This gives my current sense, as of the date above, with prior versions archived below, of my understanding of the current roster: who fits where, what the lineups are, etc. etc. (In the offseason, this is more guesswork than empirical.)
Word today is that Josh Reddick's going to start the year on the disabled list. Ben Zobrist will play right field in his absence, according to Susan Slusser quoting Bob Melvin. Let's see how this works:
Starters
| Position |
v. LHP |
v. RHP |
| C |
Josh Phegley |
Stephen Vogt |
| 1B |
Mark Canha |
Ike Davis |
| 2B |
Tyler Ladendorf |
Eric Sogard |
| SS |
Marcus Semien |
Marcus Semien |
| 3B |
Brett Lawrie |
Brett Lawrie |
| LF |
Coco Crisp |
Coco Crisp |
| CF |
Craig Gentry |
Sam Fuld |
| RF |
Ben Zobrist |
Ben Zobrist |
| DH |
Billy Butler |
Billy Butler |
Notes
- Butler could get time at first base in order to clear DH for Crisp, particularly against lefties, because Canha can shift to left field, leaving the batting order unchanged. There's a sense in which this is now even easier because Gentry is already the center fielder and doesn't have to get bounced back and forth based on Crisp's position.
- It's harder to make that work against righties, however, because Davis isn't going to play outfield, but you could see, in that situation, Semien starting at shortstop and Zobrist in left, on the assumption that you'd rather have Semien at shortstop against a righty than Gentry in left (or in center with Fuld shifting to left, either way), which is probably a fair assumption.
Starting rotation
| Mythical slot |
Pitcher |
| 1 |
Sonny Gray |
| 2 |
Scott Kazmir |
| 3 |
Jesse Hahn |
| 4 |
Kendall Graveman |
| 5 |
Drew Pomeranz |
Relief
| Player |
Role |
| Tyler Clippard |
Closer |
| Eric O'Flaherty |
Eighth inning |
| Dan Otero |
Seventh inning / groundball specialist |
| R.J. Alvarez |
Middle |
| Fernando Abad |
Middle / lefty specialist? |
| Evan Scribner |
Middle / mopup |
| Jesse Chavez |
Long |
15-day disabled list
| Player |
Position |
Date of return |
Effect of return |
| Josh Reddick |
RF |
~April 11th |
Ladendorf to Triple-A; Zobrist to infield |
| Sean Doolittle |
RP |
May? |
Top half of the bullpen down a slot; Alvarez to Triple-A |
| Jarrod Parker |
SP |
June? |
Pomeranz to Triple-A |
60-day disabled list
| Player |
Position |
Date of return |
Effect of return |
| Taylor Thompson |
RP |
??? |
DFA Chad Smith |
| A.J. Griffin |
SP |
June? |
Graveman to Triple-A; DFA Eury de la Rosa |
Minor leagues
| Player |
Position |
Role |
| Sean Nolin |
SP |
Sixth starter (probably seventh behind Chavez) |
| Chris Bassitt |
SP |
Seventh starter (probably eighth) |
| Arnold Leon |
SP |
Eighth starter (probably ninth) |
| Raul Alcantara |
SP |
July 2015 return from Tommy John? |
| Ryan Cook |
RP |
Eighth bullpen man, assuming he gets his shit together |
| Eury de la Rosa |
RP |
Ninth bullpen man |
| Chad Smith |
RP |
Tenth bullpen man |
| Nate Freiman |
1B |
Platoon 1B if Canha doesn't hit |
| Rangel Ravelo |
1B |
Prospect |
| Renato Nunez |
3B |
Prospect |
| Billy Burns |
OF |
Fifth or sixth outfielder |
| Alex Hassan |
OF |
Fifth or sixth outfielder |
Prior Versions
March 24, 2015
March 4, 2015
February 28, 2015
February 26, 2015
January 31, 2015
