Spring training right around The corner for the Rays.
?In one week, the sound of the baseball hitting a leather glove will be heard once again in Port Charlotte as the Tampa Bay Rays will officially open spring training on Valentine's Day Feb. 14th. That is the first official workout for pitchers and catchers as spring training begins earlier this year due to the World Baseball Classic being played this spring.
The Rays are coming off their third consecutive losing season going 68-94, and are looking to be a force once again in the rugged AL East. There have been a few key changes for the Rays this off-season. Starting pitcher Drew Smyly is gone to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for outfielder Mallex Smith. Smith will back up gold glove award winner Kevin Keiermeir in center, and the newly signed Colby Rasmus in left field. Rasmus with Houston last year hit .206 with 15 HR and 54 RBI's. Steven Souza will go to camp as the starting right fielder.
The Rays improved their catching situation dramatically with the signing of All-star Wilson Ramos. Ramos hit .307 with 22 HR's. and 80 RBI's last year with Washington. Ramos is also much better defensively than Maile, Casali , Wilson or whoever else the Rays trotted out last year. The catching situation was so bad last year, most teams had catchers at the AAA level that were better than what the Rays had on their big league roster.
Wilson is coming off surgery on his ACL, and will miss spring training. Wilson is hoping to be ready to DH by mid-May, and be ready to catch sometime in July. Luke Maile and Curt Casali will platoon at Cather until Wilson is ready.
A big loss for the Rays is Logan Forsythe. Forsythe a fan favorite in Tampa hit .264 with 20 HR's and 64 RBI's last year was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league prospect Jose De Leon. De Leon will start the season at Durham and will probably get a mid-season call-up. The Rays will miss the versatility of Forsythe defensively and his hustle and determination. I always appreciated Forsythe for his work ethic. He never took a play off and always busted his tail. R.I.P Logan Forsythe.
The Rays have also signed Logan Morrison to a 1 year 2.5 million contract. That pretty much means that Morrison will start at first and Brad Miller will move to second. Matt Duffy at SS, and Evan Longoria at third will round out the infield.
Enny Romero was traded by the Rays to the Washington Nationals in exchange for low-level pitcher Jeffrey Rosa. Rosa went 1-8 last year.
It should be an interesting summer at the trop. The Rays have upgraded the roster at several position including catcher, and LF. If Chris Archer can return to his 2015 form and the young arms of Blake Snell and Matt Andreisse develop as expected, the Rays could make some noise in the AL East.
