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Kazmir May Start Season On DL

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 17, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays are prepared to open the season with ace Scott Kazmir on the disabled list, but they don't expect him to be out long.

In fact, he technically might not even miss a start if everything goes perfectly.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Sunday that Kazmir, who has yet to pitch in a Grapefruit League game after experiencing soreness in his elbow last month, "probably more than likely" will open the season on the disabled list.

Executive vice president Andrew Friedman hedged a bit but essentially agreed.

"This is a pretty fluid situation in terms of exactly which day he'll be able to pitch," Friedman said. "We don't know exactly when it'll be, but if it's after the first few games, which seems likely, then he would most likely start on the DL."

The Rays and Kazmir insist the pitcher is not having any new problems with his elbow and that they just want to make sure his arm is at full strength before turning him loose. Had Kazmir pitched in Sunday's game as was originally planned, he might have been able to get up to speed in time to start within the first few days of the regular season.

That's highly unlikely now, and it appears the earliest Kazmir would pitch is the April 6 game at New York. That's the first time the Rays would need a fifth starter, so the team could put Kazmir on the disabled list in spring training and activate him that day, allowing them to carry another pitcher for the first week while also backstopping themselves against the possibility that Kazmir might not be ready then.

Considering how this saga has unfolded since Kazmir felt something in his elbow while warming up for an intrasquad game on Feb. 26, no one can be sure what will come next for the lefty.

At the very least, it's clear now that James Shields will get the ball Opening Day at Baltimore - even though the team has not made it official yet. After working 4 2/3 scoreless innings against the Tigers on a day when he struggled with his command, Shields said he'd be honored to step in for Kazmir if asked.

"Like I've always said, he's going to be the ace on this staff no matter what," Shields said. "I'd be happy to be able to take his spot if it happens, and I'm just fortunate enough that they have a lot of confidence in me."

Sunday morning, Kazmir seemed resigned to the fact that he would have to wait a little longer to open the season.

"I'd rather miss just a couple starts early in the year than miss a couple months during the year," he said. "We just want to make sure we get it right."

He didn't complain about it or express any frustration, speaking quietly about the need to build up arm strength.

"If some part of your arm is really not as in shape as you'd want it to be," said Kazmir, "maybe you compensate with something else and you have a different problem."

That's exactly what the Rays want to avoid, so they will continue to be - in Maddon's words - "overly cautious" with the 24-year-old.

"There's no rush on this whole thing," Maddon said. "We believe that he's fine, but we just want to make sure that the arm strength is there, that we take care of this right now so there's no lingering effect during the season."

The possibility that Kazmir might miss one or two starts opens up an opportunity for another pitcher to break camp with the team.

Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel are out of options and probably will be on the Opening Day roster whether in a starting or long-relief role. If Kazmir was healthy, Andy Sonnanstine or J.P. Howell likely would have been the odd man out, with one pitcher making the roster and the other going back to Durham.

Recent developments make it conceivable for all four to be in Baltimore on March 31. Though Maddon wouldn't differentiate between the two Sunday, it certainly looks as if Sonnanstine would be the favorite.

While Howell has worked exclusively in relief this spring, Sonnanstine already has started once, and he threw about 50 pitches over three innings of relief Sunday.

"We think we have good choices and we'll try to make the right choice," Maddon said.

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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