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Bradford Injury Opens Bullpen Slot

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 10, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - There may be room yet for all of those relievers the Rays have stockpiled this winter.

With word Monday that groundball specialist Chad Bradford will miss the first month or two of the regular season after undergoing elbow surgery last week, another spot opened up for a crowded field of bullpen contenders.

The Rays would have preferred that opportunity came in a different form, of course, but they feel good about where they stand.

"One of the things that was most important for us going into this winter was to have a number of candidates for the bullpen," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "Injuries happen; they're part of the game. That was an area that we felt like we had some exposure to early in the winter, so we aggressively addressed that, in our mind, and we feel like we've got a lot of very capable candidates and some very good pitchers who won't make our team."

At the moment, five of the seven Opening Day bullpen slots appear locked in. Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell and Joe Nelson have jobs, as will Brian Shouse when his contract is finalized.

Troy Percival's status remains unclear. Friedman said Monday he has had positive reports on the closer, who underwent offseason back surgery, but the Rays don't expect to know where he stands until perhaps the second week of March.

That leaves at least one and possibly two openings for a slew of candidates. The list potentially includes Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel, each of whom will get a shot at the starting rotation turn that likely will end up in David Price's hands sooner or later.

Beyond those two, who are both out of options, other contenders will include Lance Cormier, Juan Salas and Dale Thayer, Rule 5 draft pick Derek Rodriguez, and possibly non-roster invitees Winston Abreu, Randy Choate and Jason Childers.

Whatever happens coming out of spring training, the Rays expect Bradford to be back and ready for most of the season.

"At least it's the beginning, not the end," Bradford said. "Finishing the year healthy is a lot more important to me."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227.

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