Key 2015 Spring Training Narratives That Are Already Changing
Well, that escalated quickly.
Only a few weeks into spring training (and a week into the exhibition season), we've already seen a handful of the biggest storylines in baseball begin to change.
Sure, we still have more questions than answers. We don't know who Arizona's starting catcher will be, whether or not Kris Bryant will do enough this spring to force the Chicago Cubs' hand or if a clean Alex Rodriguez can be a productive player.
But some of the biggest queries the baseball world had have been answered, though I must warn you—everything isn't coming up Milhouse.
A New Year Means a Fresh Start in Texas
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It wasn't supposed to be like this.
After the team lost an obscene 2,116 days to the disabled list in 2014—the most in baseball dating back to 2002, according to Jeff Zimmerman of The Hardball Times—the Texas Rangers were supposed to be healthy and contending for a playoff spot in 2015.
Now, the conversation shifts to whether or not the Rangers can survive a season without their ace.
Yu Darvish is heading to New York for a second opinion on the sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow from New York Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek, per USA Today's Steve Gardner.
"You've gotta move forward," general manager Jon Daniels told reporters (via Gardner). "Meanwhile, we'll get Yu the best care possible. If surgery is ultimately the call—which unfortunately...most times it is—then we'll get him ready for 2016 if that's the decision."
That surgery—of the Tommy John variety—would not only knock Darvish out for all of 2015 but affect his availability in the early part of the 2016 season as well. With a second opinion forthcoming, a decision could be made in a matter of days, not weeks.
Even if Darvish can avoid surgery, he'd likely be out of action until after the All-Star break, leaving the Rangers to rely on Yovani Gallardo and Derek Holland to lead the way.
While they are more than capable of doing the job, Gallardo is pitching in the American League for the first time, while Holland's spring debut was pushed back due to a sore shoulder, a setback the team doesn't believe to be significant.
Should either of them falter, things would get dicey. Colby Lewis, he of the 5.18 ERA and 1.52 WHIP over 29 starts in 2014, and Ross Detwiler, who has eclipsed the 100-inning mark in the majors only once (back in 2012), would be next in line to slide up the rotational depth chart. Behind them is a mix of unproven and/or unreliable options, none of which would see significant action on a contending club.
For the second consecutive year, Texas sits a twinge away from watching its season end before it ever really begins.
Philadelphia's Efforts to Trade Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee
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Two questions hovered large over Philadelphia heading into spring training: Could Cliff Lee stay healthy and show enough for other teams to try to facilitate a trade for the Cy Young Award winner, and would the Phillies finally trade their ace, Cole Hamels?
Well we've gotten our answer for the first of those queries, and the answer is a resounding no.
The elbow soreness that limited Lee to only 13 starts in 2014 has returned, and per a report from the Philadelphia Daily News' Ryan Lawrence, the team is seeking a second opinion on the MRI results from renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews before moving forward.
"You have to be alarmed, we have to be concerned because it’s the same area he feels something," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told Lawrence. "It’s the same area, the same issues he had last year."
While the issue isn't his UCL (which felled Texas' Yu Darvish), surgery could be an option—and would knock Lee out for the year.
"If it ends up having to get repaired," Amaro said, "it’s six to eight months (recovery)."
With Lee's status uncertain, I'm reminded of something ESPN's Buster Olney wrote more than a month ago in regard to Hamels and his future in Philadelphia:
"As time goes by, Hamels’ value in the market slowly depreciates, like that of a car, with the Phillies continuing to carry the inherent risk that if any significant damage develops -- if he has any physical setback -- the return in trade could essentially evaporate.
Which is why the Phillies should devote themselves to trading the 31-year-old Hamels in spring training, before he throws his first pitch in the 2015 regular season.
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Reports of Philadelphia scouting Boston this spring have been overblown; while names have been exchanged, USA Today's Bob Nightengale says talks between the two teams about Hamels "have been dormant for weeks."
In fact, it's the New York Yankees, team sources tell Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, who have made the most attractive offer to obtain Hamels. But CBS Sports' Jon Heyman says that while that might be true, the Yankees were "never close" to swinging a deal for Hamels and, like the Red Sox, haven't spoken to the Phillies about Hamels in weeks.
Yet clearly, the opportunity exists for Philadelphia to move Hamels before Opening Day.
Lee's injury and, to a lesser extent, what's going on with Darvish only further emphasize Olney's point and should serve as a wake-up call to the powers-that-be in Philadelphia: Take the best offer you can get for Hamels and trade him, now, before it's too late.
Boston's Center Field Competition
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Injuries are never a good thing, but sometimes they offer a temporary solution to a problem. In this case, Boston's crowded outfield and the matter of who will get the Opening Day start in center field has become a bit clearer.
What was pegged as a battle between Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo has been decidedly one-sided thus far, with Betts getting the bulk of the playing time while Castillo has been sidelined with an oblique injury.
While Castillo is expected to start hitting off a tee "in the coming days," as manager John Farrell told The Providence Journal's Brian MacPherson, there's no timetable for the Cuban import's return. The Red Sox are wise to tread lightly with Castillo, as oblique injuries are notorious for hanging around far longer than anticipated.
Now Boston didn't sign Castillo to a seven-year, $72.5 million pact last year so that he could open 2015 in Triple-A, that's for sure. But he's going to need regular playing time to shake off the rust and round into form. A trip to the minors may be his best chance of finding just that.
“To me it wouldn't be anything that would alter my plan, or my attitude, or my perspective,” Castillo told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford about a potential stay at Triple-A. “If that’s what it’s got to be, that’s what it’s got to be. I’m just worrying (about) playing and continuing to get reps and reps wherever they may come.”
Of course, this is only a temporary solution to the bigger issue, which is Boston's plethora of outfield talent. Even if things play out this way, a trade involving Jackie Bradley Jr., Allen Craig, Daniel Nava or even Shane Victorino remains a distinct possibility.
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Matt Harvey's Return from Tommy John Surgery
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Nobody was quite sure what to expect from Matt Harvey when he made his spring training debut, roughly 18 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery that prematurely ended his 2013 season and forced him to be a spectator for all of 2014.
It's fair to say that Harvey looking like he's in midseason form wasn't high up on the list of possible outcomes, but that's exactly how things played out. All of his pitches looked crisp over a pair of perfect innings against Detroit, with Harvey breaking a pair of bats and sending three batters down on strikes.
"I feel like I never left," Harvey told MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.
While it's only two innings, it certainly looks like Harvey has already answered the biggest question facing his return to action: how long it would take him to find his pre-injury form, if he could find it at all.
While that's a blessing for a team that heads into the regular season with expectations of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2006, it's also a bit of a curse, as Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal wrote:
"I can see it now. A game in late April. Tie score in the late innings. Harvey talking Collins into allowing him to go back out for the eighth inning at say, 105 pitches. Collins saying afterward that Harvey wanted to keep battling, so what was a manager supposed to do?
The Mets need to be careful with Harvey, careful at a time when their manager is in the final year of his contract and the expectations for the team are the highest they've been in years.
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There's no doubt that, at some point during the regular season, that fictional scenario is going to manifest itself in reality. But instead of April, what if it's late August and the Mets are playing a team that they're battling for a playoff spot?
Can the Mets save Harvey, a fierce competitor, from himself?
A Return to Health for Colorado's Biggest Stars
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Keeping Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki on the field has been a challenge for Colorado in recent years, and with the pair coming off of season-ending injuries (CarGo's knee, Tulo's hip) that required surgery to repair, it made sense for skipper Walt Weiss to have low expectations of the duo this spring.
"I was really thinking, before I got down here, that those guys would play maybe around the middle of spring training, or a couple of weeks in," Weiss told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. "Things have gone so well that there is a possibility they will be out there tomorrow (March 9)."
While the Rockies have a number of key contributors in the lineup, none is more important to the team's on-field success (or lack thereof) than Gonzalez and Tulowitzki, perennial All-Stars with the ability to put the team on their backs and carry it for weeks at a time.
Given their status and star power, it would be fair to assume that the duo has been pushing Weiss to play. But the manager says that's simply not the case: "No, they haven't lobbied me. I check in with them daily, and a couple of times a day with Doogie (trainer Keith Dugger), but they have just progressed so nicely."
Weiss and his staff must do everything in their power to ensure that progress continues, because a setback for either one would deliver a blow to the team that it cannot recover from.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and MLB.com. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts.
Find me on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR
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