From rookie of the year to hitting the road...

Where Are They Coming From

The Devil Rays became a Major League team in 1998. Since then, the team has averaged a shade above 60 wins a season. The Rays are just one of four teams to never make it to the World Series (Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and the Washington Nationals). The team has placed last in the American League East every year except for 2004 when they finished fourth in the division with 70 wins (3.5 games ahead of the Blue Jays). The 2007 season was no different, finishing the year at 66-76.

When you consider that in their nine years, they have had seven Top 10 picks, six of which were Top 3 picks. The team has drafted the likes of Josh Hamilton (TEX), Delmon Young (MIN), B.J. Upton, Rocco Baldelli, and Evan Longoria. With these names, you would think that this team would be far better off than they are today. Both Hamilton and Young are no longer with the team.

The 2007 team had to endure injuries to third baseman Akinori Iwamura, the oft-injured Baldelli, Upton, closer Al Reyes, and promising young shortstop Ben Zobrist. However, this was not the biggest reason for their poor showing but it may have been the difference between another last place finish and fifth (Baltimore had only three more wins).

There were some very bright spots on the 2007 roster that is worth investing some time with starting with B.J. Upton. Upton seems to have finally arrived, batting an impressive .300 batting average, 24 home runs, 22 stolen bases, and an impressive 80-80 runs/runs batted in on a terrible offensive team. Both Scott Kazmir and Jamey Shields were able to win 13 and 12 games, respectively. These two young pitchers combined for 423 strikeouts with over 421 innings pitched. Although Shields only surrendered 36 walks, Kazmir continued to run up the walk totals, netting 89. Least we forget the young OF Delmon Young. Young’s rookie year was not as hot as his temper, but it was enough to garner looks from around the league when the season ended. Young batted .288 even though he managed 127 strikeouts and only 26 walks. It is easy to conceive a high percentage of his 38 doubles to transform into home runs, adding to his 13 home runs from 2007.

Carl Crawford was still extremely productive with only Carlos Pena being the only productive player on the roster. Carl swiped an impressive 50 stolen bases, continued to improve his plate presence, batting .315, and produced 37 doubles, 9 triples, and 11 home runs. The only downfall was his strikeout total which rose from his average of mid-eighties to a career-high 112 strikeouts.

Players Added

With outfielders Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, Rocco Baldelli, and Johnny Gomes, the team made an interesting trade with the Minnesota Twins. The Devil Rays traded away Young and infielder Brandon Harris in exchange for starting pitcher Matt Garza, shortstop Jason Bartlett, and reliever Eduardo Morlan. I think that this was a great move by the Rays. When you can add a young, promising arm to your rotation, you must jump on it and quickly.

Garza started 15 games in 2007, racking up an ERA of 3.69, posting a 5-7 record and only giving the Twins an average of 5.5 innings a start. Not too impressive, but keep in mind that he was the top pitching prospect in the Twins system entering the 2007 season and he was only 24. He has also demonstrated that he can pitch, striking out 11 against the Indians on July 29.

Jason Bartlett brings some more speed to the Tampa Bay line-up, stealing 23 bags, and slapping 20 doubles and 7 triples. However, he did give up 26 errors. When considering the switch of Brandon Harris for Jason Bartlett, I think that the Rays walked away with the better hand…

The team did try to add some veteran experience by adding Cliff Floyd. Floyd has had an up and down career due primarily to injury. The team’s website has him listed as their starting DH. With limited playing time and more opportunity to focus on his plate presence, this move could prove very fruitful for a team that is struggling to get out of their historical funk and into a more prominent position with an extremely difficult division.

To add arms to the bullpen was important and the team did what they could to bolster their late-inning efforts, signing relief pitcher Troy Percival to a two-year contract and executing the contract option on former closer Al Reyes. Percival is expected to assume the closer’s role, with Reyes serving in a setup capacity.

The team did invite veteran catcher Mike DeFelice to spring training, giving young Dioner Navarro a run for his money.

Players Lost

Beyond the trade of Delmon Young and Brandon Harris, you really could not use the word “lost”. The Washington Nationals did acquire outfielder Elijah Dukes for a minor league player and reliever Shawn Camp did fly north to Toronto for a spring training invite. There are several players the Rays did not re-sign, but none have any roster or fantasy impact.

Moves Still To Come

When reviewing the roster, it is clear that the team has taken a step forward, especially in their pitching rotation and bullpen. The addition of Matt Garza and Troy Percival shows a willingness to push passed their historical disappointments and start to look towards the future with promise. This does not imply there still is not a need for assistance in these areas. The team has three solid relief pitchers (Reyes, Percival, and Dan Wheeler) but need to either seek an arm or two in the free agent market or rely on young arms such as Scott Dohmann, Juan Salas, and possibly taking young Jason Hammel and J.P. Howell. With the age of their veterans, these young pitchers need to step up their game, settle down in their pitch control, and round off this bullpen.

In addition, the starting pitching consisting of young arms truly has no veteran leadership. Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnastine, and Edwin Jackson certainly have no veteran leaders amongst them, unless the soon-to-be 24-year-old Kazmir now counts as “veteran leadership.” What this team needs is someone who has “been there, done that” and can eat up some serious innings to take away some of the pressure on the bullpen. Look to the Rays to try using the youth and speed of their line-up along with the veteran arms in the bullpen to lure a pitcher like World Series starter Josh Fogg or inning eating Livan Hernandez.

What to Watch in Spring Training

With the departing of starting second baseman Brandon Harris and top minor league prospect third baseman Evan Longoria expected to make the leap into the big leagues, second year infielder Akinori Iwamura makes the transition from third base to second.

There are obvious candidates to take the setup inning, setup, and closer position with Wheeler, Percival, and Reyes on the payroll. The interesting part will be watching each of these three run out there every day and compete to be the closer.

One could say the same for the starting rotation. Unless the team does wheel and deal for a veteran that can help lead the youth, eat innings every chance they can, and be talented enough to help lead this team above the .500 mark, they will have to evaluate and invest the pitching staff’s time building up two of the four young pitchers battling for the fourth/fifth starter position, a position in the bullpen, or risk being sent to the minors.

While many eyes will focus on the top three starting pitchers and the talented outfield, they will not be the only one’s benefiting from the “awe” of spring training. Evan Longoria will receive his fair share of publicity. The team is hoping that he rivals the year that Boston Red Sox’s Rookie of the Year, Dustin Pedroia. Evan had an excellent Double-A campaign in 2007, hitting 21 home runs, 78 runs, and 76 runs batted in 381 at-bats. Additionally, he posted a .307 batting average. He did make the leap to Triple-A, getting 104 at-bats and posting some mediocre numbers. The question is, can he make the jump essentially from Double-A to the bigs?

Overall, the Rays have positioned themselves to post their best season ever. That is not to suggest that they are playoff-bound; however, they are certainly better than the Baltimore Orioles and should be competitive enough that if the Blue Jays continue on their stumbling ways, they could win 80 games and place third in the division behind the Yankees and the Red Sox.