Since everyone seems to be doing it, what more perfect day than today, when pitchers and catchers begin reporting to Bradenton FL. So I’ll throw my hat into the ring, and guess what the “27 Man” roster will look like on Monday April 5, 1:35pm. The beauty of this guessing game is that Spring Training always brings about an injury or 2, so I’m hedging my bets a little. I figure one outfielder will tweak a hammy and one pitcher will have arm tightness, so 2 should open on the DL*, making this exercise a little easier.
Starting Pitchers: Maholm, Duke, Ohlendorf, Morton, Hart.
Bullpen: Dotel, Donnelly, Hanrahan, Lopez, Jakubauskas, Meek, Carrasco.
Starting 8: Clement, Iwamura, Cedeno, LaRoche, Milledge, A. McCutchen, G. Jones, Doumit.
Bench: Young, Crosby, Raynor, Church, Jaramillo.
The Other 2*: Bass and Moss will be around for 15 more days at least. If there are no DL-ers on April 5, then Bass to Indy, Moss is cut loose.
The glaring omissions are D. McCutchen and Pearce. Pearce can still be optioned to Indy. G. Jones backs up 1B, and there’s plenty of random OF depth to allow Clement a chance in the bigs. Pearce can slot in nicely with Tabata and Alvarez, which should provide some fireworks this spring at Victory Field, and perhaps enhance his trade value if Clement succeeds. D. McCutchen barely loses the 5th rotation spot to Hart, who management really like, and he goes to Indy as a starter rather than being wasted in the bullpen.
Can you feel the optimism in the air? I can! Go Bucs!
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