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.