MLB Spring Training key position battles in the AL East

Now that the Calendar has turned to March, Spring Training is now in full bloom as both the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues have been playing full game schedules for over a week.  With many stars set to depart to compete in the WBC, they will leave behind their teammates to battle for starting jobs and roster spots for their respective MLB teams.  In this space, we are going to take a weekly look at some of the positions and roster battles for each team, and how the contenders are doing in camp.  As you watch the Spring training highlights and scour the internet for boxscores, you might see some names that you might not recognize. We’re here to help.  

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Baltimore Orioles (OF, DH, 3B)

The only absolute locks to make the opening day roster for Baltimore are Gunnar Henderson (SS), Pete Alonso (1B), Adley Rutschman (C/DH), and Taylor Ward (OF).  Jordan Westburg was slated to man the hot corner, but he was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his throwing elbow, which he has opted to treat with PRP injections and rest.  He will likely miss at least a month of the season, and we just don’t know if he will be able to handle the throws from 3rd when he does come back.  Likewise, Jackson Holliday will cover second base once he is fully recovered from Hamate Bone surgery early in camp.  He will likely be about 2-3 weeks behind his teammates when they head north. 

The rest of this roster is fairly wide open in a sense, as any one of the other players can either be relegated to bench roles or sent to the minors if things go wrong for them in camp.  The suspect list to fill the 9 remaining spots on the roster consists of Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo, Samuel Basallo, Ryan Mountcastle, Leody Taveras, Blaze Alexander, Jeremiah Jackson, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers, and Heston Kjerstad.  There is also a bit of a wild card in camp in former Guardian slugging prospect, Jhonkensy Noel.  While it feels fairly obvious that players like Cowser, Mayo, and Basallo will have to play their way off this roster, they aren’t 100% locked into full-time roles yet.

Colton Cowser, OF. Through his first 10 at-bats, Cowser has 2 hits and a stolen base.  His 3 strike outs are a bit concerning, as his K rate of 35.6% is one factor that has hurt him in his young career so far.

Leody Tavares, OF.  He has 4 hits in his first 11 at-bats, including 2 doubles, with 3 RBI and a stolen base.  If he keeps it up, he may work his way into the lineup on a semi-regular basis.  

Colby Mayo, 3B/1B/DH.  In his first 12 at-bats, he has 6 hits, including 2 doubles, but more importantly, ZERO K’s.  It seems like a foregone conclusion that he will make the team, barring a complete collapse or injury.  He’s the guy we want to see win an everyday job.

Samuel Basallo, C/DH.  His 4 hits in 10 at-bats are great, his 4 Ks in the other 6 at-bats aren’t quite so great.  The swing and miss in his game is what will keep him from being a fantasy stud this year.  We need him to get those additional DH at-bats to really boom for us in mixed leagues.

Ryan Mountcastle, DH/1B.  Through his first 10 plate appearances, he has two hits (both doubles) with 1 K, 1 walk, and an RBI.  He’s on the 40-man roster, and he’ll most likely make the team and be a right-handed bat off the bench/DH.  He’s not much more than a fly in the ointment for players like Basallo and Mayo for fantasy purposes.

Tyler O’Neill, OF.   He’s healthy, and in his first 13 plate appearances, he has 7 hits in 11 at-bats with 2 walks, with a homer, a double, and zero K’s.  The key there is he’s healthy.  If he remains so, he will make this team or end up being traded to another team.

Dylan Beavers, OF.  With O’Neill and Taveras in the way, he may need to beat out Cowser for a roster spot.  Through his first 10 at-bats, he has 1 hit and a whopping 5 K’s.  He’ll have to pick it up if he wants to break camp with the big club.  I doubt they keep him around as a 5th OF instead of getting steady at-bats in AAA.

Heston Kjerstad, OF.  With a big camp, he could go north with the team.  In his first 12 plate appearances, he has a walk and 3 hits, including a home run, and just 1 K.  It’s early, but he may have a leg up on the 5th OF spot.

Boston Red Sox (2B, Utility)

The Red Sox lineup is fairly set with Roman Anthony (LF/DH), Jaren Duran (LF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), and Wilyer Abreu (RF) set to cover the outfield and Wilson Contreras (1B, Trevor Story (SS), Caleb Durbin (3B) and Chris Narvaez & Connor Wong (C) on the infield.  That just leaves the question as to who will cover the keystone and fill out the reserve roles in Bean-town this summer. 

The guy that we all want to see win the job is prospect Marcelo Mayer, but it isn’t a lock that he’ll be the guy at the Keystone when the BoSox break camp.  Last year’s starter at 2b for most of the year was Romi Gonzalez, who is currently injured and doubtful to make it back for opening day.  He will likely have a roster spot once healthy, but may not have a starting role.  Let’s take a look at how it’s gone so far.

Marcelo Mayer, 3B/2B.  He’s made one start so far this Spring and he went 1-3 with a home run, so there’s reason for optimism.  It’s his job to lose, as his biggest competition is a group of uninspiring utility-type guys.

Nick Sogard, 1B/2B.  In 8 games, he has 16 at-bats that have yielded just 2 singles.  He’s on the 40-man, and he also does not have minor league options remaining, so he seems likely to make the team as bench depth.  We can ignore him for fantasy.

Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, 2B/SS. With Romy Gonzalez and Tristan Casas down, he has been getting reps at 1B as well as his normal SS and 2B.  So far in camp, he has 2 hits in 8 at-bats. Maybe for the deepest AL-only leagues, we can remember he exists. 

Kristian Campbell, OF/2B. If he makes the team, it will be as their 5th OF, but it’s more likely he will be sent to Worcester to play every day.  He has 2 hits in his first 9 Spring at-bats with 3 Ks. Ignore him for now.

Masataka Yoshida, DH/OF.  His roster spot is in jeopardy as there may not be a spot for him when all is said and done.  He has gotten 3 plate appearances thus far, with just a walk and a stolen base to show for it.  He’s not rosterable in any format right now.

New York Yankees (4th/5th OF)

This lineup is pretty well set, as we all know Judge, Chisolm, Bellinger, Grisham, Rice, Stanton (if healthy), Wells, McMahon/Rosario, and Caballero (while Volpe is out) will be their everyday lineup, with Paul Goldschmidt getting some run against lefties for Rice or Wells (with Rice moving to catcher). 

Those 11 bats, along with J.C. Escarra as the backup catcher, will make the squad.  So that last spot comes down to a couple of young players in Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones, a recently signed veteran bat, Randall Grichuk, and Oswaldo Cabrera, who is currently nursing an ankle injury.

Spencer Jones.  So far in camp, he’s 3 for 10 with all three hits going well over the outfield wall, but with 4 Ks.  He’s going to be an impact player at some point, but it may make more sense for him to play every day in the minors.  He can play all three outfield positions, which may give him an edge over Dominguez, who is a bit shaky in the field.

Jasson Dominguez.  So far in camp, he has 5 hits in 12 at-bats, but he has also whiffed 5 times.  While his 26.8% K rate may be light-years better than Jones’ near 40% rate, it’s still too high for a guy with Dominguez’s skill set.  He’s two years younger than Jones, and his long-term potential is much higher, so the Yankees may opt to send him down to play every day in AAA.

Oswald Cabrera.  If Cabrera can get healthy and make it back before opening day, he makes the most sense to fill that last roster spot due to his versatility and the lack of a need for consistent playing time.  The two young guys will be up at some point this season; it just might not be for opening day.

Randall Grichuk.  He’s an extreme long shot to make this team since he’s not on the 40-man roster.  2019 was a long time ago.

Toronto Blue Jays (LF, RF)

The Blue Jays plan is for Andres Gimenez to slide over to his original MLB position, shortstop, to fill the void left by Bo Bichette, with Ernie Clement taking over at 2nd.  With Vlad (1B), Alejandro Kirk (C), Daulton Varsho (CF), and George Springer (DH) all poised to pick up where they left off last year, and NPB import Kazuma Okamoto penciled in at 3rd, Toronto is just left to figure out who will cover the corner outfield spots. 

Plan A is for Addison Barger to move out to right field, and recently acquired Jesus Sanchez is slated to take the first crack in left.  Both players profile as the larger half of platoons, as both have career batting averages sub-.200 against southpaws.  There are some at-bats to be had in this outfield, and there’s always a chance a larger role will open up if Barger is needed to slide back to 3rd if Okamoto struggles.  There are a few interesting options in the Blue Jays camp worth watching.

Jesus Sanchez.   In camp thus far, he has struggled to get going early on with just 2 hits in his first 14 at-bats with 4 Ks.  He’s still a safe pick to get those at-bats against righties for now.

Addison Barger.  Thus far in camp, he has also gotten off to a slow start with just 1 hit in his first 12 at-bats with 4 Ks. 

Miles Straw.  As most of the Jays featured here, he hasn’t done much yet in camp, with 2 hits in his first 10 at-bats.

Nathan Lukes. It’s pronounced “Lukas” in case you care.  He’s a lefty, so it may be tough for him to even make this team the way it’s currently constructed.  Just like the rest of these guys, he hasn’t done much in the few at-bats he has gotten in the early going, but he’s one of the guys I’m watching in this camp.

Davis Schneider.  Schneider figures to be the short side of a platoon with either Sanchez or Lukes.  He should be safe to make this roster unless something wild happens.

Eloy Jimenez. Here’s something wild that can happen.  The former White Sox prospect is still just 29, and I thought he was long gone from the MLB.  He played in the Dominican league last season and has reportedly lost weight in an attempt at a comeback.  The Jays are giving him a bunch of at-bats early, and he’s responded with 6 hits in 15 at-bats with a homer and a couple of RBI.  It’s way too soon to get excited, and he’s only in camp on a minor league deal, but it bears watching.  He’s never stayed healthy, and his best year was his rookie year back in 2019, but stranger things have happened.

Tampa Bay Rays (C, SS)

The Rays are consistently a team that loves to mix and match and platoon at almost every position.  This will be a lineup and a roster that will likely be in flux all season long, with only Junior Caminero locked in as an everyday fixture.  I do like Cedric Mullins a bit to bounce back and have a solid year as their primary CF, and Jonathan Aranda and Yandy Diaz figure to get the bulk of at-bats between 1B and DH.  The two positions on this squad that interest me the most this Spring are Shortstop and Catcher. 

The catcher battle is more a matter of morbid curiosity, as neither Hunter Feduccia nor Nick Fortes figures to be fantasy relevant.  The Shortstop battle will come down to Taylor Walls and prospect Carson Williams, and while neither of these players exactly lit the world on fire last year, Williams does have a good deal of potential.  It’s super early in camp, but let’s see how these players have fared so far.

Taylor Walls.  He was slowed by an oblique strain and just recently returned to action. He has always had speed with a bit of pop, but has always struggled to maintain even a decent batting average.  He should be a utility player, but he’s going to be the starter here until Williams can prove he’s ready.

Carson Williams.  He has power, and he has speed, but he seems like he’s destined to be a batting average drain unless he can improve his contact rate.  If he is going to live in the 60% contact rate and 41% K rate neighborhoods, he’s not going to be able to stay in the majors very long.  Those numbers are reminiscent of Joey Gallo at the end of his career. 

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