Latest Rays cuts don't clarify much

With opening day in two weeks, club may look outside to fill some holes, especially on offense.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published March 17, 2003

WINTER HAVEN -- For 31 days, the Devil Rays -- players, coaches, manager, executives, scouts -- have worked hard.

Now the hard work begins.

Opening day is two weeks from today, and the Rays have a high number -- higher than most teams -- of holes to fill and decisions to make. They have had more than 70 players in camp, and that apparently isn't going to be enough. General manager Chuck LaMar and his staff are aggressively involved in trade talks and heavily scouting players who soon may be released or otherwise made available.

Manager Lou Piniella has been pleased, much more so than he expected, with the pitching staff, which will be extremely (and at times excruciatingly) young. And he has been satisfied with the defense, which the Rays made an effort to improve.

But he is genuinely concerned about an offense that some would say looks to be in regular-season form, ranking a distant last in the league in average and runs scored.

"If you want to swing the bat you can make the team," Piniella said Sunday. "We should get better here offensively. We'll get more playing time, get more at-bats, we should get sharper.

"If not, hopefully Chuck can find a hitter or two."

If the Rays are going to add a bat, the best fit would be an outfielder, giving them a number of options, including moving Ben Grieve to the DH slot if they decide to release Greg Vaughn. Other areas that could be upgraded are second and third base, along with several bench spots.

With Pedro Martinez and the Red Sox looming in 14 days, here is a look at the major decisions to be made, though all could change with any major acquisitions:

Greg Vaughn

The Rays would like nothing better than to put Vaughn in the cleanup spot and have him rack up 30 homers and 100 RBIs, especially as they have to pay him his $9.25-million salary whether they keep him or cut him, but they still have to be convinced he can return to that form.

Vaughn, who hit .163 last season before a June 22 shoulder injury, is healthy and working hard this spring but has yet to show much, hitting .206.

"We'd like to see Vaughn start swinging the bat here this week," Piniella said. "He had that one good day against New York (three of his seven hits, including a home run, March 9) and I was hoping he'd build on it."

Vaughn, 37, said he isn't worried, he has never put up good spring numbers and he is focusing on preparing for the regular season, wherever he may end up.

"I don't have any doubts that I'm going to hit," Vaughn said. "Whether they do or not, that's their opinion. If I start doubting myself and don't believe in myself, I might as well go home and watch the (NBA) Kings in the playoffs."

If the Rays release Vaughn, which is a real possibility, they would have several options at DH: bring someone in, preferably a right-handed power hitter; move Grieve and bring in another rightfielder; or move Aubrey Huff and either bring in a third baseman or play Jared Sandberg there.

Rotation

Joe Kennedy and Victor Zambrano are set as the top two, and Nick Bierbrodt has done well enough to have a spot somewhere, plus he's out of options and can't be sent to the minors.

Jim Parque, the 27-year-old whose 92 big-league starts are more than the other three combined, also has put himself in good position, especially with a decent five-inning outing Sunday.

"I've said we would like to see him in our rotation, and I haven't seen anything in camp to tell me any different," Piniella said. "We'll see him one more time and then I can have some news for you in that regard."

If those four are set, the fifth spot would appear to come down to veteran Steve Parris, a 35-year-old who has looked good this spring (1-0, 0.96) and rookie Dewon Brazelton, a 22-year-old who hasn't been particularly sharp (0-0, 4.50 in limited action) and will have to show well in Tuesday's start against Atlanta. Jason Standridge is another alternative.

Bullpen

The plan is to carry seven relievers, and five spots appear to be pretty much taken. Jesus Colome and Lance Carter, whose two saves last season are the most of anyone on the team, are likely to handle the late-inning duty.

Piniella said he wasn't ready to officially name names but said, "I can tell you who I think has pitched well" and added Travis Harper, rookie Seth McClung and Bobby Seay (who could end up the lone left-hander) to the other two.

If those five are in, that leaves an interesting field for the remaining spots: returnee Jorge Sosa, who had another strong outing Sunday; veterans John Frascatore and Bob Wells; left-hander Cedrick Bowers, a seven-year minor-leaguer; and Parris, who could be a swing guy. Gerardo Garcia and Delvin James are other possibilities.

"It's going to be a little tougher than I thought coming in making the decisions with our pitching," Piniella said.

Lineup

Pending a major acquisition, six positions appear set, with Toby Hall catching, Travis Lee at first, Rey Ordonez at shortstop, Carl Crawford in left, Rocco Baldelli in center and Grieve in right. Huff has played well enough at third that the Rays are somewhat comfortable with him there.

That leaves only a decision at second base between incumbent Brent Abernathy and free-agent acquisition Marlon Anderson, but it's not that simple.

Depending on what they do with Vaughn and even with Huff, the Rays might prefer to use Anderson as a super-utilityman, which puts Abernathy on the team, too. But if they keep Damian Rolls in that utility role, Abernathy might not have a spot if he isn't the clear starter. The status of Sandberg, who came up as a second baseman, could be a factor, too.

Bench

The outfield situation is a jumble, what with Jason Conti (who is out of options), Jason Tyner and Rolls, plus Anderson, yet it might be the easiest to resolve. If Vaughn is on the team, only one of Conti, Rolls and Tyner might make it.

Sandberg could end up as the backup at first and third, though Piniella said he wants to see more offense from him. Otherwise, it's back to Durham.

None of the reserve middle infield or catching candidates has been overly impressive, making it more than likely the Rays will go outside the organization, with plenty of veteran catchers (John Flaherty?) usually available. They do have to decide whether to keep shortstop Hector Luna, the Rule 5 pick from Cleveland who has been mildly impressive but hasn't played above Class A.

Piniella said it all will be resolved soon, perhaps within a week. "We won't be waiting till opening day to find out what's what," he said.