Spring Position Battles, Part III
This last position is one that may or may not exist. It all depends upon the health of starter Brad Penny, who was diagnosed with “shoulder weakness” at the beginning of the spring. Any mention of shoulder problems for a guy with Penny’s track record should be seen as a gigantic red flag, especially this early in the year. So, let’s assume for a moment that Penny will begin the year on the disabled list. We’ll also assume that the Red Sox plan on taking the standard 12 pitchers to Boston when camp breaks at the end of the month, and thus…there is one job opening here.
Healthy pitchers who are assured a MLB roster spot:
Josh Beckett
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Jon Lester
Tim Wakefield
Justin Masterson
Jonathan Papelbon
Takashi Saito
Manny Delcarmen
Hideki Okajima
Ramon Ramirez
Javier Lopez
Now, the most interesting factor in this pitching staff is Justin Masterson, a guy who can be used in the bullpen or in the rotation. He’s been used as a starter (i.e. “stretched out”) throughout this spring, so the odds are that he’ll get Penny’s rotation spot at the beginning of the season.
Assuming the Sox need a reliever, here are the candidates to take that final spot:
Wes Littleton – RHP
Pitches:
1. Fastball (87 MPH)
2. Slurve (74 MPH)
3. Change Up (76 MPH)
CHONE Projection: 3.93 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 1.8 K/BB
Notes: The favorite to win the job, based on experience. An extreme ground ball pitcher; a 60% career ground ball rate. Doesn’t allow many HRs. 3/4 arm angle is tough on righties, but can become batting practice to left-handed hitters. Similar to Cla Meredith.
Hunter Jones – LHP
Pitches:
1. Fastball (90 MPH)
2. Slider (?)
CHONE Projection: 4.58 ERA, 7 K/9, 2 K/BB
Notes: He’s had a reverse split (better against right-handed batters) in the minor leagues, making him more useful than your typical lefty reliever. Has yet to pitch in the majors, and his unorthodox delivery could present a temporary deception factor due to the lack of MLB scouting on him. Better command, misses more bats than Littleton.
Billy Traber – LHP
Pitches:
1. Fastball (87 MPH)
2. Curveball (71 MPH)
3. Splitter (82 MPH)
4. Change Up (77 MPH)
CHONE Projection: 4.44 ERA, 6.3 K/9, 2.3 K/BB
Notes: Very good control, throws strikes. Features 4 solid pitches. Better against lefties than the other two candidates. Gets ground balls. Pitched for the Yankees last year, thus might be prone to sabotage or espionage, along with various other morally questionable acts.
As is the case with the other spring battles, I’ll be updating the progress of these guys periodically. I can tell you that Littleton and Traber have both been getting absolutely lit up in the early going, while Hunter Jones has been outstanding. However, the small sample size caveat applies to all three guys at this point.
I think Masterson goes to the pen and Buchholz starts the year as the fifth starter.
Good call, mattymatty. I completely agree. Masterson is best suited to the pen.
He does look good this spring, doesn’t he? I’m betting on Masterson starting, based on the way he’s been used this spring and their handling of Buchholz with kid gloves…but I’d be just as happy to see your scenario play out.