Rays LHP Drew Smyly has been idled by tendinitis in his left shoulder. (Photo courtesy of Fox Sports)
The Tampa Bay Rays confirmed speculation by Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), LHP Drew Smyly is behind schedule, with concern that he may start the season on the DL due to tendinitis in his left shoulder.
Rays manager Kevin Cash told Topkin,
He’s basically going through a little bit of shoulder tendinitis right now. Everything we’re doing right now is precautionary. It’s kind of on him and how he feels from this point forward.
Smyly arrived at camp behind schedule after being slowed down about six weeks due to a strained tendon in his left middle finger. However, according to Cash, his finger is now a “non-issue,” but his shoulder issues developed after Smyly threw a few bullpens in camp.
The current plan is to monitor Smyly on a daily basis, further pushing back his spring debut which was already pushed back because, as you may recall, he preferred a different throwing schedule than the Rays use.
From the standpoint of where he’s at now, it’s just more or less we’re going to kind of wait and see,’ Cash told Topkin. He’s a big part of what we’re doing so we want to make sure he’s good to go before he ramps it up. If you look back, it’s pretty normal with a lot of pitchers – throw a couple bullpens and get a little tendinitis.
Smyly, who assumed his bout with tendinitis is the result of trying to “ramp up” his throwing following the delay due to his finger injury, hopes to play catch in next few days.
The elephant in the room, will Smyly be ready to start the season? Cash isn’t so sure. According to the Rays manager,
We just don’t know yet. I think it’s fair to say there’s a concern, but it’s so early we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. The shoulder, he’s improving daily. So, he’s a big part of what we’re doing so we want to be precautionary and cautious with how we get him ramped up here.
One thing is certain, don’t expect the Rays to make a free-agent acquisition to fill the possible void in the rotation. Cash told Topkin the Rays are comfortable with their in-house starting depth, citing the expected arrival of RHP Alex Colome once his visa issue is resolved. Colome has been throwing at the Rays complex in the Dominican Republic.
Injury update
Three other Rays (Nick Franklin, John Jaso, and Brandon Guyer) sustained injuries in the last few days.
Franklin strained his hip in an at-bat Saturday, against the Pirates. The Rays utility infielder went through a full workout Sunday morning, with no extenuating issues, and is expected to return to action Monday. Jaso, who bruised his shin after getting hit by a pitch in the above mentioned game, is better. However, he isn’t expected to play again until Tuesday when he hopes to get into the outfield. Guyer (oblique/lat strain) is still receiving treatment, yet it is uncertain when he will return.
The scene from the Pirates’ Spring Training home, in Bradenton. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)
The Tampa Bay Rays walked away from Bradenton with a 1-1, extra inning tie against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday. There wasn’t much offensive production to speak of, save for a Steven Souza double in the fourth inning and an Evan Longoria double in the sixth — which the Rays couldn’t convert into runs — and an eighth inning solo shot off the bat of Corey Brown; the Rays only run of the game.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Alex Cobb looked opening day ready in his two innings of work, relinquishing only one base runner on a first inning double off the bat of Gregory Polanco. Cobb was able to get out of that situation by coaxing a pair of grounders to Evan Longoria — consequently escaping the inning unscathed. Cobb followed with a 1-2-3 second inning, including a pair of strikeouts (one swinging).
Earlier I wrote about the mild oblique strain Brandon Guyer incurred. Manager Kevin Cash didn’t specify the nature of the injury instead saying Guyer “tweaked something mildly” while taking batting practice on Friday.
“He gets after it so hard in the offseason and stuff. We just said, ‘Let’s slow him down for two, three days and see where we’re at,'” Cash told reporters Saturday morning. “Everything right now is very, very minor.”
Guyer said he “doesn’t think it’s serious” and that team is “just being cautious.” At the moment he’s taking anti-inflammatory medication, ahead of an MRI, and expects to return soon.
Tampa Bay also saw two starters walk off McKechnie Field due to injuries Saturday afternoon, but neither John Jaso nor Nick Franklin believe they were seriously injured.
Jaso reached base in the first inning when Pirates’ starter AJ Burnett plunked the Rays DH on the lower portion of his right leg. Jaso was pulled from the game in the second inning when he felt his leg tighten up.
“Basically [Burnett] was throwing a front-door two-seamer that stayed true. It didn’t two-seam,” said Jaso. “I’ll be fine. It’s all right. It started tightening up while I was out there on second base. Precautionary this early is probably smart.”
Jaso, who was slated to enter Sunday’s game as a backup in left field, will see his outfield transition pushed back a couple of days.
As for Franklin, the Rays utility player left in the fourth inning with a mild left hip strain. Franklin took a “half-check swing” against right-hander Nick Kingham, and said he felt a tweak in his side. Franklin was able to finish his at-bat (culminating in a strikeout), then was replaced at second by Ryan Brett in the bottom of the inning.
“I guess I just did it a little too fast and aggravated it a little bit,” Franklin said. “I feel fine. It’s not bothering me standing or walking or anything. It’s just a little tweak, nothing serious.”
There’s no indication if he might miss any time, and for how long if so.
The New What Next
Chris Archer is scheduled to make his first start of the spring Sunday against the Phillies at Charlotte Sports Park. Several others are slated to pitch, including RHPs Brad Boxberger and Kevin Jepsen and LHP Jeff Beliveau.
Rays 3/8/15 Starting Lineup
Kiermaier CF
DeJesus LF
Cabrera 2B
Rivera C
Forsythe 3B
Butler RF
Dyskstra 1B
Elmore SS
Maile DH
Archer RHP
Noteworthiness
In an article by Adam Berry (MLB.com), the Rays skipper owned his first managerial “mistake” in the sixth inning Saturday. Evan Longoria hit a double into the left field corner off relief pitcher Jared Hughes. After one pitch to James Loney, Alexi Casilla came out of the dugout to pinch-run for a confused Longoria.
“That was 100 percent my fault. I should have communicated beforehand with Casilla,” Cash said. “Casilla was ready to go, and I kind of disrupted Loney, Longo. It won’t happen again.”
Charlotte Sports Park at game time. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
12:14 PM update: Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Brandon Guyer has been sidelined after feeling “a little grab” in left side this morning following batting practice. Rays manager Kevin Cash called the injury a “mild strain” in area of the lat/oblique, while Guyer doesn’t think he incurred anything serious.
The Rays OF is scheduled to receive an MRI, and will reportedly miss a few days as of now.
With Guyer out, the Rays are afforded the opportunity to see Steven Souza in center field this afternoon. Roger Mooney (Tampa Tribune) added, Cash wants Desmond Jennings to play LF to get him reacclimated to his old spot.
We’ll have more on this as it breaks.
The Tampa Bay Rays logged their first win of the Grapefruit League season Friday, edging out the Minnesota Twins by a 2-1 score. If you’re keeping count, the Rays are 1-0 in this year’s Knutson Classic. Jake Odorizzi started the game and worked a scoreless inning, Steven Souza racked up his first RBI as a Ray — the first of many — and Kevin Kiermaier got another assist in his second consecutive game. A few highlights follow.
Rewind the clock to a year ago when Jake Odorizzi found himself competing for the fifth starter spot with Erik Bedard. Odorizzi had to prove his worth to the roster and didn’t really get the opportunity to prepare for the season. Fast forward to 2015, the presumed fourth starter has the chance to concentrate on improving various aspects of his game rather than focus on results in games that ultimately don’t count. Odorizzi focused mainly on his fastball Friday afternoon, throwing only four off-speed pitches. And though he walked both Jordan Shafer Chris Herrmann on four pitches, he also forced a pair of critical grounders, including an inning ending double play (11 second in the video below).
[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/LmV3sQv5aro”]
In a post-game interview (seen below), Odorizzi mentioned that he has the opportunity to work on things and get ready for the year, because he knows he has a spot in the rotation:
[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/i1fq2D9YnWM”]
Steven Souza came up big in the fourth inning when he lined a fastball on the inner third of the plate, beneath the glove of the Twins’ third baseman (53 seconds in the highlight video above). Desmond Jennings came home from second base, subsequently tying the game at one apiece. For Souza, it was his first RBI as a Ray.
The Rays scored their second run in the sixth inning on an errant throw by Jorge Polanco scoring, Bobby Wilson.
Speaking of Polanco, Kevin Kiermaier gunned down him down at second as he tried to stretch a single into a double. The moral of this story, don’t try to run on The Outlaw! Kiermaier now has two assists in the still young Grapefruit League season.
A few other odds and ends appear in Noteworthiness, below.
The New What Next
Alex Cobb will make his first start of the spring on Saturday afternoon when the Rays travel to Brandenton to play the Pirates. Cobb was tabbed as the team’s Opening Day starter earlier in the week. Other pitchers expected to see action include LHP Grayson Garvin and Everett Teaford, and RHP Dylan Floro, Andrew Bellatti, and Bryce Stowell. Rays 3/7/15 Starting Lineup
Beckham SS
Jaso DH
Jennings LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Franklin 2B
Souza CF
Butler RF
Wilson C
Cobb RHP
Noteworthiness
Following another fielding gaffe, David DeJesus left the game early after being hit by a pitch on arm. All is well, he was seen laughing and joking in the dugout.
The Twins put together a rally in the fifth inning, thanks to two singles off Brandon Gomes, and an error of aggressiveness by Kiermaier as he charged a ball. Yet Gomes struck out the final batter of the inning and ultimately escaped without any damage. He racked up a pair of batters in that almost disastrous inning.
The newly converted reliever Mike Montgomery was credited with the save.
Souza was one of two players involved in a fourth inning double steal. The Rays are hopefully taking lessons from the Royals’ 2014 squad (or the 2008 Tampa Bay Team) — steals, or the mere threat of one, can be very dangerous for the opposition.
Nathan Karns started the Rays spring training slate with two scoreless innings. (Photo and caption courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
Despite a two-out, ninth inning solo blast off the bat of Joey Butler, the Tampa Bay Rays dropped the Grapefruit League opener to the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 3-2, Thursday afternoon. All is not lost, however; Nathan Karns was solid in his two innings of work, there were more than a few defensive gems in the game that stayed scoreless into the seventh inning, and Butler turned out to be the Rays offense.
Karns was efficient in his two innings of scoreless work, walking one while ringing up another — all on 21 total pitches. Karns got some defensive help from Evan Longoria in the first inning after Longo caught a shallow fly-ball left field, then quickly turned and gunned down Steve Clevenger at first base to end the inning (36 seconds in on the highlight video below). As Cash noted in his post game interview, Karns, “Seemed to pitch up in the zone, but made a couple pitches when it counted.”
Karns spoke with the media following his start:
Kevin Jepsen, Brad Boxberger and Enny Romero followed Karns, and each were impressive (their lines are below). Both Jepsen and Romero topped out at 96 mph, with the latter striking out a pair of Orioles.
Kevin Jepsen 1 IP/1 H/0 R/0 BB/0 K
Brad Boxberger 1 IP/1 H/0 R/1 BB/0 K
Enny Romero 1 IP/1 H/0 R/0 BB/2 K
That defense
Defensively speaking, the Rays were on point Thursday. Besides the above mentioned play by Longoria, Asdrubal Cabrera made a beautiful ranging play, snaring a soft liner in the fourth. Who said his range was diminished? Likewise, Hak-Ju Lee — trying to get back on top of his game — made an outstanding ranging play of his own in the top of the eighth. So what if he had a throwing error on the very next play. But Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Guyer easily made the best defensive plays of the game.
In the third inning David DeJesus misplayed a fly ball at the wall, thanks to the wind and the high sun. Kevin Kiermaier chased the ball down, as it bounded toward center, and threw out Chris Parmalee at third base (54 seconds in on the highlight video below). Guyer made his heads-up play in the fourth inning when he caught Evereth Cabrera off guard rounding second base. Guyer threw the ball behind the bag and the Rays’ Cabrera snagged the ball, and tagged out the Orioles’ Cabrera (1:12 in on the highlight video below).
Tampa Bay scored two runs on seven hits Thursday. Joey Butler, former teammate of Kevin Cash, drove in both of those runs on an RBI double in the seventh, and a solo bomb in the ninth to the deepest part of the Charlotte Sports Park. Butler has always been a strikeout candidate, his career 42.9% K% speaks to that. However, he cut down his strikeouts in an incredibly small sample size from Triple-A last season, and if there’s evidence that this is a trend, Butler could be an intriguing piece of depth for the Rays.
Marc Topkin’s (Tampa Bay Times) video report from the Grapefruit League opener follows.
The New What Next
RHP Jake Odorizzi will get the start Friday vs. Minnesota, in the first game of the Knutson Classic.
Rays 3/6/15 Starting Lineup
Franklin SS
Rivera C
Cabrera DH
Jennings CF
DeJesus LF
Souza RF
Forsythe 1B
Francisco 3B
Elmore 2B
Odorizzi RHP
Noteworthiness
The Rays made official the signing of RHP Jim Miller to a minor league deal. Miller will join the competition for bullpen spot.
A pair of David DeJesus relevant tweets were posted by Topkin, Thursday. File them under The More You Know:
FWIW, DeJesus playing well in OF this spring would definitely help increase his trade value as #Rays seek to move him
The St. Pete City Council passed three resolutions that directly apply to the Rays in their search for a new stadium. And while it’s hard to find any news about the resolutions on the web, Noah Pransky (Shadow of the Stadium) posted the resolutions as they appeared on the council’s agenda before the meeting:
(a) Resolution of the City Council of the City of St. Petersburg, Florida expressing its desire to keep St. Petersburg the home of the Tampa Bay Rays for decades to come.
(b) Resolution of the City Council of the City of St. Petersburg, Florida requesting
Administration to provide City Council with a proposed scope of work and cost to retain a consultant to determine the economic impact to the City of St. Petersburg from
the Tampa Bay Rays remaining in St. Petersburg beyond the term of the use agreement,
the Tampa Bay Rays relocating to Hillsborough County following the term of the use agreement or prior to the end of the term of the use agreement subject to City Council approval, and
the Tampa Bay Rays relocating to a location outside the Tampa Bay region following the term of the use agreement or prior to the end of the term of the use agreement subject to City Council approval.
(c) Resolution of the City Council of the City of St. Petersburg, Florida requesting the Tourist Development Council to
propose an amendment to the Tourist Development Plan to provide that an allocation of one percent of the five percent tourist tax revenues be available to finance the construction of a new stadium in St. Petersburg for the Tampa Bay Rays unless it is concluded that the Tampa Bay Rays will not build a new stadium in St. Petersburg, and
recommend such proposed amendment to the Tourist Development Plan to the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners.
In short, the council voted to keep the Rays within the city limits of St. Petersburg, agreed upon the hiring of a consultant to determine the Rays economic impact to the City of St. Petersburg, and promised that one percent of the five percent tourist tax revenues would be available to finance the construction of a new stadium in St. Petersburg unless it is concluded that the team will not build a new stadium within the city limits (including any land that would be annexed by the city).
Another difference between Kevin Cash and Joe Maddon: the lineup card for Thursday’s spring opener was released almost a full day ahead of the game. (Photo courtesy of Marc Topkin)
The Tampa Bay Rays concluded the bulk of their pre-Grapefruit League action, full squad workouts ahead of Thursday’s Spring Training opener against the Baltimore Orioles. Asdrubal Cabrera returned to the fold after being sent home the day previous with stomach virus like symptoms. And while there wasn’t much of a buzz regarding Wednesday’s shortened workout, there is quite a buzz ahead of Thursday’s game. I’ll delve into that below.
For Starters
Alex Cobb was named as the Opening Day starter against the Orioles on April 6. Cobb, whose initial reaction was “Joy,” will continue the streak of 13 consecutive seasons for Tampa Bay with an Opening Day starter who is 30 years old or younger — the Rays are only team that can make that claim. He is also the first Ray in seven years, who isn’t David Price or James Shields, to take the mound on Opening Day.
Kevin Cash said it was obvious how much of an honor this is for the Rays ace,
He was extremely excited. I kind of expected him to say, ‘Yeah, OK, whatever,’ but he was pumped. And you look back and you’re like, ‘Man, he’s had some good pitchers here that maybe he’s had to wait in turn for Shields and Price and those guys. I think he looks at it as being an honor, because there have been some good ones here in the past that have done it.
Cash admitted he considered starting Drew Smyly or Chris Archer on April 6, but Cobb ultimately earned the spot based on his past performance, and the amount of work he put into things this off-season past,
I think for the organization, you respect what the other guys have done in Arch and Smyly. But Cobb, he’s right there with them,” he said. “We know everyone wants to do it, but at the same time, with the way Cobb pitched last year and also just the work he’s put in this offseason – along with Arch – has been really impressive to watch.
In true ace form, Cobb was humbled by the opportunity to kick things off, though he is well aware of the responsibility this position holds,
…More on an individual note, seeing what Archer did last year in making every one of his starts and having an excellent year statistically and just on and off the field the way he came into his own, if he was given the ball, I’d have nothing but excitement for him also. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was excited to get that nod.
I definitely think taking the ball on opening day comes with a lot of responsibilities, whether you want to embrace that or not,” Cobb said. “There’s going to be a lot of eyes looking at you and judging you, how you go about your business. Younger guys will all want to be in that position to have the ball on opening day, so they’re going to watch how you go about your business and try to replicate that. Whether you want that tag on your or not, it’s there. The best thing to do is embrace it and carry it, take all the responsibilities that go along with it.
Cash also set the rotation for the opening series, leading into the following set against the Miami Marlins:
April 6 Alex Cobb
April 7 Chris Archer
April 8 Drew Smyly
April 10 Jake Odorizzi
It should be noted, neither Cash nor the team know who the fifth starter will be. Because of it, they may skip that spot and bring back Cobb, on regular rest (they are off April 9), on April 11 .
Longo in the fourth hole
For all of Joe Maddon’s intrinsic wisdom, he tended to place Evan Longoria in the three hole based on Longo’s preference for where he hit in the batting order.
The Rays third baseman told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) that he was willing to hit wherever in the order as long as that’s what was best for the team,
I’ve always said, and as far back as when Joe (Maddon) was here, if that’s what makes the lineup better, if that’s what gives us the best chance to win on a nightly basis, then I’ll hit wherever you ask me to hit,” Longoria said. “They feel that the way our lineup shapes up that that’s the best way, and I agree with that.
And after speaking with Cash and team officials, it was determined that he would be better suited hitting cleanup. Besides Longoria is more productive when he’s hitting fourth, statistically speaking:
With all of this in mind, Longoria will bat fourth in Thursday’s game in part as an experiment — behind Cabrera and ahead of James Loney — though this is what the middle of the order will look like more-or-less.
How it all lines up
As Topkin wrote, “another major point of spring interest will be the middle infield alignment. Cabrera starts at shortstop in the spring opener with Tim Beckham at second, though Cash said there will be numerous combinations.”
David DeJesus, who is still likely to be traded, will start in left field. Starting players will get two at-bats and pitchers will work one inning apiece unless a starter has a very short one.
Rays 3/5/15 Starting Lineup
Beckham 2B
Jaso DH
Cabrera SS
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
DeJesus LF
Guyer RF
Kiermaier CF
Casali C
Karns P
Also slated to see time on the mound; left handed pitchers Enny Romero, CJ Riefenhauser and Robert Zarate, and right handed pitchers Kevin Jepsen, Brad Boxberger, Steve Geltz, German Marquez, Andrew Bellatti and Dylan Floro.
Noteworthiness
The Rays inked a minor-league deal and spring invite, pending a physical, with RHP Jim Miller. Miller, 32, spent parts of five seasons in the majors and will add bullpen depth. Most his work came in a 48-2/3 inning stint with the Athletics in 2012, when he posted a 2.59 ERA (4.74 FIP) with 44 strikeouts against 27 walks (5.25 K/BB). Miller has a 3.48 ERA (5.19 FIP) with 7.9 K9, 5.2 BB9 and a 33.5% GB%. Per Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors), he’s averaged just under 93 mph on his fastball in his 67 1/3 Major League innings and has a solid 3.78 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 429 Triple-A innings.
On the subject of the Miller acquisition, Tommy Rancel (Process Report blog) brought up a good point,
With Ronald Belisario on the shelf indefinitely due to a left shoulder fracture, Miller likely assumes his role as the veteran hurler with groundball tendencies. Miller throws in the low to mid 90s, but unlike Bellasario, has at least one secondary offering worth noting: a low-70s curveball. There is also a slider that is tossed a bit harder.
The winner(s) of the remaining bullpen spot(s) will likely be someone younger and with better stuff, but Miller has the chance to stick around the franchise as a plan c or d.
