Lefty reliever battle: fight to the death!

[The Ultimate Champion]

So here is what looks to be the only *TRUE* open battle on the team this Spring, i.e. there's no real "top prospects" here, no arb/service time issues, no "guaranteed" spots, etc. The closest thing to that is the out of options tag which is going to be placed on a couple of these guys, but none of those players are going to be taken north if they clearly lose the ST battle, because they just don't have that kind of ceiling. So overall what you have here is nothing more than a bunch of guys with rusty knives ready to stab each other in the back and take what's theirs, with the winners probably going on to stink up the Major League bullpen. Or not, maybe there's a couple future long-term pieces in here.

 

So we're either taking 2 lefties or 3. If we go 2 then Veal, Leesman, Robles, etc. are probably the favs, but it's also possible we could take a lefty LR as an innings guy as well as extra insurance against whoever the specialist is. Or maybe the second guy is both a LR and specialist, and if that's the case you'd have to think that would come down to Surkamp and Leesman, with the possibility of a new addition out there also.

Edited February 16, 2014 by The Ultimate Champion

[Jose Abreu]

Is 3B not considered a position battle? Or LF?

Edited February 16, 2014 by Jose Abreu

[The Ultimate Champion]

1) LF is very much contingent on a DFA (Dunn) or trade (DeAza or Viciedo) right now. I have a very hard time believing the Sox are ACTUALLY going to risk making Viciedo or DeAza bench or platoon players. The only OF I see as really being in a battle is Jordan Danks looking to claim a spot on the bench, and IMO that spot is already his IF the Sox can carry an OF. So not really even a battle, and his situation is probably contingent on DFAs or trades.

 

2) 3B is Gillaspie right now. Hahn all offseason since the acquisition of Davidson has said that Davidson has to improve more to be ready. Davidson himself has stated that he's fine going down to the minors because he just wants to get to the Majors and stay there. I think the expectation is Gillaspie on Opening Day and Davidson later on during the year. IMO the "battle" is more of a Buddy Bell challenge promotion, and Davidson only goes north if he looks so amazingly great that there's no way to send him down. So that's not really a battle either IMO.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Surkamp. Fills the left and long reliever role in 1.

[LittleHurt05]

Catcher?

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

Can we include Flowers in this lefty reliever battle?

[Señor Ding-Dong]

Veal and Leesman.

[BlackSox13]

Downs and Surkamp.

[The Ultimate Champion]

Honestly I would be concerned about Surkamp's ability to consistently retire hitters out of the pen given how much he'd have to use his fastball (would be tough for him to find the offspeed stuff, I'd expect something similar to the issues McCarthy had with us in the pen, except probably worse) HOWEVER if he could get lefties out as a specialist then it would be great if he could make them team & also be a long man.

 

If you get both your lefty specialist & your long man in Surkamp then factoring in Boggs, Belisario, Lindstrom, Downs you're looking at 2 spots left, meaning the Sox could take both Webb and a position player or (more likely) Webb and then the best *reliever* in camp, not just the best lefty reliever. And in that same scenario, should Paulino crack as the 5th starter, Rienzo could be a MR option who, like Surkamp, could also be used for longer periods to eat innings if necessary.

 

I'm not much of a believer but I admit that Surkamp makes things very interesting & I do hope he works out for us because of it.

[South Side Fireworks Man]

Veal and Leesman.

Welcome, Senor Ding-Dong!

Edited February 17, 2014 by South Side Fireworks Man

[Señor Ding-Dong]

Welcome, Senor Ding-Dong!

Thank you!

[southsider2k5]

I can't see Surkamp as anything but a long reliever if he were in the pen.

[The Ultimate Champion]

I can't see Surkamp as anything but a long reliever if he were in the pen.

Me either.

 

If he has to come in for one batter, what's he going to get ahead with? Probably the fastball. When he gets in trouble with the count, what's he going to use? Probably the fastball. The curve can look really nice & the change can look good too but he'd need to have those things working to be effective, so at the very least he'd probably have to warm up for longer which would make it more difficult to use him situationally when a guy needs to be ready like now.

[The Ultimate Champion]

BTW I think Robles is the real darkhorse here. I think Veal and Leesman are the best bets to fight it out for the specialist role, with Robles and Purcey definitely on the radar, but since Leesman has options and the others have MiLB contracts, Veal would have to be a clear loser to not make the team. If things are pretty close between all then he's in Chicago. But it's not hard to imagine Veal's control eluding him when under pressure in Spring, and if so, then he's just taken off the roster & waived.

[Heads22]

I accidentally hit Leesman but I meant Surkamp.

[NorthSideSox72]

I think the Sox see Surkamp as a starter, so I just don't see it with him. That really only leaves Veal and Leesman in the mix. I would have figured it was Leesman, since he was solid vs LHH in Charlotte last year and has the added benefit of being a long man when needed.

 

However, two things got in the way. First, just this morning, Scot Gregor as a guest writer on Baseball America said that Leesman is being kept a starter to compete for the 5th slot - which was a bit of a surprise. And the other factor here is, Veal is out of options.

 

So it looks like Downs and Veal for the lefty pen slots.

 

[royoung]

I think the Sox see Surkamp as a starter, so I just don't see it with him. That really only leaves Veal and Leesman in the mix. I would have figured it was Leesman, since he was solid vs LHH in Charlotte last year and has the added benefit of being a long man when needed.

 

However, two things got in the way. First, just this morning, Scot Gregor as a guest writer on Baseball America said that Leesman is being kept a starter to compete for the 5th slot - which was a bit of a surprise. And the other factor here is, Veal is out of options.

 

So it looks like Downs and Veal for the lefty pen slots.

 

Veal has the stuff and had effective stretches as a LOOGY. Considering we DFA'ed Leesman last year I have a hard time believing we have big plans for him unless he really impresses in ST.

[southsider2k5]

I think the Sox see Surkamp as a starter, so I just don't see it with him. That really only leaves Veal and Leesman in the mix. I would have figured it was Leesman, since he was solid vs LHH in Charlotte last year and has the added benefit of being a long man when needed.

 

However, two things got in the way. First, just this morning, Scot Gregor as a guest writer on Baseball America said that Leesman is being kept a starter to compete for the 5th slot - which was a bit of a surprise. And the other factor here is, Veal is out of options.

 

So it looks like Downs and Veal for the lefty pen slots.

 

I think Veal is fine as the second lefty.