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Cash, Rays Set to Announce the Opening Day Roster Friday

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Newest Rays Erasmo Ramirez meets with his new teammates at Tropicana Field Thursday morning. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

Newest Rays Erasmo Ramirez meets with his new teammates at Tropicana Field Friday morning. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

Sources close to the Rays said manager Kevin Cash has finalized the Opening Day roster (pending anything unforeseen in the next two days) and will announce it after today’s game in Lakeland. Cash was optimistic, telling the press,

If we remain healthy, I think we’re pretty good where we’re at. We have a very good sense of what we’ll be doing.

The potential holdup with roster announcement is with Erasmo Ramirez and the final starting pitching spot(s).

That would be the one thing, if there is a holdup, depending how that shakes out with those two spots, said Cash.

Also factoring into Cash’s decision, final decisions seem to be whether Curt Casali or Bobby Wilson will be the backup catcher, if Tim Beckham or Jake Elmore will get the backup infielder spot on the roster, and who fills the two or three remaining bullpen spots — Steve Geltz, CJ Riefenhauser, Kirby Yates, and the  previously optioned Burch Smith and Jose Dominguez.

The team’s front office had multiple discussions about the roster Thursday and again Thursday night, however Cash and other team officials were still talking with the players about the final decisions Friday morning.

Ramirez met his teammates for the first time Friday, and seems excited by the opportunity to play for Tampa Bay following his trade from the Mariners. He will pitch Saturday at the Trop against the Tigers, though it isn’t known whether he’ll start the game or work out of the ‘pen.

Noteworthiness

  • Yeah yeah yeah, Spring Training statistics are meaningless, yet this is still pretty great. Per Dave Haller,

Rays Spring Training Update, Day 40: Rays Destroy Phillies 10-1, Game Notes, Etc

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It was a beautiful day for a ball game Thursday afternoon, in Clearwater, FL (Photo courtesy of Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

With just three games remaining on the Grapefruit League schedule, the Tampa Bay Rays took to the mean streets of Highway 275, en route to the Philadelphia Phillies’ Spring Training complex in Clearwater, for a game against Ryne Sandberg’s rag-tag crew. The Rays exited the proverbial slaughterhouse after leading the lambs (Phillies) into a 10-1 buzz saw of epic proportions. Who cares that this is just Spring Training. Sandberg and his crew deserved the pummeling after making Tampa Bay play without a DH, to which Rays manager Kevin Cash admitted to not quite understanding, “We don’t quite understand… But whatever.”

I live blogged the game at our Tumblr page, and you can relive the game in all of its realtime — albeit retroactive — glory. Below are a few cherry picked highlights, among other things:

— Chris Archer and Nathan Karns both looked sharp in their final tuneup before the regular season. Archer allowed just a hit, while striking out two (both swinging, both on change-ups) in two-innings of work. Archer focused mainly on his fastball and change-up and threw 27 pitches in all, with 20 crossing as strikes (74% K/BB). His final line: 2 IP/1 H/2 K/27 pitches (20 strikes).

The Opening Day starter told Rays Radio he thought he accomplished a great deal this spring, especially with his change up:

Archer also told the media he’s ready to go for Opening Day:

Body feels good, I was happy to get out there and hit my pitch count right on the head, execute some pitches, work with runners on base, just kind of recap everything I’ve been working on. Everything felt good. I’m healthy. Now I’m ready for April 6.

Nathan Karns threw a few warm-up tosses while Chris Archer pitched in the first inning. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

— Nathan Karns followed Archer and posted six solid innings, allowing one run on five hits, while walking two and striking out eight. It was the longest outing of the spring for Karns, who focused mainly on his fastball (topping out at 94 mph), change-up, and curve ball. Though he gave up a solo shot and allowed seven batters to reach on five hits and two walks, Karns was able to work through every jam he faced with ease. The line from Karns’ last spring outing: 6 IP/5 H/1 ER/2 BB/8 K.

Karns was pleased after his tough outing against the Red Sox, saying, “I’m here. I’m ready.”

The Rays were forced to forgo the use of a DH, as they were playing in an NL park, yet they still collected 10 runs and 13 hits.

— David DeJesus mashed a three-run homer to cap a four run second inning:

— Kevin Kiermaier ripped a two-run triple over the head of Grady Sizemore, plating Logan Forsythe and Tim Beckham in the process:

— In the in the ninth inning, the replacement prospects hammered closer Jonathan Papelbon to the tune of four runs while he got just one out. Of note, the Rays batters combined for the cycle in Papelbon’s 1/3 of an inning of work:

— Papelbon confounded many by wearing catcher Carlos Ruiz’s jersey on the mound.

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According to the Phillies skipper, Papelbon has worn a different teammate’s jersey for the spring finale the last couple of years,

I think he’s done it the last three years and I think each time it hasn’t worked very well for him.

— Tim Beckham went 3-for-3 with a run, and Logan Forsythe had two hits in as many plate appearances and scored twice.

The New What Next

Jake Odorizzi will start Friday afternoon against the Tigers in the first of two weekend games against Detroit. Also expected to see action are Grant Balfour, Brad Boxberger, Ernesto Frieri, Kevin Jepsen and Jeff Beliveau.

Rays 4/3/15 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier DH
Souza RF
Jaso LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Guyer CF
Beckham 2B
Elmore SS
Wilson C
Odorizzi RHP

Noteworthiness

  • Manager Kevin Cash told the media that either Erasmo Ramirez or Matt Andriese  both will pitch at the Trop Saturday, though it isn’t known who will start. Andriese will likely pitch an inning, as they’d like to keep him available for games one or two of the season. I’d imagine any use Saturday would be sparing at best. Ramirez will wear number 30.
  • The St. Petersburg City Council unanimously agreed to hold a workshop on the Rays bid for stadium search “as quickly as possible,” noting that the upcoming baseball season is just days away. This news comes on the heels of earlier news of Mayor Rick Krisemen’s decision to hold off on putting his latest proposal, which would allow the team explore stadium options in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, up to vote. According to an article penned by Stephen Nohlgren (Tampa Bay Times), several council members expressed hope that the Rays would send a representative, however principal owner Stuart Sternberg recently said he will no longer let his executives to talk to the council as a body — only to individual members. Mayor Kriseman’s spokesperson Ben Kirby said either the mayor or a representative would attend the workshop.
  • According to Melissa Lockard of Oakland Clubhouse blog, RHP Matt Buschmann has been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations. Buschmann previously pitched two seasons in the Rays organization before joining Oakland in 2014. Buschmann offers the Rays extra pitching depth at Triple-A Durham.
  • Monday! Monday! Monday! We hope to see all of you at our Opening Day pre-game party at Green Bench Brewing Company.

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Cash, Rays Face Tough Roster Questions

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Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Nathan Karns throws in the third inning of a Spring Training game. (Photo courtesy of Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Nathan Karns throws in the third inning of a Spring Training game. (Photo courtesy of Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

There is an update to the portion of this piece about the middle infield (below).

As the 2015 Grapefruit League season winds down, manager Kevin Cash and the Tampa Bay Rays have a number of roster questions left to settle: Who will fill the final two starting rotation spots? Who will back up Rene Rivera behind the plate? Who will the team slot in behind Asdrubal Cabrera, Logan Forsythe and eventually Nick Franklin? And finally, what will the team do with outfielder David DeJesus? Unfortunately these questions don’t come with the easiest of answers.

With two of their projected five starters (Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly) set to begin the season on the DL, the Rays are looking at a few options — both internally and externally — to join Chris Archer, Nathan Karns, and Jake Odorizzi in the rotation. However, those efforts are mainly focused on replenishing depth, figuring they only need to cover for a month or so. Besides the team doesn’t need a fifth starter until April 14.

Matt Andriese, who got the start Monday, and Mike Montgomery are the leading in-house candidates who remain on the big league spring roster. Burch Smith, who was recently reassigned, is also an option and he can be brought back from minor league camp.

Matt Silverman is reportedly looking outside the organization for a low-cost option, and as Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) wrote, this is the week veterans who aren’t going to make other teams are cut loose. Among a healthy list the Rays appear to be considering are Wandy Rodriguez (in camp with the Braves), Bruce Chen and Shawn Marcum (in camp with the Indians), Clayton Richard (in camp with the Pirates), and the recently released Paul Maholm. In the case of Maholm, the 32 year-old left handed pitcher has previously been connected to the Rays.

Then there’s the backup catcher conundrum between Curts Casali and non-roster invitee Bobby Wilson. Cash discussed the two candidates with Rays Radio on Sunday:

That decision will likely be based on defensive skills, offensive potential and roster flexibility.

I think both of the guys have had good camps, Cash told Topkin. They’ve showed things they needed to show. And we kind of anticipated that would happen. … Both have been outstanding in getting their work in putting their best foot forward.

Cash acknowledged both Casali and Wilson have been on point behind the plate as well:

There hasn’t been a lot of separation there because they’ve both played so well.

Casali, by and large, is the better hitter, although Wilson has more big league experience and a reputation as a strong defensive player. From a roster point of view, Casali would be the most reasonable option since he is currently on the 40-man; a spot would need to be opened for Wilson.

As for who will play behind Cabrera and Forsythe to start the season, despite the poor offensive showing this spring, Tim Beckham seems to be a lock for the spot. After all, Beckham is already on the 40-man roster, and he is more than capable to play either middle infield position.

The decision by Cash is between Jake Elmore, who has more flexibility all over the field, and Alexi Casilla. However, Casilla was just released from his contract — although the Rays could potentially re-sign the infielder who, as I noted previously, has more big league experience at second base. Also working in Casilla’s favor, he is a switch hitter with numbers similar those of Franklin vs. right handed pitching. The Rays will need to open spot for another middle infielder who isn’t currently on the roster. 

If you haven’t noticed, opening a spot on the roster is a running theme here. The running assumption has been to deal David DeJesus to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Having said that, a market for DeJesus hasn’t developed — and that’s taking into consideration the teams who sought outfield depth due to injuries. Additionally the team doesn’t seem keen on eating the $6 million he is guaranteed in 2015. As Topkin insisted, barring an outfield injury, they may keep DeJesus — at least to start the season — at the expense of that extra reliever or middle infielder.

In terms of roster decisions, there will be plenty of discussions throughout the week. Still the decisions will likely all come from the Trop, where the team will work beginning on Wednesday. Alas the team will have to drop (and/or risk losing) someone to make room on the roster. There just doesn’t seem to be a clean, creative way to potentially add Wilson, Casilla or Elmore, and a couple of pitchers.

I haven’t even touched on the questions swirling around the bullpen; I’ll speak to them tomorrow.   

Noteworthiness 

— Kevin Cash and the Rays inched closer to settling their final roster by reassigning RHP Brandon Gomes and LHP Everett Teaford, C Mayo Acosta, OF Corey Brown, OF Joey Butler, RHP Jhan Marinez, RHP Jim Miller and LHP Jordan Norberto.

Cash told Marc Topkin the conversation was toughest with Gomes, who allowed one run in sevem spring appearances, striking out 15. The Rays skipper also noted all have agreed to take part in the remaining spring games if needed.

— Rumor has it the Rays are close to signing LHP Scott Diamond for AAA depth — tacit acknowledgment that Matt Andriese, Nathan Karns and Mike Montgomery could all be in majors. Per Topkin, there is lots of chatter with veteran starters getting released, there there isn’t any indication anything is imminent.

Rays Spring Training Update, Day 18: Rays Pound Jays 10-3, Make Roster Cuts, and More

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Steven Souza hit not one, but two homers in an eight run fifth inning, Thursday. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

Steven Souza got the scoring started with a solo shot in the Rays’ eight run fifth inning, Thursday. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

After putting together an abysmal, MLB worst, 1-5-1 Spring Training record — as if that kind of stuff really matters — the Tampa Bay Rays notched a pair of big wins, including a high scoring 10-3 routing of the Toronto Blue Jays, Thursday afternoon. Steven Souza and Logan Forsythe came up big Friday afternoon, while the pitching staff racked up an impressive 14 strikeouts.

Alex Cobb got the start Thursday afternoon and put together a 2-1/3 inning, 47 pitch (30 strikes, 64% K/BB) outing. The Rays ace looked sharp in the first inning and needed only 15 total pitches to get through the frame, notching a pair of strikeouts along the way. Yet things began to fall apart for Cobb in the second inning after allowing a run to score on three hits, and following with two more runs in the third on a walk and two hits, giving the Blue Jays a three run lead. Cobb was pulled from the game with one out in the third.

In an interview with Bill Chastain (MLB.com) following his outing, it became clear that Cobb viewed this start as a growth moment,

You can either hang your head and walk out the door and be upset about it. Or you can find some positives out of it and try to use that to make yourself better and grow for the season. By no means am I doubting myself. There was some good stuff that happened that I can learn from.

Thanks to our friends at DRaysBay, we have video of Alex Cobb’s post-outing presser:

[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/80S02hHttx4″]

This kind of outing is bound to happen in Spring Training, and it is better that it occurs now as opposed to the ensuing five months of the baseball season.

Mark Buerhle, who got the start for Toronot was, well… Mark Buerhle, and he stifled the Rays over the course of his 3-1/3 innings of work (per usual), scattering only two hits while striking out a pair of batters.

Despite being down by three runs, the Rays offense came alive in the fifth inning, thanks in part to Souza and Forsythe.

Souza put Tampa Bay on the board after he launched a deep solo-shot to left field, on a hanging breaking pitch that Marco Estrada left over the plate. Catcher Rene Rivera followed suit with an extra base hit of his own, crushing a double to the corner that one hopped the wall. With a runner on second and only one out, Tim Beckham joined in on the fun, driving in Rivera from second and putting the Rays behind by a run. Tampa Bay, however, was far from done.

Beckham made to third on a Desmond Jennings base hit, putting runners on the corners. And while David DeJesus popped into an unproductive out, Jennings took it upon himself to get into scoring position by swiping second with Nick Franklin at the plate. Franklin responded in kind, dribbling an infield hit that allowed Beckham to score from third and Jennings to advance 90 feet. Allan Dykstra sounded the death knell for Estrada by uncorking a massive RBI double off the top of the wall in right, giving the Rays a 6-3 advantage. Finally, with Matt West on the hill, Forsythe capped off the eight run, eight hit inning with a two-run blast to left center.

In the meantime, the Rays pitchers shut down the Jays following Cobb’s 2-1/3 innings of work. CJ Riefenhauser, Brandon Gomes, Ernesto Frieri, Kevin Jepsen, Jordan Norberto, and Kirby Yates worked around six base runners (two hits, four walks) in their combined 6-2/3 innings of work. Moreover, the aforementioned six pitchers rang up 10 batters for a grand total of 14 strikeouts. Jepsen and Frieri were particularly impressive, with the duo combining to strikeout four — all swinging.

The duo will be particularly important to the Rays in April while Jake McGee continues to mend from arthroscopic surgery on his elbow.

Franklin singled in another run in the eighth inning on a grounder through the right side; Corey Brown also came around to score on Chris Colabello’s fielding error on the same play, giving the Rays a mighty seven run advantage.

The New What Next

Chris Archer will make his third start of the spring against Joely Rodriguez and the Phillies in Clearwater, Friday afternoon. Of note, Archer has been working on his change-up and a quicker delivery to the plate with runners aboard. Also scheduled to pitch are Jim Miller, Mike Montgomery, Everett Teaford and Grayson Garvin.

Rays 3/13/15 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Jennings LF
Cabrera SS
Longoria 3B
Jaso DH
Souza Jr. RF
Loney 1B
Franklin 2B
Casali C
Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

  • Tampa Bay made the first roster moves of the spring, reassigning top prospect Daniel Robertson and Boog Powell to minor-league camp. The Rays skipper was reportedly impressed with what they did and how they did it, telling Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times),

I don’t know much you value first impressions, but they couldn’t have any better for both of those guys. Makeup was great, they really communicated well with the coaching staff, asked good questions. And when they got their opportunities they made the most of them for the most part. I don’t think it could have gone any better for those two guys, and for us as an organization, to look at like, wow, we got two really good players.

  • The Rays brass feel confident in their decision to hire Cash, so much so that they reportedly inked “an almost unprecedented five-year deal” with Joe Maddon’s predecessor — not bad for a first time manager with no managerial experience. According to Jon Heyman (CBS Sports), Matt Silverman expressed great faith in the former big-league catcher,

Rays general manager Matt Silverman declined comment on Cash’s deal. But he expressed great faith in the former big-league catcher, who is the youngest manager in baseball at 37 with a thin resume after his playing career, understandable since it didn’t end until this decade.

Silverman provided a glimpse on why the team is so high on Cash,

Kevin is a great communicator. He has a keen baseball mind. He’s the kind of guy who can be on the forefront of the changes in the game for years to come.

Cash coincidentally discussed how fortunate he and Matt Silverman are to take over a franchise with MLB Radio:

Spring Training Camp Update, Day One

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Joking, "I have no idea where to go," said Kevin Cash while he lent a hand during first day as manager. (Photo and caption courtesy of Marc Topkin)

Joking, “I have no idea where to go,” said Kevin Cash while he lent a hand during first day as manager. (Photo and caption courtesy of Marc Topkin)

54 of the 63 players on the Rays spring roster reported to camp in Port Charlotte on this, the first official day of Spring Training. Of those players, all of the pitchers who were expected report did with the exceptions of Ronald Beliasario and Alex Colome, who were delayed by visa issues.

Marc Topkin reported in an entry for the Heater blog, that there has been a lot of talk in the clubhouse about the potential of the overall pitching staff, and how much of a chance that gives the Rays. You may recall, PECOTA projected the Rays to be one of the top teams in baseball as it relates to pitching. On that very subject, Chris Archer chimed in,

I’m biased but I think … in comparison nobody’s better than us. That’s our strength. There may be some other teams with one that’s better guy than one guy. But collectively I think we’re better than anybody in the league.

Monday morning’s meeting and workout was a chance to close the book on the Joe Maddon/Andrew Friedman era. One noticeable difference, Cash held the pre-workout meeting in the clubhouse rather than on the field in full fiew of fans and media. And while many will continue to compare and contrast the new regime o the one previous, the opportunity to put everything behind them was palpable with more than a few Rays.

The questions about Kevin Cash and the new outlook for our team are getting a little old because this happened like three months ago and it’s time to start the season, Chris Archer said. Everybody knows there’s question marks. I’m ready to stop talking about it and show people. I don’t mind the questions but I’m ready to show people.

Archer continued,

He’s in a Cubs uniform (Maddon), I’m not thinking about him anymore as far as like a manager. As a person, it would be cool to catch up with him if I get a chance. But I’m not thinking about anything in the past, I’m thinking about the present moment.

Yesterday I wrote about what the middle infield might look like in 2015. Today Asdrubal Cabrera took ground balls at both second base and shortstop, and the Rays will have to decide which spot is best.

Cabrera said he’d be open to playing either second or short for the Rays, however he would prefer one spot rather than botching between both. “Cash said they will be flexible early in the spring as they have a number of guys to look at but would hope to make a decision sooner or later,” writes Marc Topkin.

Former closer Grant Balfour was the only pitcher who did not throw his scheduled bullpen session. Balfour reportedly feels fine, and the plan — counting back from opening day — is to limit him to 8-9 Spring Training games as a matter of conserving strength. While he may be a week behind the others, Balfour has been throwing regularly at the Trop.

Finally, Topkin offered a video report from Monday’s first official workout (produced by Will Vragovic).

Note: We’ll update this piece if anything else comes out of Port Charlotte.

 

Noteworthiness

  • Early this morning, Boston landed international infield prospect Yoan Moncada, signing the Cuban born ball player to a record $31.5M bonus, on which the Red Sox will pay a 100% penalty. That bonus does not include the salary to be made by Moncada. Rays LHP Drew Smyly took exception with that amount of money being thrown at a Top-10 in MLB prospect, tweeting,