AL East: spring position battles

Today we’ll be looking around the division going team by team at the most intriguing position battles for a starting spot around the diamond on each roster.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

the BLUE JAYS

The Toronto Blue Jays have a number of holes around the roster that could be highlighted here, but only one of them is particularly interesting. They appear ready to go with Ryan Goins at second base (barring some kind of Stephen Drew heroics) while Maicer Izturis occupies a super-utility role, and the fourth starter looks increasingly like it’s going to be Drew Hutchison as he continues to pitch well in the Spring on his comeback from Tommy John surgery. The fifth spot, however, looks entirely up for grabs.

J.A. Happ entered the spring looking like he had the fourth spot sewn up, but two poor outings and a sore back later and the Jays appear more and more like they’re looking at him as a candidate to win the fifth starter job. Happ is an underwhelming pitcher with a decent little-bit-of-everything skillset. He walks a few too many guys, but strikes out more than your average back-end guy as well (he tied the club-record for consecutive K’s with 6 last year) Along with Happ, top prospect Marcus Stroman has impressed this spring, and with Keith Law and many others saying he was ready to pitch in the big leagues last September, the question is raised as to whether the undersized righty requires any more time in the oven. He possesses excellent strikeout stuff and stunning mechanics paired with a work ethic and attitude that are reportedly off the charts. The Jays may well keep him down for service time reasons to start the year, but expect this competition to continue well into the summer.

Competing with Happ and Stroman are some of the highlights from last year’s roving disaster reel of minor league depth exploration. Esmil Rogers was converted from a reliever to a starter when he added a pitch last year, and while he was briefly very successful, his magic faded back toward his career levels. At worst he’ll make an excellent swingman should Happ claim the gig. Todd Redmond, a 28 year old minor league vet, was quite impressive in limited action last year despite his flyball tendencies not working well in his home park, but he’s been hit hard this spring (4 home runs in only 9 innings) and with the amount of competitors he faces it’s difficult to envision him getting a look barring injuries or severe ineffectiveness.

Perhaps the most interesting name on the list is Ricky Romero, who has impressed this spring after a season and a half in the wilderness. Onlookers say that he looks to have cleaned up his mechanics and is throwing strikes more regularly than he has in years. Should Romero be able to regain even some of the form that made him one of the top starters in the AL just two short years ago, he would climb back a lot higher than 5th on the team’s depth chart.

My Gut Says: I’m going full fanboy. Romero keeps dealing and puts up 200 innings of 3.75 ERA ball. Shoot for your dreams, kids.

Next Page: The Orioles

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

the ORIOLES

The Baltimore Orioles, after months of being criticized by their fanbase and most of baseball for standing pat all offseason, have made some noise of late. They signed Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz to fill holes in their roster, and were reportedly close on a one-year deal with Ervin Santana before he came a Brave. There depth chart looks a lot more settled now with the new acquisitions, but there’s still a position battle emerging for the keystone job that is one of the most interesting stories of the spring so far. As part of the trade that sent Jim Johnson to the Athletics, the team received second baseman Jemile Weeks to replace departed DL resident and sometimes-second baseman Brian Roberts. Weeks looked likely to compete with utility man Ryan Flaherty, but despite Weeks’ struggles the last two years, Flaherty has a career .279 OBP in over 430 plate appearances. Weeks has yet to regain his form from his debut year when he hit .303 for a 110 OPS+, but with the team’s lack of options he looked like a good get in a trade that was mostly just a salary dump.

Orioles top prospect Jonathon Schoop, however, is doing all he can to make sure that the O’s know they have options. His OPS this spring is 1.320 and his ceiling is, well, through the roof. Schoop is a talented player on both sides of the ball and has reportedly shown up to camp having added significant muscle in the offseason with his friend Jurickson Profar. If Schoop continues hitting the cover off the ball, the likes of Jemile Weeks and Ryan Flaherty aren’t likely to stand in his way.

My Gut Says: Schoop continues hitting the cover off the ball until pitchers figure him out a little and his propensity for striking out catches up to him a bit.

Next Page: The Rays

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

the RAYS

The Tampa Bay Rays have an interesting battle for the fifth spot in their rotation, interesting less because of the names involved (though there’s some interest here) but more because the team with the deepest collection of pitching talent in the division, if not the league, is having a rotation battle at all. With Jeremy Hellickson going down at the start of February with elbow surgery that will keep him out until mid-May, the team with the most enviable rotation in the league is auditioning for a part to fill in for Hellickson. The first four slots will go to David Price, Alex Cobb, Matt Moore, and Chris Archer, so it’s not as if the quality of the fifth man can do a whole lot to diminish their ranking, but it doesn’t look to be a problem as the Rays appear to have plenty of options to try out. Just like Joe Maddon likes it.

After Hellickson went down, the Rays flipped Jose Lobaton for right-hander Nate Karns, and then immediately signed veteran Erik Bedard to a deal that could pay him up to $2.775 million dollars if he makes a full season of starts on the Major League roster. Though neither has seen much of any extended action this spring, their results are starkly different considering they share the same goal. Bedard has been hit hard through 7 innings, turning in a 2.29 WHIP, however in 6 innings, Karns has been untouchable with a 0.95 WHIP (he also hasn’t allowed a run). Cesar Ramos has also seen a start and is rumored to be stretched out and competing for the job, though his ceiling isn’t as high as Karns’. Prospect Jake Odorizzi has impressed in his 4.1 innings so far, and given that he’s reportedly been mostly throwing a single pitch to get the hang of it, his 2.08 ERA is fairly encouraging. It could go to any one of the four remaining starters in the Rays’ camp, though one has to think that strong performances by the younger players in Karns and Odorizzi could force the team’s hand.

My Gut Says: Karns runs away with it, but whether by trading Price or injury or what have you, there ends up being strong performances from both him and Odorizzi.

Next Page: The Yankees

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

the RED SOX

The Boston Red Sox, not counting the ongoing Will Middlebrooks experiment, currently only really have one hole to fill on their starting roster. They have a surplus of starters, an excellent and deep bullpen and a fantastic lineup and also Will Middlebrooks. However, coming into 2014, center field is a question mark. Shane Victorino is back in right field and Daniel Nava and Jonny Gomes look to platoon over in left, and for the entire winter it’s been thought that prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. was the incumbent for the CF job.

After a very promising spring last year, Bradley struggled a bit in his brief appearance in the majors, but that didn’t appear to be changing the Red Sox’ plans given their lack of options at the position after the departure of Jacoby Ellsbury. Bradley, however, hasn’t had the benefit of a strong spring this year (he’s hit just .208 in his 27 plate appearances) and, more importantly, some unexpected competition for the spot has emerged from the depth chart.

Former superstar Grady Sizemore was signed to a speculative contract early in the offseason that would pay him only $750,000, but with incentives that could push the figure to $6 million should his performance return to it’s previous levels over a full season. Sizemore has been impressive thus far this spring, hitting .308 in limited at-bats, and looks to give Bradley a run for his money for the starting gig. Despite not having played in the majors in over two years, Sizemore is not far removed from being one of the league’s elite center fielders. The battle, considering the contracts of the players involved and the potential benefit to the championship-defending Sox, looks to be a harbinger of a huge win for the team.

My Gut Says: Sizemore stays healthy and gets the starting gig, but Bradley crushes the ball and gets the gig by the end of May.