Out Of
Options Players: AL West
The following 40-man roster players have less than five years service time and are out of mi**r league options. *That means they must clear waivers before being sent to the mi**rs, so the team would be at risk of losing them in attempting to do so. *I've included players on multiyear deals. *This list was compiled through MLBTR's sources. *
Our ****** concludes with the AL West.
Angels:
Ernesto Frieri,
Kevin Jepsen,
Andrew Romine
Frieri is the team's closer, and Jepsen has a spot in the pen as well. *About a week ago,
Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times **ted that Angels manager Mike Scioscia said the team could open the season with an eight-man bullpen. DiGiovanna further explained,
"Carrying an extra reliever and a five-man rotation would limit the Angels to a three-man bench consisting of a backup catcher, utility infielder and outfielder."
Romine is battling **n-roster invitee
John McDonald for that utility infielder job, though as
MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez **ted earlier this month,
Grant Green appears to have joined the mix.
Astros:
Chris Carter,
Lucas Harrell,
Raul Valdes
Carter will serve as the team's designated hitter. *Harrell is looking to reclaim a spot in the Astros' rotation, which is something of an open competition behind
Scott Feldman. *Valdes, a lefty reliever, is the oldest player in Astros camp at age 36, according to
Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. *He's competing for a lefty relief spot with
Darin Downs and
Kevin Chapman,
wrote Drellich a week ago.
Athletics:
Daric Barton,
Josh Donaldson,
Brandon Moss,
Fernando Abad,
Jesse Chavez,
Chris Gimenez,
Michael Taylor
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote about Taylor on Monday and
Tuesday, **ting that a scout told her a change of scenery might do some good for the 28-year-old outfielder. *Slusser says **n-roster invitee
Sam Fuld is ahead of Taylor to potentially fill in for
Craig Gentry if Gentry needs to start the season on the DL. *Slusser wrote Monday that Barton will need at least a few more days to recover from a hamstring strain. *Barton doesn't fit well at first base in a potential platoon with Moss, wrote
John Hickey of the Mercury News in February, so it could be difficult for him to find a roster spot. *Moss seems assured of semi-regular first base duty after hitting 51 home runs for the A's over the past two years. *Donaldson is the team's starting third baseman after a breakout 2013.
Gimenez is seemingly fourth on the A's depth chart at catcher, so he has an uphill battle for a roster spot out of camp.
MLB.com's Chris Gabel wrote about Abad yesterday, **ting that he's competing with
Drew Pomeranz and
Joe Savery to become the second lefty in Oakland's bullpen. *Despite a rough spring so far for Abad, Gabel quotes A's manager Bob Melvin as praising the 28-year-old, leading the writer to speculate that "he might already have secured a spot in the A's bullpen." *Last week,
MLB.com's Jane Lee wrote that Chavez "appears to be a lock" for the team's pen.*
Mariners:
Hector **esi
The Mariners have an open rotation competition after
Felix Hernandez in the wake of injuries to
Hisashi Iwakuma and
Taijuan Walker, wrote
MLB.com's John Schlegel on Tuesday. *
James Paxton,
Scott Baker, and
Erasmo Ramirez might be the favorites, though, meaning **esi is really competing for one spot. ***esi could instead be a long reliever out of the bullpen,
Bob Dutton of the News Tribune*suggested a week ago.
Rangers:
Engel Beltre,
Pedro Figueroa,
Adam Rosales,
Michael Kirkman
In a roster projection from
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News today, he included both Beltre and
Michael Choice, **ting that the team doesn't want to lose Beltre. *Keeping both Beltre and Choice might mean sending catcher
Robinson Chiri**s to Triple-A despite an impressive spring. *Grant sees Rosales as the team's best backup infield option over
Brent Lillibridge and
Kevin Kouzma**ff, because Rosales can play second base, shortstop, and third base.
Kirkman is part of Grant's projected seven-man bullpen, while Figueroa is **t. *As a lefty who throws 95 miles per hour, Figueroa was intriguing e**ugh to the Rangers for the club to claim him off waivers from the Rays
in late January. *It seems the Rangers will be forced to choose one of the two, barring a trade or injury.
