Around the Horn: Bullpen

01/11/2006
ST. PETERSBURG -- With time running out before the opening of Spring Training, the Devil Rays' bullpen appears to be the team's biggest question mark.
New Rays manager Joe Maddon's goal is to have four go-to guys in the bullpen he can give the ball to when the score is tied or when the Rays are leading. He believes having such a setup can create winning streaks. While that's the goal, Maddon said the Rays are short of having those four pitchers.
"Of course, I think the bullpen still needs to be augmented," said Maddon in a recent interview.
What's known about the bullpen is that closer Danys Baez hasn't been traded. If the right-hander begins the season with the Rays, Maddon will at least know he's got a guy who can slam the door on the opposition in the ninth inning.
Baez had a successful second season with the Rays in 2005, recording 41 saves in 49 opportunities to set a career high; his previous high was 30. He had a Major League-high 28 saves after the All-Star break and came two saves shy of the Rays' record set by Roberto Hernandez in 1999.
It's likely Baez would have had an even better season had he not been called on to pitch the eighth inning on many occasions in the first half of the season.
The team's eighth-inning problems went away after the All-Star Game, when Joe Borowski was signed.
The Rays signed the veteran right-hander July 11 after the Cubs released him, and he provided a much-needed spark to the relief corps. In his first 20 appearances, he posted a 1-0 mark in 21 innings pitched and gave up no runs -- including 11 perfect appearances -- while opponents hit just .103 against him. The 21 scoreless innings set a career high for Borowski and established a Rays record; Rolando Arrojo held the previous mark of 18 set in 1998.
In Borowski's final 12 appearances, he went 0-5, allowing 15 earned runs in 14 innings, and opponents hit .328 against him.
Borowski will not be back with the Rays in 2006, leaving questions about who will pitch the eighth inning or pick up the slack for the other three spots Maddon hopes to fill as his four go-to guys.
Chad Orvella is one of the guys the Rays will be counting on. The right-hander made his Major League debut May 31 at Oakland after being recalled from Double-A Montgomery and earned his first Major League save June 12 at Pittsburgh. The Rays won 17 of the 22 games in which he appeared, and he had a streak of nine scoreless outings from Aug. 13-Sept. 12.
On Wednesday, the Rays and Japanese reliever Shinji Mori agreed to a two-year contract with a club option for two more seasons.
The 31-year-old right-hander was 44-44 with 50 saves and a 3.39 ERA in nine seasons with Seibu and had 755 strikeouts in 653 innings. Mori was named a Pacific League All-Star in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and the league's top setup man in 2002-03. In 2005, he went 2-2 with a 4.22 ERA in 48 games with five saves and struck out 60 in 49 innings.
If he's healthy, Jesus Colome could be a contributor. The right-hander had two stints on the disabled list in 2005 with inflammation of his shoulder. The highlight of his season came July 25 against Boston, when he pitched the final 2 1/3 innings and held the Red Sox scoreless while getting the win in a 4-3 Rays victory. The right-hander's velocity picked up at the end of the season and even though he declared he wants to be traded, he will likely be a contender for a spot in the Rays' bullpen in 2006.
Tim Corcoran was a 27-year-old rookie in 2005 and made his first Major League start in the final game of the season, holding the Orioles hitless for four innings before leaving with the score tied at 2. He made 29 relief appearances at Triple-A Durham, posting a 5-1 mark with a 2.89 ERA.
Free agent acquisition Chad Harville, who split time between the Astros and Red Sox in 2005, will be a candidate for a slot, as will Lance Carter, who had 26 saves in 2003.

Source: http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com/