A handful of Rays’ position players practiced bunting Thursday in Port Charlotte. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)
The arrival of Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Logan Morrison Thursday morning brought the total number of players in camp to 62. The other two players who have yet to arrive, Evan Longoria and Rickie Weeks, are expected by Saturday’s reporting date.
Morrison told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) he feels ready to go after wrist surgery this off-season, and explained how he ended up re-signing with the Rays:
Brad Miller, expecting to get the most reps at second base in 2017, did his first on-field work, taking ground balls up the middle — both at second base and shortstop. Miller spoke with Rays Radio about the difference between playing at short and second:
Only 11 pitchers threw off the mound on Thursday. Because of the long spring, due to the World Baseball Classic, many of the Rays’ hurlers are on a less intense throwing schedule, where they take an extra day or two between bullpen sessions rather than stick to an every-other-day schedule.
In other words, established pitchers, like Alex Cobb or Jake Odorizzi — both of whom threw on Tuesday — likely will not take the mound again until Friday. On the other hand, younger, less experienced, hurlers will be on the standard schedule.
Neither Jose De Leon, who experienced mid-back pain on Wednesday, nor Erasmo Ramirez, who tweaked his hammy on the same day, threw an official bullpen session Thursday. Rather their first official session could come on Friday.
De Leon did play catch, as documented by Marc Topkin (Tampa By a Times)
Speedy newcomer Mallex Smith, as well as Kevin Kiermaier, worked on bunting in the backfields. Of interest is Smith’s unique bunting style (seen below), as he almost gets into a catchers-crouch while squaring up prior to making contact.
Much like former Ray Steve Geltz, Hunter is a smaller framed pitcher that won’t blow batters away. And while he doesn’t rack up a ton of strikeouts, his 6.86 K/9 (18.9%) speaks to that, the righty limits walks with a 1.86 BB/9 (5.1%) and coaxes weak contact. Over his career (275-1/3 IP) Hunter has posted a 3.27 ERA and 3.49 FIP, including a 2.13 ERA and 3.06 FIP between two contending teams in 2016.
In short, Hunter is another low risk/high reward hurler, who likely would be a sixth or seventh man in the ‘pen.
Day two of pitcher and catcher workouts in Port Charlotte included the arrival of Kevin Kiermaier, Nick Franklin, Tim Beckham, Brad Miller, Dayron Varona and Dalton Kelly, bringing the number of Rays in camp to 61.
Wilson Ramos also arrived to camp and immediately worked out before addressing the media on the status of his surgically repaired torn right ACL.
Through team interpreter Wendi Tripp, Ramos addressed the speculation that he could be back as early as May, to serve as Tampa Bay’s designated hitter.
I don’t have an exact date for when I’m coming back ye. My knee is feeling pretty good. My knee is getting stronger day by day. I think the therapy is doing a really good job, and very important for that. Just to get back there as quickly as I can will be most important to me. That’s kind of the goal for right now.
…I’ve been working really hard toward that, But I don’t have any particular pressure that I have to be back right then. I really want to follow the therapy and the guide to getting back to healthy to the letter. So that way I’m 100 percent when I come back. I don’t want to push myself too far ahead and then fall back behind again. … I want to come back healthy, and that’s the goal.
Neither Erasmo Ramirez nor Jose De Leon threw their scheduled bullpens. Ramirez reportedly tweaked his left hamstring covering first base Tuesday during PFP drills, although it’s not believed to be serious. De Leon had his bullpen work pushed back because of mid-back tightness. Rays skipper Kevin Cash said both players could throw off a mound as early as Thursday.
Cash spoke about the minor setbacks to Ramirez and De Leon, as well as how impressed he was with the performance of pitchers Brad Boxberger and Shawn Tolleson.
The most random/entertaining tidbit of news out of Port Charlotte came courtesy of Neil Solondz (Rays Radio Blog), who wrote that Franklin, for a second straight off-season, spent part of the time as an Uber driver, doing so nine or ten times. Apparently he has a pretty high customer rating.
#Rays Franklin has driven for @Uber in past offseasons, said he was limited this year timewise but still has 4.8 rating
Pitchers and catchers got in their first workout of the spring this morning. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)
On the first formal day of workouts, 17 pitchers took the mound for the Tampa Bay Rays, throwing their first bullpen sessions of the spring. One of them, RHP Jake Odorizzi, won his arbitration case, and will now earn $4.1-Million in 2017.
Odorizzi, who becomes only the second Ray to win an arbitration hearing during the Sternberg era, was overjoyed by the outcome:
We just felt like what my value was didn’t match what the figure was before the agreement, and that was the turning point about going to arbitration. And it turns out we fought a good fight and won. It’s just nice to have it all done and over with and in the past. Now it’s officially baseball season and we can focus on things as a team …(I’m) kind of overjoyed. It’s just a process where you never know which way it can go, even if you feel good about it. Sometimes arbitrators don’t feel so good about it. It’s good to get the verdict.
All told, 40 of 41 pitchers reported to camp, including Nathan Eovaldi, who the Rays completed a deal with earlier in the day. Catcher Wilson Ramos (knee), the team’s lone no-show, is expected to arrive by Wednesday at the latest due to a family matter.
The best information, it’s family related, Cash told the media. No emergency to my knowledge. It’s really not that big of a concern simply because he’s going to get his physical and probably will spend a lot of time in the training room rehabbing.
In addition to Odorizzi, starters Alex Cobb and Blake Snell both threw bullpen sessions, as did Rule-5 pick Kevin Gadea. Cash was complimentary of Gadea’s ability to fill the strike zone:
Aside from the bullpen sessions, Rays hurlers went back to basics by drilling on PFPs.
Chris Archer, noting all the new faces in camp, spoke with the media on the subject of the Rays’ offseason moves:
I think time’s going to tell. Right now, we don’t know. We’ve got some guys, we don’t know if they’re going to start Opening Day due to injuries. Time will tell. We came into the offseason with a nice nucleus. We subtracted somewhat from that nucleus… but all I can do is focus on pitching and being the best possible teammate I can. And that’s what I plan on doing.
He also pointed out that in order for the team to be more successful, they will need to be more well-rounded:
To win a championship, you have to have everything clicking. And I think it’s time as an organization for us just to say, ‘You know what? We’re a good team. We’re not just a good starting five, we don’t just have a good closer, but we’ve got a good bullpen. We play good defense. We can score runs, and we pitch.
Moving forward, citing the neck issues that ended his 2016 season, LHP Xavier Cedeno will be on a reduced workload early in the spring to keep him stronger during the season.
Scheduled to throw Wednesday are Archer, Alex Colome and Brad Boxberger (among others).
Noteworthiness
— Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) wrote that RHP Nathan Eovaldi joined the team after finalizing a deal that includes a $2 million salary this season while he rehabs from August Tommy John surgery and a team option for $2 million next season, with the chance to earn up to $3.5 million in incentives.
The hard-throwing former Yankee said he chose to sign with the Rays based on their strong training staff and reputation for rehabbing pitchers. The Rays feel the investment could pay off big with Eovaldi, 27, as either a starter or reliever.
“We’re going to get him healthy under a very watchful eye,” manager Kevin Cash said. “He’s going to help us at some point later on.”
Even though Eovaldi is headed to the 60-day DL, the Rays had to clear space on the 40-man roster, so knuckleballing RHP Eddie Gamboa was designated for assignment then traded to Texas for cash or a player to be named.
Blake Snell played catch during an informal workout in Port Charlotte on Monday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)
With less than 24-hours to go until the official start of Spring Training, the Tampa Bay Rays were busy in Port Charlotte.
Senior Vice Presidents of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom and Erik Neander, and Rays skipper Kevin Cash held a pre-spring media session (seen below), answering questions about their off-season moves, and the most notable spring competitions among others. Bulleted highlights follow.
— Cash made it crystal clear, he feels the front office did enough to get back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013:
We expect to be playing games in October. That’s the goal. We’re confident with what we’ve done this off-season. We’re confident with the core guys we had finishing the year. … We’re optimistic with our pitchers, with our position core. These guys are coming in, you’re going to see, just talking to them this off-season, there’s a lot of guys in that clubhouse that take a lot of pride in not only their personal performances but the performance of the team.
— No decisions have been made on second base. They will give Brad Miller, Tim Beckham, Nick Franklin and Daniel Robertson looks over the next seven weeks.
— Cash was hesitant to label either Chris Archer or Alex Cobb as the ace of the starting rotation this early on, although he did say it is obvious a healthy Cobb is crucial to the team.
— Bloom said Matt Duffy (heel surgery) should be good to go. Steven Souza Jr. (hip), Logan Morrison (wrist), and Colby Rasmus (hip, core muscle) should be ready by Opening Day or soon after. Wilson Ramos (knee) will be ready at a later date; May at the earliest for DH duties. The Rays will play things conservatively with Ramos, taking a wait and see approach:
We’re going to learn as he goes along.We’ve talked about it before, we don’t know exactly when (he’ll return). We know he’s got very high expectations for when he’ll be able to make it back, and that’s great. He has worked his tail off trying to get back on the field, and he’s very motivated. He really wants to make an impact. So we’re not going to hold him back. We just don’t want to do anything to jeopardize his health.
— Non-roster INF/OF Rickie Weeks is being counted on to be a “pretty big bat” vs. left handed pitching.
In other Spring Training news, 39 of 41 pitchers and catchers arrived in Port Charlotte on Monday. Absent were Jake Odorizzi, who attended his arbitration hearing in St. Petersburg, and Wilson Ramos, who should arrive in a couple days.
Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), several more position players have also arrived, including new OF Mallex Smith, infield prospects Daniel Robertson and Casey Gillaspie, and OF Corey Dickerson, who had been working out at the Trop.
Incidentally, Jake Faria — who was called out by Chris Archer at the start of last year’s camp for not arriving early enough — told Topkin he made sure to be at the park well ahead of schedule:
I pulled up before the clubbies were here and had to leave because the doors were locked so I went to get some breakfast.
Noteworthiness
— Scheduled to throw Tuesday are Alex Cobb, Jake Odorizzi, Blake Snell, and Xavier Cedeno.
— According to MLB Network’s latest ranking based on defensive and offensive metrics and projections, Kevin Kiermaier rated only ninth out of 10 major league centerfielders.
Mike Trout, Angels
Christian Yelich, Marlins
George Springer, Astros
Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox
A.J. Pollock, Diamondbacks
Adam Eaton, Nationals
Lorenzo Cain, Royals
Charlie Blackmon, Rockies
Kevin Kiermaier, Rays
Dexter Fowler, Cardinals
As for catchers, Wilson Ramos was ranked fourth best.
Tampa Bay Rays SS Matt Duffy plays catch during an informal workout on reporting day for pitchers and catchers. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)
Sunday marked the unofficial start of Spring Training, as pitchers and catchers reported to camp in Port Charlotte. Even though formal workouts are slated for Tuesday morning, 38 players have already been in Port Charlotte since last week.
Tampa Bay added another pitcher — local product Jeff Walters — on a minor league deal on Sunday. Walters was previously part of the Mets farm system, and he spent two years at St Peterburg College prior to being drafted by New York. The 29-year-old spent last season in the Pacific Coast League with Triple-A Las Vegas, where he went 4–3 with a 5.89 ERA over 56 outings. Over his minor league career, Walters is 22–22 with a 3.93 ERA.
The addition of Walters brings the total number of players in camp to 63, although it is conceivable that they could add more before full squad workouts begin on February 19.
Note: Players with a star next to their name are non-roster invites
Pitchers
46 Jose Alvarado
78 Jeff Ames*
35 Matt Andriese
22 Chris Archer
26 Brad Boxberger
33 David Carpenter*
31 Xavier Cedeno
53 Alex Cobb
37 Alex Colome
87 Jose De Leon
50 Dana Eveland*
34 Jake Faria
43 Danny Farquhar
54 Kevin Gadea
59 Eddie Gamboa
52 Ryan Garton
56 Taylor Guerrieri
58 Chih-Wei Hu
79 Andrew Kittredge*
60 Justin Marks*
64 Diego Moreno*
23 Jake Odorizzi
63 Austin Pruitt
30 Erasmo Ramirez
14 Cory Rasmus*
57 Jaime Schultz
4 Blake Snell
62 Ryne Stanek
38 Shawn Tolleson
75 Neil Wagner*
47 Chase Whitley
61 Hunter Wood
80 Ryan Yarbrough*
Catchers
19 Curt Casali
72 Nick Ciuffo*
73 Jonah Heim*
21 Luke Maile
9 Mike McKenry*
40 Wilson Ramos
45 Jesus Sucre*
Infielders
27 Willy Adames
1 Tim Beckham
29 Ryan Brett*
5 Matt Duffy
2 Nick Franklin
71 Casey Gillaspie*
69 Jake Hager*
76 Dalton Kelly*
67 Patrick Leonard*
3 Evan Longoria
13 Brad Miller
7 Logan Morrison
36 Daniel Robertson
Outfielders
70 Jake Bauers*
10 Corey Dickerson
74 Johnny Field*
39 Kevin Kiermaier
65 Shane Peterson*
28 Colby Rasmus
0 Mallex Smith
20 Steven Souza Jr
68 Dayron Varona*
8 Rickie Weeks*
With all this in mind, several questions remain at the onset of Spring Training; they should be answered over the next seven weeks. Here are a few areas that we have targeted — a list of questions that will evolve over time.
Are they healthy?
Matt Duffy was cleared for baseball activities, after undergoing surgery on his heel in the off-season. Duffy is but one of five Rays coming off some type of surgical procedure — Logan Morrison (left wrist), Steven Souza Jr. (left hip), Wilson Ramos (knee) and Colby Rasmus (hip, core muscle) are rehabbing from off-season procedures.
Duffy, Morrison and Souza are expected to be ready for Opening Day. Rasmus is still questionable, and Ramos, per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) is pushing for a May return at least to DH — though that could slide into June — then later going behind the plate.
Who will be behind the plate?
It is not clear who will catch until Ramos returns from rehab. It will likely be a combination of Curt Casali and Luke Maile, although the Rays do have Jesus Sucre and Mike McKenry in the wings.
As I wrote last week, PECOTA favors Maile as the platoon backstop for Tampa Bay. The acquisition of free agent Matt Wieters poses another intriguing possibility for the team.
What will the bullpen look like?
The bullpen had a difficult time last season, and a lot will hinge on Brad Boxberger to return to his 2014/15 form. Too, Alex Colome and Xavier Cedeno will need to be solid once again. And as Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) pointed out, a good ‘pen needs five trusted relievers:
Does Erasmo Ramirez play less high-leverage roles, and works more often in multiple inning situations? Is Danny Farquhar as successful as he was the final two months of 2016? Can Shawn Tolleson become as successful as he was in 2014–15 as a Rangers reliever? Do the Rays add another valuable arm before camp opens, and if not, do any of the rookies take hold of a key role? As we mentioned in yesterday’s post, the Rays have a plethora of starters slated for Triple-A. Could converted starter Ryne Stanek or any of the others take hold of a key role in the pen? It’s probably the unit with the most questions, at least, at this point of the year.
In the end, the bullpen was supposed to be vastly improved during the offseason, yet the only external additions thus far have been Tolleson and Rule-5 pick Kevin Gadea, who has pitched only as high as the Class-A level.
Solondz wrote about the possibilities of a reliever coming from Triple-A Durham. We plan to write about that subject later in the week; until then, here’s Solondz’s piece.
Who will leadoff?
When the Rays traded Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers, they lost their leadoff hitter. That begs the question, who will leadoff? The speedy Kevin Kiermaier (.331 OBP, .343 in the second half) is an option, although if Kevin Cash wishes to alternate between righties and lefties, he may want a right-handed batter with Longoria hitting third. That leaves Matt Duffy (.324 OBP), Steven Souza Jr., Mallex Smith (.382 OBP in the minors), or some type of platoon.
Who will take Smyly’s spot in the rotation?
Chris Archer, Alex Cobb, Jake Odorizzi and Blake Snell slot into the first four spots in the rotation. PECOTA likes Matt Andriese as the fifth hurler, however, as Topkin pointed out, his 2-6 record and 6.79 ERA over his final 10 starts last season was troubling. Erasmo Ramirez and Chase Whitley — should they not be used in the ‘pen — and Jose De Leon should get looks throughout Spring Training.
