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Devil Rays gear up for 2010
Fewer big names but just as much optimism
April 4, 2010

BALTIMORE — The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will open up the 2010 season tomorrow against the Orioles and while there have been a number of changes to the roster since winning 111 games last summer, the team is hopeful they can go further into the playoffs than last fall.

Christian O'Neal, in the final year of his current contract, has a .596 career winning percentage during his 12-year career, winning 1,159 games, making the playoffs 10 times, winning the American League East eight times, claiming four American League pennants, and winning four World Series championships. Now the 52-year-old manager will have to adapt from a roster filled with All Stars to a club that has a number of players without the same level of popularity.

"Pitching is the name of the game and that's what we have here," O'Neal said. "We have a lot of pitching depth in the rotation and in the bullpen."

The pitching staff is led by Danny Haren, who won his second straight Cy Young award last season. Haren went 17-4 with a 3.22 ERA in 31 starts last season, and is slated as the club's Opening Day starter.

"We're really confident with Danny out on the mound, and he's shown that we have plenty of reason to be confident with him out there," said O'Neal. "He's got 38 wins in the last two seasons, so its awful difficult to think of anyone better to head up the rotation. The awards help out too."

Felix Hernandez will start the year as the second man in the rotation after putting together his best season in a Devil Rays uniform. Hernandez, 23, went 16-6 with a 3.29 ERA in 32 starts.

Pedro Martinez will be the third starter in the rotation, a spot the six-time Cy Young winner is unfamiliar with. The 38-year-old future Hall of Famer is in the final year of his contract and is hoping to follow up on a strong 2009 season, in which he went 14-4 with a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts.

Coming off a fractured elbow, right-hander Zack Greinke returns to the Devil Rays rotation in hopes of picking up where he left off in 2009. Greinke was 10-0 with a 3.44 ERA before suffering his season-ending injury.

"Zack didn't get a full spring training in, and he's coming off a big injury, so we're going to be slow and cautious with him for a little bit until we see how he responds," said O'Neal. "We have the depth to ease him back into things, so that's what we're going to do."

Rounding out the rotation to open the season will be left-hander Jon Lester, who replaced Greinke in the rotation last season. Lester went 10-7 with a 4.53 ERA in 37 games, making 16 starts. He was strong once he joined the rotation, going 7-1 with a 3.84 ERA in 12 starts. In the postseason, he posted a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings.

Though he had a productive season of his own, John Lackey will open the season as the long reliever and spot starter. Lackey went 13-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 28 starts last season.

"John's a professional and understands how these things work," O'Neal said. "He'll get his time out on the mound, and he'll get some starts in, and who knows what will happen as the season progresses."

Jonathan Papelbon enters his third season as Tampa Bay closer. Papelbon went 7-3 with 39 saves and a 2.74 ERA in 61 appearances last season.

"Paps has been stellar at the end of the game," said O'Neal. "We know that if we have the lead going into the ninth inning, we can hand the ball to him and within a few minutes that we're going to come away with a win."

Bridging the gap from the starters and Papelbon will be southpaws Brian Fuentes (1-1, 4.22 ERA, 14 games in 2009) and Craig Breslow (9-2, 3 saves, 3.03 ERA, 64 games), and right-handed relievers Manny Delcarmen (6-4, 6 saves, 3.58 ERA, 58 games), David Aardsma (2-1, 2 saves, 4.32 ERA, 43 games), and Jesse Crain (0-2, 1 save, 3.69 ERA, 21 games).

The offense doesn't have the same big names as last season, but O'Neal is confident they can do the job.

John Baker was a big surprise in baseball last season, especially once he was dealt to the Devil Rays from the Seattle Mariners. Baker, 28, hit .314 with 20 home runs and 90 RBI in 140 games. Backing up Baker is Gerald Laird, who hit .310 with three home runs with 17 RBI in 142 at bats.

Ryan Howard won the MVP award last season, but has since joined the Chicago Cubs as a free agent. Aubrey Huff will take over as the regular firstbaseman in his absence. Huff hit .336 with 41 doubles, 25 home runs, 103 RBI, and 91 runs scored in 150 games.

"Aubrey has been so valuable to this team with his offense, his defense, his flexibility in the field to play wherever we need him," said O'Neal. "Hopefully it'll help him out even more to have a position to play consistently."

Rookie infielder Emilio Bonifacio battled with Brendan Harris throughout the spring and will open the season as the starting second baseman. Bonifacio, a 24-year-old switch-hitter, is 6-for-17 with three RBI and five runs scored in his big league career. In 115 games in AAA last season, Bonifacio hit .276 with seven home runs, 37 RBI, and 64 runs in 115 games. Harris will share time with Bonifacio at second base and spell Cliff Pennington at shortstop. The 29-year-old hit .246 with eight home runs, 46 RBI, and 56 runs scored in 366 at bats last season.

Pennington, winner of the 2009 Rookie of the Year award, hit .261 with 16 home runs and 72 RBI with 98 runs scored and 26 stolen bases in 152 games. He will be the team's starting shortstop, a role he had to open the 2009 season before being shifted to second base.

With Huff playing first base, Brian Buscher traded to the Atlanta Braves, and Alex Gordon out for the season with a ruptured disc in his back, the team was faced with a decision between Bill Mueller and Garrett Atkins for third base. Mueller, 39, is a switch-hitter who hit .261 with 12 home runs, 44 RBI, and 71 runs scored in 132 games with the Oakland Athletics last season. He won out the starting job over Atkins, who hit .268 with 12 home runs, 55 RBI, and 51 runs scored in 154 games with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Last year's outfield was a strong one, as evident by the three Gold Gloves awarded between Matt Holliday, Lastings Milledge, and Josh Hamilton. Holliday is back in the fold and will move up one spot in the batting order to the coveted number three position. Holliday hit .340 with 26 home runs and 124 RBI with 118 runs scored and 21 stolen bases in 156 games. Holliday will see a lot of time as the club's designated hitter, but will also see time in left field.

Hamilton is back as well after hitting .280 with 26 homers and 114 RBI, scoring 99 runs and swiping 25 bags in 150 games.

Milledge will open the year on the disabled list, just where he ended the 2009 season. Helping fill in will be Ryan Freel, a free agent acquisition who hit .275 with six home runs and 49 RBI with 54 runs scored in 121 games with the World Series champion Kansas City Royals last season. Freel can play infield and outfield, and will open the year as the regular left fielder and leadoff hitter.

Ben Francisco played in just 89 games last season, but hit .241 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI for Tampa Bay.

The extra outfielder will be Rick Ankiel, who will also be used as an extra arm out of the bullpen. Ankiel came up with the Detroit Tigers as a starting pitcher in 1998 and owns a career record of 36-50 with 15 saves and a 4.57 ERA in 358 games, including 113 starts. He last pitched in 2006 with the Colorado Rockies, going 4-1 with nine saves and a 2.96 ERA in 60 games before spending more time in the outfield. He hit .274 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI in 387 at bats with the Rockies and Cincinnati Reds in 2007, and struggled with the Florida Marlins in 2008. He spent last season in Florida's minor league system.