With pitchers and catchers reporting to Florida just a few days away, most of the major offseason moves appear to have come to a close for the DRays. At this time of the year, teams have their 40 man rosters basically set. That is why last weeks trade where Matt Diaz had to be dropped off the 40 man roster is not going to be as bad as I first believed. This is because if a team were to claim him, they would have to drop someone off the roster. That is why I think he will go unclaimed where the Rays can sign him to a minor league deal. I think Chuck might just slip him through.
Now, with that being said, the DRays have a large group of non-roster invites. Many of them will challenge for a job with the DRays. Brickhaus has released his first annual "Scrub" list. Those special players the DRays have invited to camp with a shot to make the big club. He has done quite a complete job that now part 2 and 3 of the roundup are now up on his site.
We know that Nomo will make this team unless he blows out an elbow this Spring. There are others too who will make this team. We'll get into the battles once camp opens. As people do make this team, Chuck and his staff will have to come up with "who" to drop from the 40 man roster. Well, I have come up with my rankings of who has the greatest chance of remaining on the roster, and who is on the bubble heading into camp. Meaning, the players at the bottom of the list are going to have to show something not to get bumped of the 40 man roster when the final cuts are made. Here is the list. Feel free to comment on my rankings.
40-Man Roster "Picks to Stick" Rankings
#1 B.J. Upton
#2 Delmon Young
#3 Jeff Niemann
#4 Chris Seddon
#5 Jason Hammel
#6 Scott Kazmir
#7 Carl Crawford
#8 Aubrey Huff
#9 Rocco Baldelli
#10 Dewon Brazelton
#11 Mark Hendrickson
#12 Doug Waechter
#13 Jorge Cantu
#14 Toby Hall
#15 Julio Lugo
#16 Josh Phelps
#17 Casey Fossum
#18 Travis Lee
#19 Jonny Gomes
#20 Seth McClung
#21 Joey Gathright
#22 Danys Baez
#23 Jesus Colome
#24 Rob Bell
#25 Lance Carter
#26 Roberto Alomar
#27 Kevin Cash
#28 Jorge Sosa
#29 Alex Gonzalez
#30 Danny Bautista
#31 Angel Garcia
#32 Trever Miller
#33 Travis Harper
#34 Jon Switzer
#35 Brian Stokes
#36 Jose Diaz
#37 Carlos Hines
#38 Eduardo Perez
#39 Bobby Seay
#40 Franklin Nunez
Note: keep in mind Baldelli probaly goes on 60 Day DL right off the bat, which allows them to remove him from the 40 man roster and does free up one spot.
I dont know why Hines and Diaz are still on the roster. Perez and Seay are going to have to be impressive to stick because the DRays have cheaper options. Franlin Nunez, why is he here?