OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Expansion Revision: 1998 Devil Rays and beyond

Moriarty9 · 12-08-2008, 04:05 PM

Tampa Bay roster nearly set
Mulholland dealt for prospect Konerko
March 30, 1998

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - With the first Opening Day in franchise history set for tomorrow, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have trimmed their roster down to 25 players after a couple demotions and a trade.

The Devil Rays this morning traded veteran southpaw Terry Mulholland, 35, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league infielder Paul Konerko. Konerko, 22, has played first base, third base and leftfield in the minor leagues. In 104 games with LA’s AAA affiliate last season, he hit .319 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI, while hitting .271 with three homers and nine RBI in 18 games with the club’s AA affiliate.
Konerko provides a potential replacement for Tampa Bay firstbaseman Will Clark. Clark turned 34 earlier this month and is coming off the worst season of his career and has not approached his career batting average in the last couple years.
“We think this kid could be a real good addition to this club moving forward,” O’Neal said. “From what the front office and baseball operations guys have told me, he’s a good little hitter, has some versatility in the field and is on the verge of making an impact at the big league level. We’ll start him slow down in AAA, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s with us sooner than later.”
Mulholland spent last year with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, going 11-11 with a 3.99 ERA in 34 starts between the two clubs. Originally acquired by the Devil Rays in the expansion draft to serve in the top-end of the club’s rotation, free agent acquisitions Pedro Martinez and Jeff Fassero lessened the need for Mulholland, who was then competing for a spot in the rotation. He is expected to be at the back-end of the Dodgers starting staff.
In addition to announcing the Mulholland-Konerko trade today, Tampa Bay skipper Christian O’Neal revealed the club’s 25-man roster and pitching rotation to open the season.
Pedro Martinez will toe the rubber for tomorrow’s season opener while southpaw Jeff Fassero and Aaron Sele round out the opening series with the Detroit Tigers. Livan Hernandez will take the mound for the series opener against the Chicago White Sox on Friday night with lefty Steve Cooke working as the fifth starter.
“I’m really pleased by the rotation we’ve been able to assemble here, especially considering we’re an expansion club,” O’Neal said. “I think Pedro is going to really break out in the next year or two, Fassero showed everyone last year what he can do, and these other guys would all be welcome additions to any team’s starting rotation.”
Veteran hurler Mark Gubicza will open the year as the club’s long reliever and a spot starter. Mark Petkovsek, Danny Graves, Paul Quantrill and southpaws Vic Darensbourg and Greg Cadaret fill out the bullpen, bridging the gap to closer Rick Aguilera.
“We’ve got a good mix of youth and experience in the bullpen, a couple of lefties, and a guy who has been through some wars at the end of the ‘pen,” O’Neal said. “I’m pretty confident in what our bullpen is going to be able to do.”
O’Neal did not announce tomorrow’s starting lineup, but it is expected to feature Dan Wilson behind the plate, Clark at first base, Jeff Frye at second base, Tripp Cromer at third base, Royce Clayton or Kevin Stocker at shortstop, and an outfield featuring some combination of Jacob Brumfield, Damon Buford, Mike Cameron or Ryan Radmanovich.
“We’ve got a pretty decent defense out there and a couple of good hitters,” O’Neal said. “We don’t have a Mark McGwire, a Sammy Sosa, or a Ken Griffey, Jr. in our lineup, but I think we’ll be able to produce enough runs to be pretty competitive.”
Charles Johnson is expected to see a lot of playing time as the backup catcher until he or Wilson clearly defines who should be the regular backstop while Jeff Manto serves as a backup corner infielder and DaRond Stovall works as the club’s fifth outfielder.
Third baseman Jose Hernandez will open the season on the disabled list, nursing a fractured hand that will keep him out for most of April. It is unclear whether he will be sent to the minor leagues on a rehab assignment or get his swings in with the big league club upon his return.
“We’ll figure out what to do with Jose when he’s further along in the healing process,” O’Neal said. “We’re not going to come up with a plan until we can better assess him. Either way, he’ll be a nice addition to our lineup once he’s healthy.”

12-08-2008, 04:05 PM	#8 (permalink)
Moriarty9 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,855 Thanks: 9 Thanked 3x in 3 posts	Tampa Bay roster nearly set Mulholland dealt for prospect Konerko March 30, 1998 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - With the first Opening Day in franchise history set for tomorrow, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have trimmed their roster down to 25 players after a couple demotions and a trade. The Devil Rays this morning traded veteran southpaw Terry Mulholland, 35, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league infielder Paul Konerko. Konerko, 22, has played first base, third base and leftfield in the minor leagues. In 104 games with LA’s AAA affiliate last season, he hit .319 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI, while hitting .271 with three homers and nine RBI in 18 games with the club’s AA affiliate. Konerko provides a potential replacement for Tampa Bay firstbaseman Will Clark. Clark turned 34 earlier this month and is coming off the worst season of his career and has not approached his career batting average in the last couple years. “We think this kid could be a real good addition to this club moving forward,” O’Neal said. “From what the front office and baseball operations guys have told me, he’s a good little hitter, has some versatility in the field and is on the verge of making an impact at the big league level. We’ll start him slow down in AAA, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s with us sooner than later.” Mulholland spent last year with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, going 11-11 with a 3.99 ERA in 34 starts between the two clubs. Originally acquired by the Devil Rays in the expansion draft to serve in the top-end of the club’s rotation, free agent acquisitions Pedro Martinez and Jeff Fassero lessened the need for Mulholland, who was then competing for a spot in the rotation. He is expected to be at the back-end of the Dodgers starting staff. In addition to announcing the Mulholland-Konerko trade today, Tampa Bay skipper Christian O’Neal revealed the club’s 25-man roster and pitching rotation to open the season. Pedro Martinez will toe the rubber for tomorrow’s season opener while southpaw Jeff Fassero and Aaron Sele round out the opening series with the Detroit Tigers. Livan Hernandez will take the mound for the series opener against the Chicago White Sox on Friday night with lefty Steve Cooke working as the fifth starter. “I’m really pleased by the rotation we’ve been able to assemble here, especially considering we’re an expansion club,” O’Neal said. “I think Pedro is going to really break out in the next year or two, Fassero showed everyone last year what he can do, and these other guys would all be welcome additions to any team’s starting rotation.” Veteran hurler Mark Gubicza will open the year as the club’s long reliever and a spot starter. Mark Petkovsek, Danny Graves, Paul Quantrill and southpaws Vic Darensbourg and Greg Cadaret fill out the bullpen, bridging the gap to closer Rick Aguilera. “We’ve got a good mix of youth and experience in the bullpen, a couple of lefties, and a guy who has been through some wars at the end of the ‘pen,” O’Neal said. “I’m pretty confident in what our bullpen is going to be able to do.” O’Neal did not announce tomorrow’s starting lineup, but it is expected to feature Dan Wilson behind the plate, Clark at first base, Jeff Frye at second base, Tripp Cromer at third base, Royce Clayton or Kevin Stocker at shortstop, and an outfield featuring some combination of Jacob Brumfield, Damon Buford, Mike Cameron or Ryan Radmanovich. “We’ve got a pretty decent defense out there and a couple of good hitters,” O’Neal said. “We don’t have a Mark McGwire, a Sammy Sosa, or a Ken Griffey, Jr. in our lineup, but I think we’ll be able to produce enough runs to be pretty competitive.” Charles Johnson is expected to see a lot of playing time as the backup catcher until he or Wilson clearly defines who should be the regular backstop while Jeff Manto serves as a backup corner infielder and DaRond Stovall works as the club’s fifth outfielder. Third baseman Jose Hernandez will open the season on the disabled list, nursing a fractured hand that will keep him out for most of April. It is unclear whether he will be sent to the minor leagues on a rehab assignment or get his swings in with the big league club upon his return. “We’ll figure out what to do with Jose when he’s further along in the healing process,” O’Neal said. “We’re not going to come up with a plan until we can better assess him. Either way, he’ll be a nice addition to our lineup once he’s healthy.”