With 12 games remaining in the Grapefruit League schedule, manager Kevin Cash and the Tampa Bay Rays front office are busily looking at the remaining players in camp, trying to determine who may clinch the vaunted 25th-man roster spot.
What is known, Evan Longoria will start at third, Logan Forsythe will get the lot share of playing time at second, and Logan Morrison, James Loney and Chris Pearce will platoon at first base in some capacity. Beyond that, however, things tend to be less clear.
The Rays acquired Brad Miller to take over for Asdrubal Cabrera at short. Though the utility player, who also spent time at second and in the outfield with Seattle, has good range, there have been some concerns with Miller’s throwing. Then there’s Tim Beckham, the much maligned Nick Franklin, and rookie Taylor Motter.
When all is said and done, two of the four will likely crack the Opening Day roster. The question is who?
Brad Miller
Miller struggled so much to be a consistent defensive shortstop, that the Mariners moved him to the outfield at the end of last season. As I wrote in November — following the acquisition of Miller, Logan Morrison and Danny Farquhar — the shortstop has shown some real slick fielding work, and a 1.9 UZR (roughly average) for his career. He is a player with strong range, yet he is a bit error prone as exemplified by his 14 errors in 750-1/3 innings at short last season — 39 over the past three seasons.
Though he’s been inconsistent, projections see Miller as being at least be an average defender, ranking better than Cabrera, his predecessor. Miller will likely get first dibs on the shortstop job, and with a projected 2.3 WAR, he looks to be an important part of the 2016 squad. However, if he fails defensively, Cash could move Miller to platoon duty at second base or in the outfield.
Tim Beckham
Beckham finally broke into the big leagues last season, appearing in 83 games for the Rays as a utility infielder. Beckham’s plate discipline problems were masked by his power shown. T-Bex wasn’t a power hitter in the minors, so it might be a bit of a stretch to expect him to come close to maintaining the pace at which he played last season. Moreover, the flashy tools that made him a top pick have never translated to the field.
With all of the above in mind, combined with the fact that he still has an option remaining ― and is projected to post a -0.3 WAR in 2016 ― I’m convinced that it might be better for Beckham to start the season in Durham.
Nick Franklin
Suffice it to say, due to his .203 BA/.275 OBP/.348 SLG/.623 OPS Major League slash line, Franklin’s heir apparent to Ben Zobrist status has plummeted in recent years. Despite being just 25 years-old, with more that 600 Major League plate appearances under his belt, one can no longer blame his lack of production on small sample size.
The trade for Miller was a blow to Franklin’s playing time in 2016. Aside from a spot as bench depth, there really isn’t an obvious spot for him on the Opening Day roster. Franklin is entering his last option season, and the Rays will likely use that at the end of Spring Training.
Adam Sanford brought up a good point in a piece for DRaysBay, writing,
Franklin only has one full year of service time under his belt, leaving him under team control through the 2020 season. If he is somehow able to figure it all out, he could still turn into an extremely valuable asset.
Taylor Motter
Motter appeared in 127 games with Durham last season, slashing an impressive .292 BA/.366 OBP/.471 SLG/.837 OPS/.332 BABIP line with a 142 wRC+ that ranked second in the International League. Motter is also a versatile player, appearing in 72 games in the outfield, 25 at third base, 14 at shortstop and 12 at second base.
ZiPS projects Motter to post a 1.2 WAR in 475 at-bats. Considering his ability to play both in the infield and outfield, and his presence at the plate, Motter could be a suitable choice for utility bench depth.