Selecting the 2015 MLB 'Can They Still Play?' Team
Spring is a time of hope and uncertainty, and that goes for veterans as well as youngsters on the roster bubble.
Specifically, we're talking about guys whose skills have begun to decline due to injury, advancing years or some combination of the two. This is the season when they can offer the faithful, and themselves, a dash of optimism.
Or not; in some cases, Father Time has simply caught up.
Let's cast our gaze around the league and examine nine key players (one per position) who enter the 2015 campaign hampered by age- and health-related questions. All of these guys were studs in their prime and can still boost their teams' fortunes if their bodies allow.
Will they? Only time holds the answer, and time isn't telling. For now, we'll weigh the available evidence, add a dash of gut feeling and take some guesses.
1B: Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
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Mark Teixeira has had it rough the last couple seasons. In 2013, the former All-Star played in just 15 games while battling a wrist injury, and last year, he dealt with more maladies and posted a paltry .216/.313/.398 slash line.
Teixeira turns 35 on April 11, so it's worth wondering if his career is on the ropes.
Not so, he insists. He's played in 17 spring contests, and other than a bruised knee after being hit by a pitch, he's avoided the injury bug.
"Really, I can’t tell you how much stronger I am now," he told Bob Klapisch of the Times Herald-Record on Monday. "I feel like I'm in my 20s."
That's the sort of talk Yankees fans want to hear, but given Teixeira's age and recent injury history, it's tough to imagine anything more than a mild bounce-back.
2B: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
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Dustin Pedroia had wrist surgery in September after undergoing a thumb procedure in November 2013. This spring, he claims, he's finally himself again.
Pedroia told WEEI's Rob Bradford:
"I feel normal. I can tell just picking up a bat my hand strength is back. That's the most important part to me. When you grab a bat, how does it feel? Can you manipulate where you want to hit the ball? It’s all back.
"
It's not that Pedroia's been lousy. He won a Gold Glove last year, and in 2013, he helped Boston bring home another championship.
But his power numbers have been trending downward; his slugging percentage fell to .415 in 2013 and to .376 a season ago, and he managed just 16 home runs in the two campaigns combined.
Can Sox fans dream of a return to 2011, when Pedroia cracked 21 home runs and posted 7.9 WAR, per Baseball-Reference.com?
Sure, though reality is probably closer to 2012, when Pedroia hit 15 home runs and posted a .449 slugging percentage. Boston would certainly take it.
3B: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
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Not sure if you've heard, but Alex Rodriguez is coming back this season after a year-long performance-enhancing drug suspension. It's been one of those under-the-radar stories.
In all seriousness, Rodriguez has flashed signs of life in the Grapefruit League, hitting .324 with three home runs. And the polarizing three-time American League MVP has mostly kept his head down, saying the right things and avoiding (further) controversy.
We're listing him at third base, but Rodriguez will get the bulk of his at-bats as a designated hitter. Call us crazy, but we'll project a comeback year in which the soon-to-be 40-year-old vaults past the pessimistic projection systems (check them out at FanGraphs).
Earning acceptance from fans and the media? That's another story.
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SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
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Troy Tulowitzki was on an MVP trajectory last season, hitting .340 with a 1.035 OPS through 91 games before a hip injury derailed him.
The four-time All-Star went under the knife in August, meaning this spring was bound to involve some scrutiny.
So far, so good. Tulowitzki looks "completely healthy," Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports, and he owns a .333 spring average with three home runs.
"I know it's just spring training, but for me, I've gained a lot of confidence," Tulowitzki said, per Saunders. "I know I can be the same player, if not better."
The glass-half-empty take is that Tulo has failed to clear the 100-game mark in two of the last three seasons. On the glass-half-full side, he's a hyper-talented hitter who plays half his games at Coors Field.
We'll drink from the second glass and predict big things.
LF: Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
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Tulowitzki isn't the only comeback story worth monitoring in the Mile-High City. Carlos Gonzalez is coming off a knee operation that ended a dreadful 2014 campaign in which he hit just .238.
He's hitting .303 in the Cactus League, though he recently gave Rockies fans a scare by leaving a game with soreness in his surgically repaired knee. He said he felt better on Sunday, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com), and called the soreness "normal."
He's entering his age-29 season, so a return to health seems plausible, even if there are some bumps along the way. And like Tulowitzki, Gonzalez gets the inevitable Coors Field bump.
CF: Angel Pagan, San Francisco Giants
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Pagan has been a spark plug since arriving in San Francisco, with a big "when he's healthy" caveat.
The switch-hitting center fielder enjoyed his best season by the bay in 2012, when he posted a .288/.338/.440 slash line with 29 stolen bases and an MLB-leading 15 triples.
But in 2013, Pagan played in only 71 games due to hamstring issues, and last season he managed just 96 contests while battling back problems.
He had surgery on Sept. 25 to repair a herniated disc and bounded into camp declaring himself fully healthy, per Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News.
He's since missed time with back spasms, per CSN Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic. Pagan termed them "minor," but it's looking less and less likely the 33-year-old will hold up over a 162-game grind.
RF: Carlos Beltran, New York Yankees
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Carlos Beltran is the third Yankee on our list, and that's no coincidence. New York's roster is stuffed with sputtering veterans hoping to find a little gas left sloshing in the tank.
Beltran was an All-Star as recently as 2013, when he hit .296 with 24 home runs in 145 games. Last year, he missed time with various injuries and posted a career-worst .233/.301/.402 slash line.
The 37-year-old, who had offseason elbow surgery, is hitting just .235 this spring and has collected only two extra-base hits in 34 at-bats.
He's too talented a hitter to write off completely, and if he can avoid injuries (a big "if"), his numbers should tick upward. A return to All-Star form, though, seems far-fetched at best.
C: Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles
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Matt Wieters, who had Tommy John surgery last June, was shut down this spring with elbow tendinitis. That's the bad news.
The good news is that the All-Star backstop has resumed throwing and is "doing good," manager Buck Showalter told Ed Norris and Steve Davis of 105.7 The Fan (via CBS Baltimore).
Wieters is just 28, and he played in at least 130 games every year between 2010 and 2013. During that span, he won a pair of Gold Gloves and eclipsed 20 home runs three times.
He won't be back by Opening Day, but Orioles fans can look forward to a return—and a return to form—at some point in 2015.
P: Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants
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A key member of the Giants' 2010 and 2012 championship runs, Matt Cain made just 15 starts in 2014 and ultimately had two surgeries in September to have bone chips removed from his right elbow and a bone spur from his right ankle.
Even before injuries derailed him, Cain's performance was trending down.
After logging more than 200 innings in six straight seasons and posting sub-3.00 ERAs in 2011 and 2012, Cain's ERA rose to 4.00 in 2013. He was 2-7 with a 4.18 ERA when he was shut down last year.
Can the 30-year-old turn back into the pitcher who made three All-Star teams and authored a perfect game?
Cain owns an unsightly 8.22 ERA this spring, and he's admitted to "lingering discomfort" in his elbow, MLB.com's Chris Haft reports.
The Giants don't need Cain to be an ace; they've got Madison Bumgarner for that. If he could stay healthy and eat innings, though, it'd help stabilize a rotation that features a lot of question marks.
All statistics current as of March 31 and courtesy of MLB.com.
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