I was invited by Daniel of the Cards Conclave to write a guest piece about the Rays off-season. I gladly accepted the invitation then, though I had no expectation to be courted once more. Low-and-behold I was! Below are my answers to his questions; I’ll post a link to the article once Daniel sends it my way.
1. What are your thoughts on the team’s offseason? Did they do what they needed to do?
The Tampa Bay Rays had an eventful offseason to say the least. Gone are middle infielders Yunel Escobar and Ben Zobrist; former Rookie of the Year award winners Wil Myers and Jeremy Hellickson; Matt Joyce; relievers Cesar Ramos and Joel Peralta; and catchers Jose Molina and Ryan Hanigan. Matt Silverman’s offseason moves ushered in a new crop of players like John Jaso, Rene Rivera, Asdrubal Cabrera, Steven Souza, Kevin Jepsen and Ernesto Frieri, to name a few. Expect prospects like Tim Beckham, Nick Franklin and Nathan Karns to make an impact as well.
As a certain former manager used to say, pitching and defense are in the Rays DNA — that still holds true now. The lackluster 2014 season made it abundantly clear, something needed to be done to bolster the offense. Did Silverman put together a more potent team? That fails to be seen at the moment. However, Steamer projects an improved Rays offense that will score around 675 runs and drive in 617 RBI — 63 more runs, and 31 more runs batted in over the previous season.
It should be noted, Kansas City scored 651 runs last season and went to the World Series. Two other playoff contenders — St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants — scored 619+ runs, less than the Rays are projected to score in forthcoming season. If Tampa Bay’s pitching staff is solid once again, and if the team can drive in more than 619 runs (the total St. Louis scored last season), a solid season wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.
2. How will things change now that Joe Maddon is gone?
Joe Maddon changed the culture within the Rays organization, and the team will always owe him a debt of gratitude for that. Yet the hiring of Kevin Cash over Dave Martinez symbolized a desire to change things from the previous regime. It’s a little early to predict what the net difference might be — after all this is Cash’s first managerial position, and there really isn’t much to go off of. However, he seems to value the player’s input on things (not that Maddon didn’t), Cash has already espoused the benefits of a stable lineup day in and day out, and you can be certain there won’t be any penguins or mariachi bands in the clubhouse.
3. Who will be the ace of the rotation by the end of the year?
If he can stay healthy and log 200-225 innings, Alex Cobb without a doubt.
4. What player do you expect to make the greatest strides this year?
Pitching wise, I would expect Drew Smyly to make great strides. Smyly is projected to outperform his career norms, and it will exciting to see how he improves in this, his first complete season under the tutelage of pitching coach Jim Hickey. As for position players, Evan Longoria will need to make great strides in order to meet and/or exceed his offensive projections (.256 BA/.334 OBP/.446 SLG/.780 OPS/.340 wOBA/124 wRC+/5.4 WAR) if Tampa Bay is going to be relevant in 2015.
5. What’s your projection of the team’s record and where will they finish in the division?
I’ll put it this way, PECOTA has the Rays leading the AL East with an 86+ win season. Why? Pitching and defense. PECOTA projects the pitching staff to allow 638 runs — second in the American League, just behind the Mariners. Furthermore, the defense is pegged to save 28.3 runs above the average — second in all of baseball, just behind the Royals.
6. What do you like best about being a Rays fan?
Beyond the fact they are my local team, I love watching a team that plays hard, intelligent baseball. That they are competitive on a shoestring budget certainly doesn’t hurt.