Price Won't Be Here Until He Arrives

Sometime Tuesday afternoon, after Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine pitch a couple of innings each in their first appearances of the spring, David Price will stare down an opposing hitter for the first time since Game 5 of the World Series.

The top pitching prospect in the game will work an inning or two, and just like every inning or two he has thrown since signing with the Rays less than two years ago, they will be closely watched. The question is how much those innings and whatever work Price stacks on top of them over the final month of spring training will matter when it comes to whether he makes the Rays' Opening Day roster.

Perhaps it's just an exercise in lowering expectations for the player himself and a fan base that has made it clear all along that Price is their one and only pick to fill out the Rays' rotation, but it doesn't take much reading between the lines to get the feeling the Tampa Bay front office would just as soon see their ace-in-waiting open the year in Durham.

The foundation was laid last season, even before Price became a surprise savior in the Rays' bullpen down the stretch. The Rays wanted to see the powerful left-hander throw his changeup more often and more effectively. Yes, his fastball and slider were (and are) otherworldly, but the party line was Price needed a real off-speed element like a change to become a true top-of-the-rotation guy at the highest level.

We know Price has worked on the pitch, but we have yet to see it in action. Perhaps it will be effective enough to convince the Rays he is indeed the finished product they expect him to be as a prerequisite for a permanent call to the majors. It would be shortsighted of the Rays to deny Price a chance to prove his worth this spring, and the powers that be keep saying he'll get a shot. But then again, the current management group has long been on record regarding its disdain for basing player evaluation solely on spring performances.

If that is the Rays' stance regarding candidates for the final spot or two on the Opening Day roster, you'd have to think the same standards would apply to one of the most valuable players in the entire organization.

"This guy's a tremendous part of our future and we just want to do it the right way," Manager Joe Maddon said. "We just want to make it work for many years to come. When it comes to development, patience is a very important word. It just is."

That's far from a definitive statement on Maddon's part, but it's also not an isolated sentiment. Executive vice president Andrew Friedman's go-to phrase when it comes to Price is "development is king," and he has used it more than once this spring. In that, he and Maddon seem to be on the same page here - an agreement that isn't a given in these types of situations.

Maddon undoubtedly would love to have a pitcher with Price's current abilities at his disposal right now, but his background on the player development with the Angels has rid him of any notions that there is such a thing as a can't-miss prospect. He has seen players carrying that tag rushed through the chain and "all of a sudden he goes away or he never really becomes the player you thought he would become."

Obviously the temptation remains. But the way the rest of the Rays' roster breaks down would seem to put them in prime position to resist it. Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel are out of options, and especially now that Edwin Jackson has been traded away, the Rays would prefer to keep the two power right-handers in the organization. The most expedient way to do that would be giving one of them the final rotation spot and the other a long-relief job in the bullpen, and it shouldn't be a surprise if that's exactly how it plays out.

Even if taking that path and bringing Price up later in the year costs the Rays a win or two - and of course there would be no way to definitively prove that after the fact - the Rays seem dead set on viewing Price's case in a vacuum. When he joins the Rays' rotation, they want it to be for good.

Maybe he'll find a way to get there this spring, but there have been no indications to this point that the Rays believe he already has arrived.