True it was a pure exhibition matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and the University of Tampa Spartans, but it symbolically signals the start of Spring Training and time for everyone to care about baseball again! To commemorate this joyous day, I plugged a new set of rankings into my baseball database and compared the results to the last time I did such a thing, which happened to be Valentine's Day. However, rather than revising my updated depth charts for all the teams, I decided to focus on which players had significant changes in their rankings, whether positive or negative, and examine some of the reasons behind these changes. Here are some of the notable changes, grouped by team/transaction.
Baltimore Orioles
A change of three ranks one way or another is never all that significant, but when it involves a new member of the overall top ten (such as when Manny Machado improved from 11 to 8), I feel like it's worth mentioning. The other positive change for Baltimore, Mark Trumbo's improvement of 19 ranks from 147 to 128, seems to be directly related to the O's failing to follow through on their reported free agent deal with Dexter Fowler. One of the trickle down effects of that non-transaction is that Trumbo is now in line to receive most of the playing time in right field as opposed to DH/backup 1B duties, much to the chagrin of Orioles pitchers. Speaking of Orioles pitchers, the actually-completed free agent deal with Yovani Gallardo means that folks who were once in line to compete for Baltimore's fifth starter spot (most notably Vance Worley, who dropped a staggering 84 spots in the rankings from 537 to 621, but also Odrisamer Despaigne and Mike Wright) are now ticketed to the bullpen or the minors.
Chicago Cubs
Speaking of Dexter Fowler, his surprise decision to re-sign with the Cubs had some natural implications on their outfield alignment. First, catcher-turned-outfielder Kyle Schwarber dropped 11 ranks (from 49 to a still very respectable 60), which probably represents the shorter leash the youngster will be on with Jason Heyward now occupying the other corner outfield spot in Chicago. But the real impacts of this move are on Jorge Soler, who suffered a full 237-rank dropoff (from 188 to 425) when he was effectively demoted from projected starting right fielder to fourth outfielder/minor league depth, and Javier Baez (a 159-rank drop, from 483 to 634), who had been slated as a super utility type until Fowler returned to the fold. I don't know if this promising kid is ever gonna get a chance to play...
Oakland Athletics
Speaking of super utility types, the Fowler signing also made Chris Coghlan somewhat superfluous in Chicago, so the Cubs dealt him to the Athletics, where he'll back up all three outfield spots and also probably see some time at second and third base. Strangely enough, while this move would likely grant him more playing time, Coghlan's rank dropped by 61 places (from 471 to 532) upon being traded. Maybe this change reflects the less friendly offensive environment in Oakland, but that doesn't explain why Khris Davis went UP 73 ranks (from 277 to 204) after his trade to the A's. What does make sense is that infield and outfield depth pieces Eric Sogard, Sam Fuld, and Jake Smolinski all took rankings tumbles due to those two moves.
Tampa Bay Rays
Another move that had far reaching rankings implications was the trade of DH/LF/1B Corey Dickerson from the Rockies to the Rays for RP Jake McGee. The centerpiece of that deal for Tampa Bay himself dropped 22 spots (from 114 to 136), which pretty accurately reflects what happens when a slugger leaves Coors Field. This move directly led to the loss of 133 ranking spots between James Loney (395 to 454, loss of 59) and Logan Morrison (401 to 475, loss of 74), the two 1B/DH candidates who Dickerson effectively replaced. The only player to benefit from the trade was right fielder Steven Souza who jumped 87 ranks (from 413 to 326), reinforcing the value of right-handed power - the three other players affected in this transaction all swing from the left side.
Texas Rangers
Josh Hamilton's injury that will cause him to start the year on the disabled list - and which caused him to drop 138 spots in the rankings, from 421 to 559 - has sent ripples through the entire remaining free agent class. However, the above rankings were captured one day before the Rangers made the unorthodox decision to sign shortstop Ian Desmond and move him left field. Prior to the signing, his rankings understandably took a tumble due to his increased time on the open market (he fell 31 spots from 96 to 127), but then curiously CONTINUED to drop (another 14 spots to 141) even after the transaction was announced. Texas's in-house candidates Joey Gallo and Ryan Rua had brief jumps in the rankings before Desmond's signing, but if you check back today, you'll see that they've since dropped back to their Valentine's Day levels.
Chicago White Sox
When Chicago signed Jimmy Rollins to a minor league deal, which effectively amounted to a handshake agreement that the starting shortstop job is his to lose, he saw his stock increase a modest 22 ranks (from 322 to 290). This transaction caused a precipitous drop in the stock of Tyler Saladino (159 spots, from 369 to 528), as he essentially became a utility infielder, and Carlos Sanchez (42 spots, from the already pretty irrelevant 703 to the nail-in-the-coffin-of-his-playing-time 745), as he is now essentially minor league depth. Of note: new third baseman Todd Frazier dropped 9 spots (from 59 to 68), which would normally not be significant, but no one else in that rank range had negative movement.
Cleveland Indians
Similarly, when Cleveland announced the signing of veteran infielder Juan Uribe (who jumped 120 spots, from 561 to 441), incumbent starter Giovanny Urshela dropped 145 spots (485 to 630) when he was relegated to a utility role. Strangely enough, potential platoon partner Jose Ramirez IMPROVED by 53 spots (from 558 to 505) upon Uribe's signing, even though he would presumably have the played the same role with Urshela. Abraham Almonte's 80 game suspension obviously caused him to lose ground (to the tune of 187 spots, dropping all the way from 500 to 687), but curiously Will Venable, the guy they brought in to replace him, dropped 39 spots upon signing his a minor league deal with the club (from 492 to 531). On a seemingly unrelated note, apparently Michael Brantley's injury got less severe, as he was upgraded 106 spots from just outside the top 300 (303) to just inside the top 200 (197).
Colorado Rockies
Speaking of suspensions, Jose Reyes dropped 154 spots (from 171 to 325) when the Rockies placed him on administrative leave due to his pending trial. Top prospect Trevor Story jumped 122 spots (from 607 to 485) with the expectation that he'll be fast tracked to the majors in the meantime.
And lastly, a handful of positional battles:
- Trea Turner (up 42 spots from 439 to 397) has apparently edged out Danny Espinosa (dropped 31 spots from 415 to 446) in the battle for the Nationals starting shortstop gig.
- While A.J. Ramos (down 29 spots, from 179 to 208) still has the inside track on the Marlins closer role, hard throwing Carter Capps (up 44 spots from 269 to 225) is on an upward trajectory.
- In the Angels rotation, Hector Santiago is trending up (up 42 spots, from 354 to 312) and Matt Shoemaker is trending down (down 51 spots, from 323 to 374).
- Veteran A.J. Pierzynski (down 20 spots, from 447 to 467) is still ranked ahead of Tyler Flowers (up 15 spots, from 554 to 539) on the Braves depth chart at catcher, but it is interesting to note the trends.
Spring Training games start up in earnest tomorrow, so these rankings are sure to fluctuate depending on how players perform in Arizona and Florida. Keep watching the diamonds!
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