Who is out of options besides Hammel and EJax?

by ttnorm on Feb 15, 2008 8:02 AM EST

Jackson and Hammel, though, are out of options and likely will make the Opening Day roster in one role or another barring a complete collapse.(This morning's Tribune)

I am not sure why all of the focus goes to these 2 guys. Sure they are younger and have some projection left but the reason they are out of options is because they have used up their 6 MiLB or 3 MLB seasons which sounds like a lot of exposure already. And should not the focus be on performance and not projection anyway at the MLB level?

By my count, Balfour, Glover, and Dohmann are all out of options as well (RJ?). If so, why is this not mentioned in the 25 man calculus?

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.

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Re: Who is out of options besides Hammel and EJax?

Aybar is also out of options

Options start when you hit the 40 man roster. For the first 3 years of your time on the 40 man, you can be moved up or down at will. Teams can get a 4th year for excessive time missed for injury (McClung got that). After the 3 years, they have to go through waivers.

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by UCFKnights on Feb 15, 2008 8:07 AM EST reply actions

Re: Who is out of options besides Hammel and EJax?

True, you can also get a 4th year if the player has less than 5 professional seasons.

by ttnorm on Feb 15, 2008 8:50 AM EST reply actions

Re: Who is out of options besides Hammel and EJax?

I am still hoping to see E-jax come out strong his 1st five starts then take it from there.. I mean, we gave him a whole season to try and prove something and didnt but you can't really compare this opening day to last years because the team improved so much but that being said I think the Rays won't give a bad pitcher in the 5 spot near as many chances as they did last year.

yes, the team is still growing but giving two years to find a 5 starter is a little crazy and I hope they can solve the problem before it becomes a major issue.

by Thomasutra on Feb 15, 2008 1:37 PM EST reply actions

Re: Who is out of options besides Hammel and EJax?

E Jax got hurt by his defense at least a few times last year, and with someone in his shoes with his makeup that made it really tough. Once he started to figure it out on the mound he still had that game against Colome in Anaheim where Harris dropped a pop-up and (Ithink) BJ threw a ball or two away. Not to mention that he just couldn't buy run support when he was pitching well. All in all, I think he could have a good year because he can have more faith in the guys behind him and at the plate.

by rglass44 on Feb 15, 2008 3:08 PM EST reply actions

Re: Who is out of options besides Hammel and EJax?

I still hope that Jackson fulfills the hopes many have had for him, but I do not agree with the view that he had a good second half or that he clearly turned anything around.

First, until July 31 he had been pretty consistently awful, and most of his losses (he was 2-10 at that point) were either because he pitched really badly, not because the Rays did not score or because of errors. In the few games the Rays did not score for him, he simply gave up a lot of runs; in some of his no-decisions, the Rays did score and he still could not hold leads.

From July 31-August 22 he did have a decent streak of 5 games, topped by the complete game 4 hit shutout. Even then, his performance was simply better, not excellent. In the other 4 games he managed just 6 innings each and still allowed 5 walks twice and 4 once. He also did not strike out that many in those games, 14 in 24 innings.

From that to the end of the year, he pitched one more good game, the last one when he went 7 innings and gave up just 1 run, albeit with 5 walks again. In the other 6 games he was either lousy (4.2 IP, 14 hits, 4 earned runs; 5.2 IP, 7 earned runs) or not very good. In those 6 games, his ERA was 7.84, with 16 walks and 23 Ks in 31 innings. Perhaps a better defense would have helped, but I doubt it explains it all away.

I expect the Rays to give him more time to prove himself, but the leash is shorter now and I do not see the signs of improvement that others have claimed are there.

by bobr on Feb 15, 2008 5:09 PM EST reply actions

Re: Who is out of options besides Hammel and EJax?

I might just be a homer, but I like Hammel, Jackson, Sonny and Niemann more than most people. Well maybe not Sonny, I like him a little less than most people.

-What stands out to me abut Hammel is his mouond presence. He takes control of the mound. He just needs to find control on his pitches. I think his fastball and curve are pretty good and he could be a starter or reliever eventually. I think he will a productive pro

-I'm in teh Jackson camp. I hate saying that. I saw the first signs of forward progress out of him that didnt result in taking steps backwards immediately afterwards. I think he could put it together this year, or he could blow up and suck. Who knows with him right?

-Maybe Im alone, but I dont have Niemann much behind Garza and I think his ceiling is still just as high as Garzas

-I just dont think there is room for Sonny in the rotation in the future, and I love him as a middle reliever. A lot of people disagree with me, but I see him being very efgfective in that role

by blazinrayz on Feb 20, 2008 3:31 PM EST reply actions