Take a look: What we learned from Rays' spring training
Ready or not, their time has arrived.
All the speculation can end. All the guesses can cease.
Opening Day means the opening of opportunity for the new Tampa Bay Rays. Over the hours and weeks, months and years to come under manager Kevin Cash, identities will be established. Familiarity will be gained. A legacy will be determined.
To start, the first steps of a fresh beginning will be interesting to follow. After a whirlwind offseason -- doesn't last October seem like a lifetime ago? -- comfort will be found in the return of slow, secure summer rhythms. What was done under Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman can be locked into a collective memory, to be relived when the moment is right for the embers of nostalgia to crackle once more. But the time has arrived for Cash and Matt Silverman, the Rays' president of baseball operations, to show what they can create with a blank canvas.
Ready or not, a season of beginnings is upon us.
Enjoy the ride.
Let's examine what we learned about the Rays during spring training as they prepared for the 2015 campaign.
WHO SURPRISED?
Matt Andriese asserted himself as an option for the rotation with a solid spring. The right-hander, who has never appeared in a regular-season major-league game, closed the spring with a 1-1 record, a 2.21 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings. With spring injuries to Alex Cobb (right forearm tendinitis), Drew Smyly (left shoulder tendinitis) and Alex Colome (pneumonia), Andriese's presence became more valuable by the week.
What's to come for him? Well, a number of options. It's possible that he can be considered for the Rays' fifth-starter slot when they need such a pitcher on April 14 against the Toronto Blue Jays. It's also likely that he'll serve in the bullpen, possibly in a long-relief role. From a relative unknown to someone who became necessary for the Rays to survive April, Andriese enjoyed a memorable spring.
WHO DISAPPOINTED?
Not so much "who" but "what." Poor health within the rotation let down the Rays this spring. Injuries to Cobb and Smyly are particularly troublesome since the two were expected to be among the most stabilizing figures within Tampa Bay's rotation to start the season.
Still, all the injuries to the Rays' staff could have been worse. They dodged landmines with the ailments involving their pitchers, and although they would rather have their starters healthy entering Opening Day, the team should be thankful "tendinitis" and "pneumonia" became buzzwords in camp instead of "Tommy John surgery." Smyly and Colome are expected back in late April, and Cobb could return in early May.
WAITING FOR THE CALL
Jake Elmore, a journeyman infielder, impressed the Rays with his versatility this spring. The non-roster invitee was considered for a reserve infielder spot, but former No. 1 overall pick Tim Beckham was awarded the bench position.
Still, Elmore was willing to do just about anything in recent weeks, and he even touted his catching ability at one point. He has been part of seven franchises in as many years. He joined the Rays by way of a minor-league deal signed in February, and he will report to Triple-A Durham to start the season.
FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. This spring couldn't have ended soon enough. With all the injuries to pitchers, and with infielder Nick Franklin sustaining a strained left oblique in March that will force him to begin the season on the disabled list, it seemed like a Murphy's Law situation at times for Tampa Bay. Still, the good news for the Rays is that most of the main faces should be back by late April, with Cobb to follow in early May. This spring was stormy as far as health was concerned, but this is no washout scenario.
2. The bullpen must be carry the Rays in April. Tampa Bay should receive decent starts from Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi in the season's opening weeks. But Nathan Karns, Erasmo Ramirez and Andriese are all unknowns to some degree. It's possible that the bullpen will have to lift the Rays past the fifth inning on some days. Tampa Bay will be without Jake McGee until about early May, so that means Brad Boxberger, Kevin Jepsen, Grant Balfour, Ernesto Frieri and others must be dialed in early.
3. The outfield can fly. Kevin Kiermaier as the Rays' primary center fielder is intriguing, as is Desmond Jennings' move to left. (Jennings will start in center when Kiermaier doesn't play.) Steven Souza Jr. is an interesting addition in right. Add it all together, and the outfield should become a strength of the Rays' defense. The collective speed, especially with Jennings and Kiermaier, will be fun to follow.
4. The lineup will have a new look. John Jaso leading off? Evan Longoria batting fourth? Jennings hitting sixth? Believe it. Expect more consistency with Tampa Bay's lineup this season compared to the Maddon Era, when lineups were as diverse as the umbrellas found above the sand on a spring afternoon at St. Pete Beach. Some juggling may be done with the top and bottom of the order. But expect less movement within the heart of the lineup.
5. Anything seems possible this season. Many national voices are quick to brush away the Rays given all the offseason changes. That's understood, but what if things go better than expected? It's possible. If the Rays survive April without their strongest starters, and if they can avoid major injuries with their offense producing more firepower than last season's anemic output, then it's not crazy to think that the new-look Rays can be a factor in the wide-open American League East.
OVERALL
This summer will remain a memory long after it ends. Pick your storyline: There's Cash's learning curve as a manager, there's watching how the Rays will handle all the early injuries, there's analyzing how they will manage adversity for the first time in a new era, there's witnessing how they will compartmentalize success.
Fresh starts are always fascinating. Unlike last season, when whispers of an AL East title and World Series contention followed Maddon's men into Opening Day, the opposite is the case this year. Predictions lack pizazz. Expectations are tempered. Few know what to expect.
That should be a good thing for this group, which will try to make winning a habit in a moment of reinvention.
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
