The motivational speeches, resolutions and body-fat measurements are over with. Almost every major league team has welcomed its full squad to spring training, and everybody except the clubhouse attendant is either working on their changeup, a leg kick in their swing or their chipping and putting.
Indeed, much of the tinkering and intramural jousting that will play out for the next five weeks in Florida and Arizona will be for appearance. Almost every roster spot is accounted for, and most roles are already defined, even if only on magnets in a conference room or in the deep thoughts of upper management.
Still, some questions are more pressing than others. USA TODAY Sports examines five of the biggest issues to play out as full rosters assemble and workouts get roaring in Florida and Arizona:
Can Hanley Ramirez play first base?
OK, this one’s painfully obvious and already feels tired, thanks to a winter’s worth of New England angst over the issue. Still, there’s just no ducking it.
It’s easy to forget that Ramirez, 32, was an MVP-caliber hitter just three seasons ago, posting a 1.040 OPS as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ shortstop. It would stand to reason that transitioning to less demanding positions as he ages – shortstop to left field to first base – shouldn’t be difficult for such an excellent athlete. Nor should it drain the potency from an elite bat.
Yet, there was Ramirez in 2015, vastly complicating the usually simple task of playing left field at Fenway Park. His minus-19 defensive runs saved ranked among the five worst left field performances in the 13 seasons the metric has existed. Worse, his OPS tumbled from .817 his final year in L.A. to .717 in the injury-shortened first year of a four-year, $88 million deal in Boston.
Can things somehow get better at first base? It would seem they can’t get worse, and Ramirez will at least be in slightly more familiar infield surroundings, and grouped with solid defenders in Dustin Pedroia, shortstop Xander Bogaerts and Pablo Sandoval – who at even a less than optimal weight remains a decent third baseman.
“We’re all here to help him and do what we can to make him as comfortable as possible,” Pedroia said this week. “He’ll be fine. He’s going to put the time in and put the work in and we’ll be fine.”
The Red Sox will certainly accept anything resembling adequate. And if Ramirez can leverage the Green Monster to offensive advantage – rather than be haunted by its shadow – that’s a significant boon for Boston’s offense.
Can the Nationals count on the kids?
There’s a ready-made narrative in Viera: Heavy favorites underachieve, fire manager, hire veteran skipper with steady hand to guide clubhouse. It’s easy to forget that for all the New York Mets’ young pitching, new Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker will inherit perhaps the finest right-hander in the game in Max Scherzer, a potentially dominant No. 2 in Stephen Strasburg and the NL MVP in Bryce Harper.
But it’s going to take much, much more to outlast a team as complete as the Mets. And it will be difficult for the Nationals to reclaim the NL East without significant contributions from top prospects Trea Turner and Lucas Giolito.
It’s the first time both have been in big league camp – Turner was in “player to be named limbo” with the Padres this time last year – and while Giolito won’t make the club out of spring and Turner’s a longshot to do so, strong Grapefruit League showings from both would change the complexion of the season ahead.
Turner, 22, got 44 plate appearances with Washington last year, and for now is behind veteran Danny Espinosa on the depth chart at shortstop. While Turner cannot match Espinosa’s power, or that of 2015 shortstop Ian Desmond, he is a potentially elite defender who could represent a significant upgrade over the 27-error season Desmond produced in 2015. The Nationals are probably better off with Turner at shortstop and Espinosa – who’s played just 21 games at short the past three seasons – in an infield utility role. But Turner must prove he can hit big league pitching, first.
The rotation could be in good shape if No. 3 starter Gio Gonzalez reverses both a WHIP and K rate heading in the wrong direction, and No. 4 starter Tanner Roark replicates his 15-win, 198-inning performance of 2014, as if his year as a swing man in 2015 never happened. Still, neither Roark nor projected No. 5 starter Joe Ross bring the potentially dominant dimension Giolito could provide.
The 16th pick in the 2012 draft is now four years removed from Tommy John surgery that derailed his chance to be the No. 1 overall choice that year. Now 22, the 6-6 right-hander has struck out 10 batters per nine innings in his minor league career, and he’s the consensus top right-handed pitching prospect in baseball.
Giolito won’t make 30 starts this season – his career high in innings pitched is just 117 – but a strong spring showing could compel the Nationals to pencil him in for a rotation boost in the latter part of the season.
Yu Darvish: How soon, and how good?
The AL West possibly turns on this question. The only saving grace for the Texas Rangers losing Darvish to Tommy John surgery was he blew out his elbow last March, giving him a chance to be a significant factor this season. March 17 will mark Darvish’s one-year surgery anniversary, and he will not pitch in a Cactus League game.
Still, the larger drama in Rangers camp revolves around Darvish’s progression – from half-mound to full mound to live batting practice and, they hope, the start of a minor league rehab assignment sometime in April. Darvish may be more erratic than usual in his first season with a new ulnar collateral ligament, but if healthy and at close to full strength, he will give the Rangers the chance to dominate with Cole Hamels and Derek Holland preceding him in the rotation.
So the Rangers certainly can’t “win” the AL West based on Darvish’s spring – there are too many hurdles he’ll have to clear once everyone else leaves Surprise, Ariz. But any setback could certainly imperil the hopes of the defending division champs.
How will it all come together for the Diamondbacks?
Any time ownership is willing to spend more than $200 million on a pitcher of Zack Greinke’s caliber, it’s totally appropriate to break out the disco ball and confetti. And the starting trio of Greinke, Patrick Corbin and Shelby Miller can potentially go toe-to-toe with the titans of the NL West in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
But there’s plenty to sort out elsewhere, most notably within an infield that will definitely include MVP runner-up Paul Goldschmidt.
The other three spots? Well, that’s where the Diamondbacks’ Cactus League games may actually prove relevant.
Their trade for former Milwaukee shortstop Jean Segura gives them significant depth, and lots of potential combinations. The key is determining which works best with the rest of the personnel they’ve acquired.
Do they think run prevention first at shortstop, and play the defensively gifted, but .226-hitting Nick Ahmed there? Max out on offense by starting Segura at short and give a long look to Phil Gosselin (.927 OPS in 77 plate appearances) at second base? Where might another glove-oriented middle infielder, Chris Owings, fit in all this?
And is Jake Lamb the for-sure third baseman, or does prospect Brandon Drury get a long look there?
In short, there’s six guys vying for time at three positions, creating a relatively good problem for manager Chip Hale. Cactus League play isn’t the greatest time for significant evaluations, so the club likely has a strong idea which route it will go. Still, that doesn’t make things easy on a half-dozen infielders who may find themselves in a starting role, on the bench or possibly headed for Class AAA Reno.
How much will a three-team, seven-player trade matter?
The White Sox and Dodgers share a spring training facility in Arizona, just 12 miles up the road from the Cincinnati Reds complex in Goodyear. Those teams will face each other a total of seven times in March.
And that’s only appropriate, since it’s a time for all three teams to discover exactly what they received in a seven-player December trade.
Make no mistake: The White Sox should be thrilled with their acquisition of third baseman Todd Frazier, a near lock to put up 25 home runs in his first season in Chicago.
The other six guys? Well, there’s a lot to learn for the Dodgers and Reds.
For the Reds, it’s all about finding a potential keeper as a significant rebuild begins. The best bet figures to be Jose Peraza, once a top-10 prospect whose shine is somewhat diminished after he was traded twice in five months. Still, he’s just 21 and will aim for playing time at third and second base – a venture greatly diminished by Brandon Phillips’ refusal to accept an offseason trade to the Nationals.
The most intriguing figure may be Scott Schebler, who at 25 is old for a prospect, but whose left-handed bat may prove more powerful at Great American Ball Park. The scouting community seems divided on whether Schebler – who averaged 30 home runs but also 135 strikeouts in 2013 and 2014 – will put the ball in play enough to be a major league factor. Once the Reds move Jay Bruce, they’ll probably find out.
As for the Dodgers, roster churn is a way of life, so outfielder Trayce Thompson, infielder Micah Johnson and pitcher Frankie Montas could be meeting lifelong friends – or bidding them farewell in a few months.
The Dodgers won’t get a look at Montas – he had surgery to remove a fractured rib and won’t pitch until at least April. And their re-signings of second basemen Howie Kendrick and Chase Utley pretty much assures that Johnson will be ticketed for Class AAA Oklahoma City.
That leaves Thompson, who could get caught up in a numbers game and join Johnson in Oklahoma – or play a significant role as the Dodgers’ part-time center fielder. The brother of NBA All-Star Klay Thompson, Trayce impressed in a 44-game stint with the White Sox, posting a .363 on-base percentage and .896 OPS.
But injuries or the possible release of one or some of the Dodgers’ many outfielders – Carl Crawford, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier, Scott Van Slyke or Kike Hernandez – are about the only thing that will get him a trip down I-10 west from Camelback Ranch to Los Angeles. A strong spring showing could force the Dodgers’ hand – or position Thompson for a prompt call-up should Pederson’s second-half struggles carry into 2016.
About the Author
