BALTIMORE ORIOLES
2018 RECORD: 47-115, fifth place, AL East;
missed playoffs
MANAGER: Brandon Hyde, first season with Orioles
THE BASICS
HOME STADIUM: Ed Smith Stadium, 2700 12th St.,
Sarasota, FL 34237.
DIRECTIONS: From north — Take I-75 to Exit 213
(University Parkway). Go west on University Parkway to Tuttle Avenue; turn left
onto Tuttle. Park is on the right. From south — Take I-75 to Exit 210
(Fruitville Road). Go west on Fruitville to Tuttle Avenue; turn right onto
Tuttle. Park is on the left.
INFORMATION: 941-893-6300, 800745-3000; www.orioles.com/spring.
PROSPECT TO WATCH: RYAN MOUNTCASTLE, SS-3B.Mountcastle,
22, continued to rake in 2018, hitting .297 with 13 homers at Class AA. His
average power plays up to due swing trajectory, making 20-25 homers possible at
peak.
BURNING QUESTIONS
O’S STARTING FROM
SCRATCH
WHO’LL FILL OUT
STARTING ROTATION?
It’s no secret the starting rotation was the 2018 weak link,
finishing worst in every major statistical category that mattered. Don’t expect
drastic improvement.
The Orioles haven’t lured any top free agents this
offseason. And the farm system hasn’t developed a top pitching talent since
Mike Mussina in the 1990s.
After right-handed pitchers Dylan Bundy, Alex Cobb and
Andrew Cashner — who combined to go 17-46 with a 5.23 ERA in 2018 — who’s next?
David Hess, a homegrown talent, was serviceable in 2018.
Nate Karns was a free agent pickup. The Orioles did get promising prospects LH
Josh Rogers and RH Luis Ortiz in trades, but none who will make an impact in
2019.
WILL THEY BE
BETTER IN 2019?
No. The Orioles are going to lose, and lose often. This is a
season about player development.
After finishing with a franchise-record 115losses and
61 games behind the first-place Red Sox, the Orioles aren’t rebuilding, they
are starting from scratch.
New leadership. New faces. New expectations. But it will
have similar results in Year 1.
There are glaring holes on the roster: at third base,
shortstop, catcher and the back end of the rotation.
The offense is a long way from improving. Expect another
long season.
BOSTON RED SOX
2018 RECORD: 108-54, first place, AL East; won
World Series
MANAGER: Alex Cora, second season with Red Sox
(108-54)
THE BASICS
HOME STADIUM: JetBlue Park, 11500 Fenway South
Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33913
DIRECTIONS: From North and South — Take I-75 to Exit
131 (Daniels Parkway); make a left on off exit onto Daniels Parkway. Continue
straight for almost two miles. Ballpark on left side.
INFORMATION: 239-334-4700; www.redsox.com/spring.
PROSPECT TO WATCH: Michael Chavis, 3B. Chavis’
bat is his best tool, as he’s not a great athlete, but he has a natural
feel for hitting. He started 2018 with an 80game suspension for violating the
Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for testing positive for a
performance- enhancing drug but finished strong with a .298 batting average and
.919 on-base plus slugging percentage across three levels (short-season and
Classes AA and AAA). The 23-year-old finished at AAA, where he’ll likely return
to start the season.
BURNING QUESTIONS
CATCHER SPOT UP
FOR GRABS
HOW WILL THEY
REPLACE KIMBREL AND KELLY?
The Red Sox enter camp without a reliever having more than
13 career saves. They lost 128 innings and 44 saves last season from All-Star
closer Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly.
The Red Sox are planning on going with Matt Barnes and Ryan
Brasier, who have combined for two saves. The Red Sox’s only move to strengthen
the bullpen was signing 29-year-old Jenrry Mejia, who is back from the lifetime
ban he received for violating the performance enhancing policy three times.
He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2015, after
saving 28 games for the Mets in 2014, but pitched well in the Dominican winter
league with a 2.54 ERA.
WHO WILL DO THE
CATCHING?
The Red Sox enter camp with three catchers but are expected
to break camp with two. They have to decide whether Blake Swihart will be a
full-time catcher or a utility player or will be traded. Christian Vazquez, who
hit .207 with three homers and 16 RBI, is the favorite to be the regular
starter. Sandy Leon is popular with the pitching staff but hit .177 last
season.
Swihart hit .229 with three homers and 18 RBI last
season in 192 at-bats, playing every position but shortstop and center field.
This spring could determine Swihart’s fate in the organization.
NEW YORK YANKEES
2018 RECORD: 100-62, second place, AL East; lost
in ALDS
MANAGER: Aaron Boone, second season with Yankees
(100-62)
THE BASICS
HOME STADIUM: George M. Steinbrenner Field, 1
Steinbrenner Drive, Tampa, FL 33614
DIRECTIONS: From the north or south — Take I-275 to
the Route 92 exit (North Dale Mabry Highway); the stadium is at Dale Mabry and
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. From Tampa Airport — Take the Spruce
Street exit out of the airport and head east. Spruce turns into Boy Scout Road.
Follow to Dale Mabry and turn left; the complex is on the left.
INFORMATION: 813-879-2244; www.Yankees.com/spring, www.Steinbrennerfield.com
PROSPECT TO WATCH: Estevan Florial, OF: Florial,
21, struggled with a broken wrist in a lost 2018 season. He has a patient
approach with the bat speed to let him reach plus power at maturity.
Defensively, Florial is a future plus center fielder.
BURNING QUESTIONS
ROTATION DEPTH A CONCERN
IS THERE ENOUGH
STARTING PITCHING DEPTH?
Upgrading the rotation was a primary focus of the Yankees’
winter. And after striking out on free agent lefty Patrick Corbin, the Yankees
pivoted to two lefthanders: signing free agent J.A. Happ and trading for James
Paxton.
In acquiring Paxton from Seattle, the Yankees dealt their
best big-league ready starter, lefty Justus Sheffield. So the club’s starting
depth will be tested if there’s an injury to a staff that includes Luis
Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and veteran CC Sabathia, who has announced that 2019
will be his final season. Right-handers Jonathan Loaisiga, Domingo German and
Luis Cessa represent the current top tier of potential fill-ins.
WHO’S ON FIRST?
Clint Frazier might challenge veteran Brett Gardner for
playing time in left field, but the only true position battle in
camp is at first base. Right-handed hitting Luke Voit has “a leg
up’’ according to manager Aaron Boone, based on Voit’s surprising .333/.405/.689
slash line in 39 games, following his arrival via trade from St. Louis. But the
organization insists it hasn’t given up on lefty-hitting Greg Bird, who has yet
to have a full, healthy season in the majors. A second right ankle surgery
delayed Bird’s 2018 season, and he hit .199 in 82 games.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
2018 RECORD: 90-72, third place, AL East; missed
playoffs
MANAGER: Kevin Cash, fifth season with Rays
(318-330)
THE BASICS
HOME STADIUM: Charlotte Sports Park, 2300 El
Jobean Road, Port Charlotte, FL 33948
DIRECTIONS: From I-75, exit at Toledo Blade Road
(Exit 179) and head south. Proceed for about 6½ miles to El Jobean Road (State
Road 776) and turn right. Charlotte Sports Park will be on the left in about 2
miles. The driving time from the Tampa-St. Petersburg area is about 1½ hours.
INFORMATION: 941-206-4487;www.Raysbaseball.com/spring
PROSPECT TO WATCH: AUSTIN MEADOWS, OF. A
perennial top prospect and one of the big pieces of the Chris Archer deal with
the Pirates at the trade deadline, Meadows should open the year with an
everyday role in the outfield mix. Injuries prevented the 23-year-old from
reaching the majors sooner, but he performed well in big-league stints and has
all the makings of a solid regular if he can stay healthy.
BURNING QUESTIONS
RAYS INNOVATE TO
KEEP PACE
WILL THE RAYS USE
OPENERS AGAIN?
The Rays exasperated baseball traditionalists with their
“opener” strategy, starting games with relievers before entering their starters
around the second inning. The strategy worked, as the team posted the
second-lowest ERA (3.74) in the AL and sixth overall in MLB.
Cy Young winner Blake Snell and All-Star Charlie Morton,
signed via free agency, will head the rotation. Morton led the AL with a .833
win-loss percentage and struck out 201 in 167 innings to finish with a 1.162
WHIP. Tampa Bay also added Emilio Pagan, who struck out 63 in 62 innings, and
Wilmer Font.
Rookie Ryan Yarbrough, 27, won 16 games last year splitting
time between the bullpen and rotation.
DOES A LACKLUSTER
LINEUP IMPROVE?
Without a star hitter, the Rays won 90 games last year and
finished in the AL’s top three in batting average (.258) and on-base plus
slugging percentage (.740).
The Rays signed outfielder Tommy Pham midseason
and catcher Mike Zunino in the offseason. Both bring power and speed.
Outfielder Mallex Smith stole 40 bases in 2018. Infielder
Joey Wendle, who hit .300 in 2018, and 2017 All-Star Avisail Garcia add
depth. Garcia hit 19 homers in 93 games with the White Sox. He also had 84 hits
in 2018 and a .719 on-base plus slugging percentage.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
2018 RECORD: 73-89, fourth place, AL East;
missed playoffs
MANAGER: CHARLIE MONTOYO, FIRST SEASON
THE BASICS
HOME STADIUM: Dunedin Stadium, 373 Douglas Ave.,
Dunedin, FL 34698
DIRECTIONS: Take U.S. 19 to Sunset Point and go
west to Douglas Avenue. Go north on Douglas to the stadium.
INFORMATION: 727-733-9302; www.Bluejays.com/spring
PROSPECT TO WATCH: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B. It
would be a shock if the consensus top prospect in baseball breaks camp
with the big club. But given how he performed against advanced pitching in
2018, it’d be equally surprising if Vlad finishes the 2019 season as anything
less than a major league regular. Guerrero, 19, marries his family’s
preternatural bat-to-ball skills with precocious plate discipline and power.
BURNING QUESTIONS
MONTOYO LEADS
REBUILD
HOW WILL MONTOYO
HANDLE HIS FIRST YEAR AS A MANAGER?
After moving on from John Gibbons, the Blue Jays are in
rebuild mode, and new manager Charlie Montoyo just might be the perfect person
to lead Toronto back to relevance.
A product of the Rays organization as a Class AAA manager
and then major league bench coach, Montoyo is more willing to experiment with
lineups and break away from the norm. During the winter meetings, he hinted at
the Jays employing the “opener” strategy popularized by Tampa Bay. On
top of that, don’t be surprised to see more shifts and four Jays in the
outfield to combat pull-heavy hitters.
DID THEY ADD
ENOUGH PITCHING TO STAY COMPETITIVE?
The Jays boast a decent starting one-two
punch with RHPs Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez, followed by
LHP Ryan Borucki. Aslew of others will be contending for the final two
rotation spots, including offseason acquisitions RHP Matt Shoemaker
and LHP Clayton Richard. RHPs Trent Thornton, David Phelps and Elvis
Luciano were also brought on in the offseason to bolster a bullpen whose ERA
ranked in the bottom third in MLB. The lack of left-handed depth in relief
could be an issue while competing against the heavy hitting Red Sox and Yankees
in divisional play.
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