TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS

2005 finish: 67-95, 5^th place in AL East

Manager: Joe Maddon (1^st year)

Incoming: RHP Dan Miceli, 3B Sean Burroughs, RHP Edwin Jackson, 3B Russell Branyan, C Josh Paul, IF Ty Wigginton, RHP Shinji Mori

Long gone: RHP Danys Baez, RHP Lance Carter, LHP Trever Miller, RHP Dewon Brazelton, IF Alex Gonzalez, 1B Eduardo Perez, OF Danny Bautista

Rotation: LHP Scott Kazmir, RHP Seth McClung, LHP Casey Fossum, LHP Mark Hendrickson, RHP Doug Waechter, RHP Edwin Jackson

Relievers: Closer: RHP Dan Miceli; Setup men: RHP Chad Orvella, RHP Travis Harper, RHP Jesus Colome, RHP Chad Harville, RHP Shawn Camp, LHP Jon Switzer, LHP Wayne Franklin, LHP Mark Malaska, RHP Shinji Mori (DL)

Regulars: SS Julio Lugo, LF Carl Crawford, 2B Jorge Cantu, 3B Aubrey Huff, DH Jonny Gomes, CF Rocco Baldelli, 1B Travis Lee, C Toby Hall, RF Joey Gathright

Role players: C Josh Paul or C Kevin Cash, IF Nick Green, IF Luis Rivas, OF Damon Hollins, IF Ty Wigginton, 1B/3B Russell Branyan

The pressure is on: It’s tough being the leader of a weak rotation at age 22, but Scott Kazmir has shown he is quite capable. His record could suffer being matched against other staff aces, even if his other numbers are fine. 

Breakout candidate: Former No. 1 overall pick Delmon Young has the skills and the bloodlines (he’s Dmitri’s younger brother) to be a superstar. He’ll start the season in the minors, but won’t be there for long.

Rundown: It’s not easy being the Devil Rays. They’re stuck in the same division as the game’s two biggest spenders, play in a near-empty dome, and have escaped last place and won as many as 70 games only once in their eight-year history. But change is in progress, beginning right at the top with Stuart Sternberg replacing Vince Naimoli, putting Gerry Hunsicker and Andrew Freeman in charge of the baseball operation, hiring Joe Maddon as manager and initiating a major overhaul that will include a name change. You can take the ‘Devil’ out of ‘Devil Rays’, but it’s going to take more Carl Crawford-like breakthroughs to stardom from their young position players, and just as importantly, the construction of a pitching staff to get this thing headed in the right direction. Currently, there is much more hope for the former than the latter. Jorge Cantu, 24, could take the next step to Jeff Kent-like status with a repeat of his 2005 numbers. Rocco Baldelli, still only 24, could reestablish himself as one of the league’s better young outfielders after missing last season recovering from knee and elbow surgeries. They wisely have held onto Julio Lugo, who quietly hit .295 and stole 39 bases last season, and Jonny Gomes should build off a .282-21-54 rookie season that included only 348 at-bats. And of course, two of the game’s top handful of prospects -- shortstop B.J. Upton and right fielder Delmon Young -- are only a phone call away, and both could be regulars by the end of this season. Aubrey Huff has moved to third base, leaving speedster Joey Gathright in right field for now, but Young should be there soon enough. All that should translate into a move up from their eighth-place spot in runs scored last season. The picture isn’t nearly as bright when it comes to the pitching staff. Addition by subtraction could come into play here, though, as the now-departed trio of Dewon Brazelton, Hideo Nomo and Rob Bell went 7-16-7.33 in 156 innings and 30 starts. The rotation is a bunch of marginal holdovers: Promising Scott Kazmir, fellow lefties Casey Fossum and Mark Hendrickson, and two young right-handers still undergoing growing pains in Seth McClung and Doug Waechter, although the former is a second year removed from Tommy John surgery, a time when good things often happen. That doesn’t exactly inspire as much hope for a better-than-last-place finish as does a Leo Mazzone-led Orioles rotation, now does it? And Hendrickson has been slowed by a thigh strain this spring. Trading the All-Star Danys Baez and Lance Carter left 130 late innings to fill, and no doubt will be the biggest headache of Maddon’s first season. They thought they had a potential closer in Japanese League veteran Shinji Mori, but he suffered a torn labrum this spring and will miss the season. Hard-throwing Chad Orvella, who had solid rookie season in 2005, appears to be the longer-term answer as the closer, but for now, very-well-traveled Danny Miceli might get the call. The left-handed spot is wide open, so look for a deal this spring. There is a solid chance the Rays could get out of last place, as a bad first half in Baltimore could lead to clubhouse unrest and some salary dumping. The other side of that argument is the Rays could deal Lugo and/or Joey Gathright in search of quality young pitching that wouldn’t contribute much this season. Most likely, there will be a record number of wins for the Rays, as they were 39-34 in the second half of last season. Whether that gets them out of the AL East cellar remains to be seen.

Predicted finish: 4^th place, 72-90

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