Spring training is more than halfway in the books, and the final roster spots for the Opening Day of 2011 are still being determined by the Rays' staff.
Most of the open spots are in the bullpen, where several pitchers are still in the hunt for a spot on the roster, come April 1st. There are at least three spots up for grabs, with Adam Russell no longer a sure thing and J.P. Howell on the mend for the first month.
Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta, and Andy Sonnanstine are locks, but will be accompanied by four more relievers at the start of April when the regular season kicks off.
The likes of Chris Archer, Dane De La Rosa, Dirk Hayhurst, Alex Cobb, and Brandon Gomes were recently sent back to minor league camp. It won't be long before Archer gets his shot, and Gomes pitched well in his stay in major league camp.
In my mind, Jake McGee should start off the season in the majors, but could still be sent down by the Rays. Cesar Ramos is still competing for a spot along with the veteran Juan Cruz.
Those two have company though, in the form of the tall man Russell, and a surprisingly surging Cory Wade. Also in the running is Mike Ekstrom, who spent a bit of time with the club last season.
Any way you look at it, McGee will eventually be in a Rays' uniform this season. When, is the question. The lefty Ramos' chances of making the squad have yet to diminish at all.
The man he could be right in front of is Ekstrom. Ekstrom has a high ERA in his five appearances this spring, but still is considered near the front. Cruz has also opened some eyes this spring and despite being on a minor league contract, is worthy of a spot.
Not much was made of Cory Wade coming into this spring, but he has come along nicely. Meanwhile, Russell has gone from an almost sure-lock to an "on the bubble" player. He should still make the team though.
If I were to take a guess, it would be this: McGee, Cruz, Russell, and Ramos would make the team. That would leave out Wade and Ekstrom. It would also leave out Rob Delaney and Cesar Cabral, two other pitchers in the running.
Not keeping Cabral on the 25-man roster would force the Rays to send him back to Boston, seeing as he was a Rule 5 pick. Even with making the squad, one of the four players from the last paragraph that made it would be sent back down once Howell is completely healthy.
The last few spots could be thrown in many different ways, with many different possibilities of who will claim the final slots in the pen. But if one thing is certain, there will be plenty of new faces come Opening Day.
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