As most know, the Tampa Bay Rays' success in 2010 was due in part to the incredible bullpen that they had assembled, with league saves-leader Rafael Soriano, extravagant setup man Joaquin Benoit and plenty of ate-up innings by Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler.
Unless you've been living under a rock hibernating this past winter, you know that none of those names remain in the current Rays' bullpen.
Soriano signed for a much larger contract to be a setup man for Mariano Rivera in New York, while Benoit took the same type of job with Detroit. Wheeler went to the rival Red Sox along with the greatest Ray of all time, Carl Crawford, and Balfour bolted for Oakland.
With all the losses this winter, the Rays less-than-impressively replaced them with the likes of Kyle Farnsworth, Adam Russell, Cesar Ramos, and Juan Cruz.
You're not alone if you're wondering who those guys are.
The bullpen is by far the most depleted in the Majors and remains the biggest question for the Rays this season. There's a strong chance that manager Joe Maddon could go with a closer-by-committee in 2011.
With that said, there are three relievers in my mind who could find themselves all alone in the back of the bullpen for the Rays.
One is Farnsworth, a bit of a journeyman in his career. He has had his share of problems with injuries and pitch command, and has often lacked consistency in pressure situations.
He seemed to improve in 2010, with his walk numbers dwindling, but he still may not be fit for the ninth-inning role. Though he has the most saves out of all the current relievers at the Rays' camp, that's really not saying much.
The second guy to mention is J.P. Howell, one of the bullpen studs of Tampa Bay's 2008 pennant run. Howell was extremely overused in 2009, and it eventually led to shoulder issues that cost him his 2010 season. But now, he's finally back and healthy. His first throwing session went very well, according to Maddon, and he has fixed a couple of things in his delivery.
Howell may not return till late April or early May, but could be the best bet to close for the Rays. He has proven in the past he can get the big outs, and is the clear choice if he returns close to his 2008 form. We may not know if he's a major contender till after spring training, seeing as he is still recovering from shoulder surgery.
The third and final of the three lead candidates for the closing job is Jake McGee, the hard-throwing left-hander. He has a rather violent delivery, which caused him to undergo Tommy John surgery a couple of years back and has forced the Rays to use him in the bullpen. Then again, they need him there a lot more there than they do in the rotation.
Seeing as McGee is still a rookie, it's hard to see him starting off as the team's closer. Although it is highly unlikely, he should be the future at the spot. The talk of pitching coach Jim Hickey keeping McGee in the conversation for a spot in the near-future rotation is a long shot.
So while he may not be the closer as of now, he could be thrown into a closer-by-committee position in the present, and become the full-timer sooner rather than later.
Knowing Maddon, unless someone severely stands out in camp, the season will at least start with a committee, as I think it should. But if he continues his recovery well, J.P. Howell should get the first stab as the lone door-shutter.
Hard to believe that I'd be saying that about a guy that didn't even throw a single pitch last year, but while it may seem a crazy choice, it may be the best one.
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