The New What Next: Rays Drop Another, Moore to Take the Mound, Etc

Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson worked seven innings against the Yankees on Sunday, which the right-hander believes is a career high for him in Grapefruit League action. (Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)
Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson worked seven innings against the Yankees on Sunday, which the right-hander believes is a career high for him in Grapefruit League action. (Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)

Here we go folks, the last leg of the Grapefruit League season is upon us. And with only seven spring training games left to go, the Rays will take on the Pirates tonight in Port Charlotte.

Tampa Bay is coming off of another loss, this time at the hands of the Yankees who won Sunday in walk-off fashion. Left fielder Ronnier Mustelier hit a tenth inning off Josh Leuke to give the Yankees the 7-6 victory. To be fair, the homer was aided by the wind which blew out at a steady clip throughout the duration of the game.

Tampa Bay Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks in seven innings of work. Hellickson looked okay Sunday, but he certainly wasn’t spectacular. Helly gave up a pair of homers to the Yankees — a two-run homer to Kevin Youkilis in the first inning and a solo shot off the bat of Travis Hafner in the sixth — as well as an RBI-triple to Eduardo Nunez in the third inning. Nunez drove in Brett Gardner who had reached base after grounding into a force-out earlier in the inning. Hellickson is expected to get one more spring training start before the 2013 season opens in eight days.

Offensively speaking, the bulk of the Rays runs came from a fourth inning rally thanks to RBI’s from Jose Molina, Desmond Jennings, and Ben Zobrist.

Matt Moore will get the start tonight following a rain out last week which found him throwing a simulated game the following day. The Rays are looking for a confidence-building outing out of Moore. Brandon Gomes — who is competing for the final bullpen spot — as well as Joel Peralta are also slated to seem action tonight.

Rays 3/25/13 Starting Lineup:

Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Scott DH
Longoria 3B
Joyce RF
Escobar SS
Loney 1B
Molina C
Johnson LF
Moore LHP

Noteworthiness:

  • According to Marc Topkin of the Times, “OF Sam Fuld got six at-bats (0-for-5 with a walk) and played five innings in center during a minor league game, saying he felt good and tested his right hamstring again. Fuld said he’ll take Tuesday off, and plan is to play in the Rays home finale in Port Charlotte Wednesday. “Everything’s good,” he said.”
  • Kyle Farnsworth said his bruised right middle finger is better. This news comes on the heels of a 1/3 inning outing Saturday, where he was pulled from the game following an attempt to bare hand a hit up the middle. He threw all his pitches Sunday with no issues, and plans to make his regularly scheduled appearances Wednesday and Saturday.

 

 

This Week in Rays Baseball: 3/17/13-3/24/13

Infielder Sean Rodriguez #1 of the Tampa Bay Rays is hit by a pitch from the Boston Red Sox during a Grapefruit League Spring Training Game at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 16, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
Infielder Sean Rodriguez #1 of the Tampa Bay Rays is hit by an Alfredo Aceves pitch during a Grapefruit League game on March 16, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. It goes without saying, Aceves is an idiot. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

It’s time for another edition of This Week in Rays Baseball, recapping the news and moves from the past week.

  • It’s been a tough week for the Rays, at least on the field. Tampa Bay dropped six of their last seven games, with only six games left until opening day. However the majority of those losses came in the late innings when the regulars were pulled in lieu of the non roster invites or minor leaguers. That is to say, the majority of the Rays regulars have looked good. Two of the six remaining spring training games — Monday against the Pirates, and Wednesday against the Blue Jays — will take place in Port Charlotte, while the remaining four will take place on the road, including a Saturday exhibition game against the Tigers at the Trop.
  • The Rays made more cuts, whittling the roster down to 31. The Rays reassigned Dane De La Rosa, Kirby Yates, Leslie Anderson, Cole Figueroa, Rich Thompson, Wil Myers, Juan Sandoval, Will Inman and Brandon Martin to minor league camp. They also optioned OF Brandon Guyer and P Josh Lueke to Triple-A Durham. Finally, recent acquisition Jack Cust and first baseman Nick Weglarz were released from their contracts.
  • Speaking of cuts, Rays beat writer Marc Topkin wrote, “Tuesday is the deadline to either put RHP Jamey Wright on the 25-man roster (where he’d make $1 million) or the disabled list, release him or pay him a $100,000 retention bonus to keep him in the minors (with a June 1 opt-out). Same for RHP Juan Carlos Oviedo, who is recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery and thus is likely headed to the DL, the Rays holding a 2014 option for $2 million plus incentives. … Though the season opener isn’t until April 2, the Rays have to set their 25-man roster March 31.” Rays skipper Joe Maddon all but confirmed that Jamey Wright will be on the opening day roster in a pre-game scrum prior to Sunday’s Rays/Yankees matchup.
  • We learned that Sam Fuld isn’t expected to play in any big-league exhibition games until the Rays are certain that he will be ready for the season. This could impact the back-dating of a possible stint on the DL. The question begs, if Fuld isn’t back in the lineup by April 2nd, who could fill his spot on the roster? It would be reasonable to assume that either Leslie Anderson or Brandon Guyer could temporarily fill Fuld’s spot. Marc Topkin asserts that Guyer would probably fill in for Fuld since he’s on the 40-man roster and Anderson is not.
  • Rays closer Fernando Rodney returned to camp Thursday after being named to the All-World Baseball Classic team. According to Bill Chastain of MLB.com, “Rays manager Joe Maddon said the team plans to work him back into the swing of things gradually, noting that he won’t pitch in an actual exhibition game for five or six days.” Jose Molina and Ben Zobrist also returned to camp this week, though Molina saw all of three at-bats in the WBC. “J-Mo, we’ve just to get working,” Maddon said. “Knowing him, he’s going to be fine, I just don’t know how sharp (he will be) maybe offensively, that’s the part. Defensively it shouldn’t be that big of a concern.” Jose Molina got some playing time both Thursday, Friday, and Sunday following his stint with team Puerto Rico in the WBC.

Joe Maddon noted that the roster is all but certain,

“You could almost say 90 percent looks as you would think, as you would expect,” manager Joe Maddon said Sunday.”

  • The Rays still need to figure out who the fifth starter may be and what the rotation will look like, what the pen will look like, and who the extra outfielders and catchers will be. Rays beat writer Marc Topkin tackled that very subject in this piece.
  • David Price feels like something is missing, saying,

    “I feel fine. I feel good out there, and my stuff is good and good in the bullpen,” Price said. “I really feel like last year it took me to my first start. That’s when everything clicked for me. I’m still kind of waiting for that now… This last week I feel like I’ve hit a wall in spring training,” he said. “I get out there on the mound, I just feel like blah.”

    Price was encouraged to have gotten out of some jams Saturday, but was frustrated he wasn’t more efficient. With one more spring outing to go, Price is confident he’ll be ready by opening day.

  • NPR posted an interview with Tom Dunkel, author of “Color Blind: The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball’s Color Line.” Dunkel spoke on the subject of a Bismarck, ND semi-professional baseball team that was integrated a full 10 years prior to Jackie Robinson joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, ending racial segregation in the major leagues. The interview is well worth your time!
  • Finally, we’re still shamelessly self promoting our Instagram and Flickr accounts. They are conveniently located, along with the rest of the tabs, in the top right-hand corner. Follow us, as we continue our campaign for social media/internet domination.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Lose to the Twins, Kyle Farnsworth Gets Brusied, and Another Round of Roster Cuts

The Rays dropped their fourth consecutive Grapefruit League game Saturday in a 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Tampa Bay is now 14-13 on the spring with only seven games left to play until opening day.

David Price got the start Saturday and put together a solid performance early on, though things started to slip away in the fourth inning. After getting two quick outs, Price gave up a pair of singles and a pair of walks which resulting in two runs. Price ultimately allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks, while striking out seven in five innings innings of work.

Hoping to pitch into the sixth inning, Price was pulled after 89 pitches in the fifth, saying,

“I feel fine. I feel good out there, and my stuff is good and good in the bullpen,” Price said. “I really feel like last year it took me to my first start. That’s when everything clicked for me. I’m still kind of waiting for that now… This last week I feel like I’ve hit a wall in spring training,” he said. “I get out there on the mound, I just feel like blah.”

Price was encouraged to have gotten out of some jams, but was frustrated he wasn’t more efficient. With one more spring outing to go, Price is confident he’ll be ready by opening day.

The Rays four runs came in the third and fourth innings thanks to Jose Lobaton, James Loney, and Yunel Escobar who drove in a run a piece. Evan Longoria also crossed the plate thanks to a Twins error. Lobaton had a monster day in the batters box, going 3-3 with a solo shot in the bottom of the third. He however was not rewarded with ice cream this time around.

A bit of a scare came in the eighth inning when reliever Kyle Farnsworth was pulled from the game as a precaution after only 1/3 of an inning. Farnsworth bruised his right middle finger while reaching for grounder with his pitching hand. Rays Skipper Joe Maddon says he will be fine.

The New What Next:

Jeremy Hellickson will get the start Sunday afternoon against the Yankees in Tampa. Helly is 2-0 with a 4.97 ERA in Grapefruit League action thus far, and will be making his fifth appearance of the spring. Also slated to pitch are Kirby Yates and Joel Peralta. We’ll post the Rays starting lineup when it becomes available.

Rays 3/24/13 Starting Lineup:

Jennings CF
Johnson 2B
Zobrist DH
Joyce RF
Duncan 1B
Escobar SS
Roberts 3B
Molina C
Rodriguez LF
Hellickson RHP

Noteworthiness:

  • Tampa Bay made another round of cuts Saturday, reassigning Dane De La Rosa, Kirby Yates, Leslie Anderson, Cole Figueroa, and Rich Thompson to minor league camp. Recent acquisition Jack Cust was released from his contract. The roster is down to 32 players.
  • Marc Topkin writes that the Rays opening day roster may look like this: Pitchers (12): Alex Cobb, Kyle Farnsworth, Jeremy Hellickson, Roberto Hernandez, Jake McGee, Matt Moore, Jeff Niemann, Joel Peralta. David Price, Cesar Ramos, Fernando Rodney, Jamey Wright-x, Catchers (2): Jose Lobaton, Jose Molina, Infielders (6): Yunel Escobar, Kelly Johnson, James Loney, Evan Longoria, Ryan Roberts, Sean Rodriguez, Outfielders (5): Sam Fuld, Desmond Jennings, Matt Joyce, Luke Scott, Ben Zobrist
  • Topkin also writes, “Tuesday is the deadline to either put RHP Jamey Wright on the 25-man roster (where he’d make $1 million) or the disabled list, release him or pay him a $100,000 retention bonus to keep him in the minors (with a June 1 opt-out). Same for RHP Juan Carlos Oviedo, who is recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery and thus is likely headed to the DL, the Rays holding a 2014 option for $2 million plus incentives. … Though the season opener isn’t until April 2, the Rays have to set their 25-man roster March 31.”

The New What Next: Rays Drop Two, Prepare for Another Round of the Knutson Cup

Jeff Niemann on the mound in his March 22, 2013 start against the Orioles in Port Charlotte, FL (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times)
Jeff Niemann on the mound in his March 22, 2013 outing against the Baltimore Orioles in Port Charlotte, FL (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times)

The Rays had an opportunity to walk away with a pair of W’s Friday, however they’ll head into Saturday’s game against the Twins in Port Charlotte with a pair of L’s instead.

Alex Cobb got the start in the 6-4 loss to the Pirates. Cobber threw 103 pitches in six-and-a-third innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits, while striking out five and walking three.

With T-Minus 10 days and counting until opening day, Cobb mentioned that he felt great, also saying,

“It was the most comparable to a real game that I’ve felt this spring,” Cobb said. “I went through my challenges with runners on, working through jams, working through my mechanics, figuring things out. And I got up and got down seven times for the innings, which is really nice to get that feeling.”

Jeff Niemann got the start in Port Charlotte against the Orioles, making his second to last start in his bid for the fifth spot on the starting rotation. Niemann posted a unimpressive 6 IP/10 H/5 R/5 ER/1 BB/5 K/1 HR slash line on the day. His velocity was still down  in the 87-88 mph range. The tall righty had a positive take on his start, saying,

“Honestly, it’s the best I’ve felt all spring,” said Niemann. “The best I’ve thrown the ball. Really I made just a couple of bad pitches. The homer is what really upset me today, but besides that, I thought I threw the ball pretty well.”

Both Roberto Hernandez and Jeff Niemann will get their final starts of the spring next week — Hernandez taking the hill against the Phillies on Tuesday in Clearwater, and Niemann getting the start against the Blue Jays Wednesday in Port Charlotte. Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon are slated to make their decision on the fifth starter toward the end of next week.

Luke Scott had another good day in the batters box Friday, hitting two doubles against the Pirates. Ben Zobrist also had a good day, hitting his first homer of the spring in the same game. Evan Longoria continued to tear the cover off the baseball Friday against the Orioles, hitting a bases clearing three RBI double bases-clearing double in the third inning. Longo raised his Grapefruit League batting average to .389, with seven doubles and 10 RBIs.

Rays 3/23/13 Starting Lineup:

Jennings CF
Zobrist RF
Joyce LF
Longoria 3B
Scott DH
Escobar SS
Loney 1B
Lobaton C
Johnson 2B
Price LHP

Noteworthiness:

  • Jose Molina got some playing time both Thursday and Friday following his stint with team Puerto Rico in the WBC. Molina slapped a single and caught for six innings Friday.
  • Saturday’s 1:05 PM game against the Twins is scheduled to air on Fox Sports Florida.

The New What Next: Rays Take on the O’s and the Pirates in Split Squad Games, and More

Pitcher Roberto Hernandez #40 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches against the Boston Red Sox during a Grapefruit League Spring Training Game at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 16, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
Pitcher Roberto Hernandez #40 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches against the Boston Red Sox during a Grapefruit League Spring Training Game at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 16, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

Following a tough 3-1 loss at the hands of the Blue Jays Thursday, the Rays will take on both the Orioles and the Pirates in a pair of split squad games in Port Charlotte and Bradenton respectively.

Thursday’s game had more to do with a weak offensive showing — the Rays went 1-6 wRISP, with the only run coming off of a sixth inning, James Loney, RBI base hit with the bases loaded — than it did with Roberto Hernandez’s performance. Hernandez, who is still battling it out for the last spot on the starting rotation, was outstanding. Allowing only one run (a solo homer by Colby Rasmus), Hernandez threw 66 pitches (42 for strikes), relenting only three hits in six innings of work, while striking out two.

RHP Alex Cobb will get the start against the Pirates in Bradenton, while RHP Jeff Niemann will take the mound against the Orioles in Port Charlotte. Both the starting lineups and Noteworthiness are below.

Rays 3/22/13 Starting Lineup vs the Pirates:

Jennings CF
Johnson LF
Zobrist SS
Joyce RF
Scott DH
Roberts 3B
Duncan 1B
Gimenez C
Figueroa 2B
Cobb RHP

Rays 3/22/13 Starting Lineup vs the Orioles:

Rodriguez 2B
Fontenot LF
Longoria 3B
Anderson RF
Escobar SS
Loney 1B
Molina C
Cust DH
Bourgeois CF
Niemann RHP

Noteworthiness:

  • Sam Fuld is expected to play in the outfield in a minor league game Friday. Joe Maddon reiterated that he is “confident OF Sam Fuld (hamstring) will be ready by opener, will likely get into Grapefruit League game by most likely Monday,” reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
  • There are lingering concerns over the Rays offensive production, especially following a 2012 season where they were 21-27 in one run games, while losing five games by a score of 1-0. “The general lack of offense has been a reoccurring theme with the Rays. Sure, they have had three straight seasons with 90 wins; however, there are still games in which the team struggles to string together hits, or even get on base,” writes Stephanie Katz of DRaysBay. The linked article is worth a read.