The Battles
With spring training kicking off, we can start to more safely assume that the Mariners won’t be adding any more players, and this is the roster. It’s not a lock, of course, but for now, let’s work under the assumption that the opening day roster is going to come from the guys who are already here. That would give us the following set-in-stone roster, where blank spots are the position battles that we’ll address below.
C:
1B: Casey Kotchman
2B: Jose Lopez
SS: Jack Wilson
3B: Chone Figgins
LF:
CF: Franklin Gutierrez
RF: Ichiro Suzuki
DH:
Backup C:
Platoon 1B/DH: Ryan Garko
Platoon LF: Eric Byrnes
Backup INF: Jack Hannahan
SP: Felix Hernandez
SP: Cliff Lee
SP: Ryan Rowland-Smith
SP: Ian Snell
SP:
CL: David Aardsma
RP: Brandon League
RP: Mark Lowe
RP: Shawn Kelley
RP:
RP:
25th guy:
That’s 17 roster spots essentially accounted for. Maybe you can argue that Hannahan is going to have to fight for his job, but I doubt it. There’s just no real competition in camp for the utility infielder spot. I’d say there’s a good certainty that these guys will open the season in these respective roles, barring injury.
Now, after those guys, there’s a few players who are definitely on the team, but have undefined roles as of now. The two big names not listed above are Milton Bradley and Ken Griffey Jr. As we talked about all winter, it looks like LF and DH will be some kind of job share between a bunch of players, depending on who is healthy and what kind of pitcher the team is facing on any given day. Adding in those two, and we have 19 players who are definitely on the club. That leaves 6 roster spots that are legitimately up for grabs. Let’s take a look at the contenders.
Catcher: Two of Adam Moore, Rob Johnson, Josh Bard
Nothing much new to add here. Johnson’s likely to make the club as long as he proves he’s healthy, but that’s questionable enough that we won’t pencil him for a spot just yet. The other spot comes down to whether the team thinks Adam Moore is ready. If they don’t, then Bard makes the team and splits time with Johnson behind the plate, offering a switch-hitter and the best bat of the three options. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. My gut? Moore goes to Tacoma, Johnson breaks camp as the starter, and the team lets Bard play a few times a week until Moore forces them to call him up.
Fifth Starter: One of Jason Vargas, Doug Fister, Garrett Olson, Luke French, Yusmeiro Petit
Probably the most fluid spot on the team. Vargas and Fister both pitched well at times last year and have to be the leading candidates, but both have fringey repertoires that could easily make them look terrible in Arizona. Olson and French are similar, except for the pitching well last year thing, and Petit is the longshot candidate, especially now that he’s off the 40 man roster. Additionally factoring into this is that the losers of this spot are going to be fighting for a bullpen job, and that the pen is currently 100% right-handed.
I’d say that gives Fister a slight advantage, but as a strike-thrower, he’s also the most likely to be able to soak up the 100 innings that Jakubauskas took last year in the swing role. I’m not sure Vargas could handle that job as well. So, right now, I’d call this a toss-up between those two, with the other three needing to pitch well to avoid a trip to Tacoma.
Fifth Reliever: One of Sean White, Kanekoa Texeira, Ricky Orta, Anthony Varvaro, Josh Fields, Nick Hill
This is an interesting spot that hasn’t gotten as much attention over the winter. White gave the Mariners some good results last year, but he’s both injured and not good enough to be expected to do it again (2.80 ERA, 4.86 xFIP last year). If he shows he’s healthy in the spring, he would be expected to have the inside track, but the M’s have made no secret of the fact that they’re not counting on him to be healthy. So, this spot is up for grabs, with a bunch of rookies behind White potentially fighting for the last middle relief role. Texeira would be the most likely bet as a Rule 5 guy, but the M’s discarded both of their rule 5 picks last year in favor of internal candidates, so who knows. This will be a battle to watch.
Long Reliever: One of Jason Vargas, Garrett Olson, Doug Fister, Luke French, Yusmeiro Petit
The consolation prize for the guys who lose out on the fifth starter’s job. Nothing much else to write beyond what I wrote above.
25th man: One of Ryan Langerhans, Michael Saunders… really, anyone in the organization
This spot is the ultimate wildcard. It could go to a left-handed outfielder like Langerhans if the team is going to play Bradley in left but wants to have a defensive replacement/pinch runner to keep him healthy. It could go to Saunders if he tears the cover off the ball and forces the team to make him their left fielder, pushing Bradley to DH and Griffey to the bench.
Or the M’s could decide to go with a 12 man pitching staff, carrying another reliever to help get the team through the early part of the season when Wak will want to be more conservative with the pitch counts. That could be a lefty if they want to add some balance to the bullpen, or another young guy who forces his way onto the roster like Shawn Kelley did last year.
There are way too many variables in play here to take a guess at who will fill the final roster spot. This spot likely won’t be decided until the last few days of spring.
I don’t think Byrnes is a lock to make the team. I think there’s a real question as to whether or not he has anything left. He may just prefer to hang it up and keep making TV shows and designing clothes.
Yes, yes, we know.
Another interesting thing will be who is the backup infielder behind Hannahan. I imagine they’ll take a look at Garko at 3B this spring. No matter what, they’ll have to have somebody who can credibly play 3B in a pinch.
As you noted Petit isn’t on the 40 man roster… doesn’t that pretty much take him out of discussion of making the team via a bullpen spot? I’m assuming he’ll have to pitch his way into the rotation to make the team.
The team has a 40 man roster spot to play with. Bedard is currently taking up a spot, but will be put on the 60 day DL when it becomes available at the end of spring. They’ll be able to add at least one non-roster guy to the team that way.
So that means Petit is praying for Bard not to make the team, and vice versa? That makes for some interesting ramifications if they end up being the battery for a spring game.
If Johnson’s not healthy enough to break camp with the team and Moore’s determined to not be ready:
My pipe dream is that Garko can prove that he can catch enough to be Platoon 1B/DH as well as the Backup catcher. Then the team could break camp with 12 pitchers for the first month while the starters stretch out. If this happens, he’s probably backing up Bard who would start every day until Johnson comes back.
Griffey still has option years left, right?
In all seriousness, I really like CMC_Stags’ pipe dream, and if 12 pitchers is going to happen, it’s going to happen either early in the year or if one of the starters goes down with an injury and we have to put a lesser starter in the rotation.
Also, I really think we could get by early with only four outfielders… In case of fire, shift Ichiro to center. He’s capable, even if unwilling.
The one part I would disagree with you here, Dave, is thinking that Shaun Kelley is a lock because of his struggles in the 2nd half of the season last year.
But then again, like you said, the last 1-2 bullpen spots that matter are going to be wide open going into Spring Training and won’t be decided until late March/early April.
At this point you have to assume Aardsma, Lowe, and League are locks for roster spots.
But as far as the other 2 spots aside from long reliever. . .
Who knows?
I would bet dollars to doughnuts though if any of the lefties that come into camp (Washburn??) pitch relatively well in Spring Training, they’ll get one of those last two spots.
The Josh Fields FanGraphs link goes to that other Josh Fields.
I, too, would be surprised not to eventually see a lefty chosen for the pen.
Very well written Dave. I agree. I don’t think I could do much better than what you just stated.
One name I didn’t notice was the guy who will enter spring training with the most career saves of any reliever in camp. Cordero’s experience would be a nice thing to have in that pen, and when he’s healthy, he’s better than Aardsma. Though I suspect that League will end up closer before this season is over.
The Josh Fields FanGraphs link goes to that other Josh Fields.
Fixed, thanks for catching that.
This seems just about right to me. The only thing I would add is that the chances of Saunders making the team seem extremely slim, barring injury to Griffey or Bradley, as I don’t think they want him in any sort of part-time role.
What are the expectations for R Johnson after the offseason surgeries? I would think the Ms have to be a little concerned, with hip surgeries and wrist. (and more? i don’t recall at the moment)
1) It just kills me to think that we’d voluntarily replace an awful starter from last year (Johnson 2009) with an injured awful starter this year (Johnson 2010). Resurrecting the old cliche about wins counting just as much in April as September, why would the team not take this perfect opportunity (injury) to put Johnson down at Tacoma to ‘rehab’…and then never bring him back?
2) Is Hannahan also capable of playing 2b if Lopez gets hurt? As this team is configured, Griffey is redundant at best; I would much prefer the versatility of a Tui in the dugout.
3) The bullpen really worries me. While certainly not the most splashy, I think League may have been the most important strategic acquisition of the off season. But even with him, I just don’t see us stacking up against the other bullpens in the division.
I think we need to consider Charles Gipson for that 25th man spot.
“Resurrecting the old cliche about wins counting just as much in April as September, why would the team not take this perfect opportunity (injury) to put Johnson down at Tacoma to ‘rehab’…and then never bring him back?”
I think it’s because, right or wrong, Felix likes throwing to him.
I dont see Johnson being a lock. With Moore and Bard both available, he needs to show improvement for 2010.
Fully agree that this team as configured is missing a key backup infield part. Be nice to find a speedy utility infielder but then who do you let go?????
How you can say the bullpen is a problem is baffling. There is continuity in it this year and success breeds more. I am more worried about the fifth starter than anyone in the bullpen. No matter how we feel about all the Fister etc pitchers they probably dont have as many wins in
the majors total as Felix did last year!
I totally agree.
There was an article in the Times the other day that mentioned that Rob J would be shocked if not ready to be behind the plate for opening day. I thought to myself, good for him if he’s ready, but I hope he’s not actually behind the plate. I also thought it was interesting that his comments implied he had the job, as opposed to being a part of a battle.
I’m talking about the difference between ERA and xFIP for people like Aardsma, Lowe and White last year. Regression could kill us.
On the other hand, League was extremely unlucky, so maybe it will all even out. But if we’re in a pennant race, it wouldn’t surprise me to see League closing games come August.
Yeah, if Moore turns out not to be ready for the big leagues, then despite the ridiculous contract that he fortunately forewent, I can see us longing for the good old days of Kenji Johjima (and I don’t even mean his prime seasons, even mediocre Johjima was better than what Rob Johnson might give us this season).
I know the caveats were stated about this being an exercise with current players but I wouldn’t put it past Jack to bring in more. [I hear the Padres are doubtfull about signing Adrian Gonzalez...
]
And as for all the Rob Johnson haters out there, compare his 25 year old rookie season last year with Dan Wilson’s 25 year old season with the Mariners. Very similar players in their first ‘full’ seasons. He’s supposedly more limber now that his hips have been repaired. Give the guy a chance, he may be the next Dan Wilson.
Dan Wilson could catch.
Yes, Dan Wilson could catch. But in their first ‘full’ seasons as 25 year olds, 1994 Wilson and 2009 Johnson had the same seasons, offensively and defensively. How many catchers in the history of baseball actually performed better after their rookie years? One or two at least besides Dan Wilson.
I’m hoping we start Fister, push Olsen to the bullpen, and keep Vargas stretched out in Tacoma, in case of injury.
What do y’all think? How much more upside really is there with Vargas in the ‘pen instead of Olsen? I’m guessing that the type of situations they’d be asked to pitch in would not be very high leverage and we would get more value out of having Vargas as a SP replacement in AAA.
1994 Wilson: 722 innings, 4 PB, 38% CS%
2009 Johnson: 684 innings, 9 PB, 31% CS%
Twice as many passed balls in fewer innings. Most people’s problem with Rob Johnson stems from his complete inability to catch a baseball, which is kind of a big deal for a catcher. Wilson did not have that problem.
I’m going strictly on aged impressions here but that’s kinda my point. When Dave Valle was our catcher, I can remember thinking that people couldn’t run on the Mariners. Then Valle left, we got Wilson in trade from Reds and suddenly you COULD run on the Mariners – for about a year. Then Wilson developed and you couldn’t run on the Mariners anymore again. Hopefully the same thing happens with Rob Johnson.
I don’t hate Rob Johnson…don’t even dislike him. I just think it’s impossible for a baseball team to make the playoffs with someone of his limited ability playing virtually everyday behind the plate.
I’m willing to accept Jack Wilson’s offense for his defense…or Lopez’ defense because of his offense…imperfect as it may be.
But I can’t understand at all what Johnson brings to the team. Moore is a better player right now…why not give him the job?
What does 5 PB over a half a season amount to run-wise, win-wise?
I’m not disagreeing/agreeing with anyone, I’ve just always wondered exactly how “bad” a “bad catcher” could be. This question was constantly coming up in my mind back when we had Clement.
For his career, Johnson has 16.1 PB/150. By comparison, Posada has 14.8. I also checked Wilson, Bard, Pudge, and Johjima. It turns out Wilson was pretty good at catching the ball. He had 5.5 for his career. The other guys had ~9.
I don’t think it matters too much, but I wanted to get a little bit of context.
And that probably understates it, because it’s purely a judgement call by the scorer to “award” a PB to the catcher or a WP to the pitcher. And who led the majors in WP? Felix Hernandez, with 17. And who did Felix pitch to? The guy who probably should’ve caught at least a few more of those “wild” pitches — unless you believe Felix’ stuff is so filthy even a good catcher cant’t catch it. The 2009 version of Rob Johnson was not the defensive equal of any version of Dan Wilson.
However, to play devil’s advocate for the moment (which really shouldn’t be necessary since we know how to weigh the positives and negatives, but when intellectually lazy terms like “hater” start getting thrown around I find myself forced into it):
I think it’s entirely possible that Mr cERA is a somewhat better player — both offensively and defensively — than we saw last year. All those injuries were probably limiting him both at the plate and behind it, and in addition he was a rookie catcher handling a rotation that saw some churn and a bullpen that was sorting itself out on the fly. Clearly the M’s (or at least Wak) sees something there worth having (at least until Moore is ready), and I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Of course there are limits to what that “something” could be, and it’s unlikely to be enough to keep him in the job long term. I have no idea what his defense was like in the minors, but he did manage a .351 wOBA over 463 PA in 2008 with Tacoma which is pretty good for a catcher even when translated to major league numbers. Naturally you’d like it to be better, especially if you expect it to offset his defensive limitations, but even with the usual “prime” offensive years ahead of him I don’t think we can expect a lot. But more than 2009 is quite possible.
But the initial question is still whether Johnson is healed enough by April. Why rush him? A catcher gets enough knicks and bruises and pulls in the course of a year that it makes no sense to have someone of Johnson’s limited ability catching until he gets himself healthy again. If he’s really fine by the end of spring training, great. If he’s not, let Adam Moore turn him into Wally Pipp.
I apologize for the use of the hyperbolic term ‘hater’. I didn’t realize it was a charged word on sports blogs. For the Rob Johnson detractors on here…
I’m not saying that Rob Johnson is the answer, only that his start isn’t any less auspicious than Dan Wilson’s, who turned out to be, well, Dan Wilson. One can root around in the statistics to find dissimilarities in their comparable seasons. He only had 2 throwing errors to Dan’s 8, he was better at converting bunted balls to outs, etc. but the point is that giving up on Rob Johnson now would be like giving up on Dan Wilson after ’94 when they had very similar seasons overall.
Adam Moore may very well be the real deal, but as a longtime Mariner fan I’ve heard the same thing from Orlando Mercado to Jeff Clement about our “catcher of the futureâ€. Jason Varitek is the best that I can recall we’ve produced at the catcher position (first ‘full’ season – age 26, w/ Boston 1998: 516 innings, 18 PB, 28% CS%).
Dan was accused of being a Lou favorite, of holding back Bill Haselman or Chris Widger or whoever, but Lou saw something he liked. Dan turned into a good starting catcher for a decade.
Wak, an ex-catcher, has the same thing for Rob Johnson. Apparently Jack also thinks he does have the ability to catch a baseball since he was satisfied with only signing Bard to a AAA contract after Joh left town this off-season. Johnson needs to improve but so do a lot of 25-year-old catchers after their rookie season. He also has to be given the benefit of the doubt due to his particular physical ailments from last season. Again, here’s a quote from a story by Kirby Arnold from two weeks back:
“Very few people knew what he was going through,†Mariners trainer Rick Griffin said. “He had a hard time getting down into his (catching) stance and he had very restricted motion laterally. It was hard for him to block balls, hard for him to bend forward. He had lost range of motion to the point where he just couldn’t do things.â€
For a city that prides itself on its progressive, knowledgeable baseball fans that are supportive of our players, a place that players would want to come, we have a streak of picking on certain players we don’t like. 25-year-old rookie catchers do get better. I’ll trust Jack and Wak on this one and root for one of our young guys as he adjusts to the majors, even if it’s as a 26-year-old, minimum wage back-up catcher.
We do?
Well, whenever the broadcast crew went overboard giving someone an unjustified tongue-bath, the game threads tended to fill up with compensatory denigration. That was more true in the past, though, when the team had a lot of players whose gifts were largely imaginary; these days, those guys are mostly in Kansas City.
Well, that may well be 100% true. And who can argue with him withholding the true extent of his injuries? Who wouldn’t want to take full advantage of the opportunity to play in the majors?
But by the same token, how in the world can we trust him now? When he tells Wak he feels fine…how do we really know? Apparently he’s already lied about it once.
Even if you want to talk about the value of experience…the fact that he’s caught more innings in the majors than Moore…how much more experience does he really have? Half a season?
If he hits the crap out of the ball in spring training…and stops watching called strikes bounce off his mitt…and clearly outplays both Moore and Bard in March…then, OK, full steam ahead.
But my guess is that he gets the job even if he underperforms. And if that happens, I’m going to conclude that there’s some kind of blind eye in this otherwise praiseworthy organization. Because Johnson + Griffey in the starting lineup is putting some kind of voodoo b.s. in front of trying to field the best possible team.
You can dig through the numbers and find anything you want if you don’t care about doing proper analysis. That Dan Wilson developed into a decent hitter for a catcher doesn’t mean Rob Johnson will, or should, or could, or might.
The what-if game is pointless. You can literally point to any player in baseball and find a comparable story that turned out really well. That’s not any more helpful than announcing to every fan at Safeco that there’s a chance they could win the lottery.
We’re not picking on Rob Johnson. He’s just not very good.
This whole “passed ball/not being able to throw runners out” business makes a lot more sense now.
I think that there’s obviously a reason Wakamatsu’s running him out there. There’s something currently immeasurable (remember, catcher has been the hardest position for anyone to assess except on a rudimentary level) that Rob Johnson does that makes everyone in the organization hold him in high regard (at least compared to us). Maybe it’s in his ability to call a game, maybe it’s in his ability to keep a pitcher calm on the mound, or maybe it’s the fact that Wak’s sleeping with his mom and doesn’t want anyone else to know, but the organization is not dumb enough to run the guy out there every day just because they say he’s the starter. There is definitely a method to their perceived madness.
Remember, this isn’t Bavasi we’re dealing with. (Praise whomever you believe in.)
Postscript/side note: I hate the notion of being the first person to post right after Dave says something completely contrary to what I believe/got done posting.
Dave states that Hannahan probably does not have to fight for his job. Is Tui that big of long shot to fill the infield utility role? I thought that going into the off season, he was looking to improve his versatility in the infield in order fight for that position in Spring Training. Anyone know how his development in 2nd base or SS is going?
Tui is not a shortstop in any way, shape, or form. He worked really hard to not be terrible at 3rd.
I don’t think there’s a fan here who wouldn’t want Johnson to match Wilson’s age 26 season. But on any reasonable projection system, that would be a fluke result. I’m all for fluke results that provide wins for the Mariners.
(Parenthetically, in looking up Wilson’s stats I paused on his playoff stats. They always make my knees turn to jelly.)
To be specific, Wilson’s wOBA in ’95 was .333. The Fangraphs projections for Johnson are:
Bill James .281
CHONE .287
Marcel .298
Fans .294
This can be said of a lot of young players. Some of them continue to develop and turn out to be pretty good players. Some even turn out to be great. And most fail to develop enough to be bona fide major leaguers. But, isn’t too early to declare Johnson “not very good”?
isn’t it too early to declare Johnson “not very good”?
This can be said of a lot of young players. Some of them continue to develop and turn out to be pretty good players. Some even turn out to be great. And most fail to develop enough to be bona fide major leaguers. But, isn’t too early to declare Johnson “not very good�
No, because declaring him “not very good” is based on the record we have to judge on so far.
Yes, there are players like Dan Wilson and Raul Ibanez who go on to significantly outperform their minor league stats. As Dave said, if you want to bet on lottery tickets, great, but you have to understand that this is mostly wishful thinking- and for every Dan Wilson there’s plenty of Willie Bloomquists who go on to confirm that, yes, poor performance in the majors and minors up to age 26 means you’re a bad player.
Rob Johnson turns 28 in July.
Stop grasping at straws.
I’m not sure who you’re talking to, but I’ll assume it’s the Mariners. And, in defense of them, Johnson has only ~1 year of MLB experience. So, maybe he’ll still develop into a serviceable major league catcher, possibly an average starter or above-average backup. I highly doubt they’re expecting him to be a star, but I imagine they consider him a potential asset. But, maybe they do think he’s “not very good”. In that case, I wouldn’t expect him to be around very much longer.
I was at a Q&A session at FanFest with Blengino and Kingston and when discussing catchers they specifically mentioned that one of the things they consider is how the catcher makes the pitcher feel. Unfortunately I wasn’t taking notes, so I don’t have a direct quote. But even though these guys might be stats-oriented in many ways, they still do consider non-tangibles at times.
We often hear that pitchers like Johnson; that may account for a not-insignificant part of the reason why management seems to like him as well.
Since Rob Johnson was born in 1983, this is quite a feat to age an extra year! Way to go Rob!
And, in defense of them, Johnson has only ~1 year of MLB experience.
We didn’t need Willie Bloomquist to suck in MLB for multiple years to discern he was a bad player, either.
In fact…
Bloomquist, lifetime minor league stats: .281/.336/.375/.711
Johnson, lifetime minor league stats: .270/.323/.389/.712
Johnson has a touch more power, but Willie’s a better baserunner.
They’re basically the same type of player: if they’re a bench player for you, fine, but a disaster if they’re getting 400-500 PAs or more.
I love how this has turned into a Rob Johnson thread. The love for Rob Johnson is largely a result of his CERA which lookoutlanding covers extensively here.
I think the organization’s support of Rob Johnson has more to do with him being the best available option, rather than being good. If he was the caliber of Dan Wilson prime, you can add a couple more WARs to the total – but he’s not (certainly not predictably so).
Switching gears slightly, someone mentioned this earlier; should there be an infield injury, who’s the best candidate to backup Hannahan? Like say, (knock on wood) if Figgins goes down?
Apparently, we did. Six of them, in fact.
I’m not sure anything in this thread could be considered “love”. Personally, I favor giving Adam Moore a shot as the starter. I just think it’s too early to judge what kind of player Rob Johnson will be.
I do agree, however, that he’s no Dan Wilson. My personal view is that he will end up being a solid backup.
Since Rob Johnson was born in 1983, this is quite a feat to age an extra year! Way to go Rob!
Check again. Being wrong + being sarcastic = bad combo.
Being wrong + being sarcastic = bad combo
Like Michael Jackson bad?
sha’mon
Apparently, we did. Six of them, in fact.
“We” in this case being USSM and readers, not “The Seattle Mariners”.
But yes, back in the halcyon days of 2002-2003, people were going “hey, give Willie a chance to develop”, despite all evidence that he was what he was- a slap hitting 25th guy.
If solid backup means “Felix’s caddy”, OK.
I’m not sure who’s right: mlb.com or Baseball Reference?:
Rob Johnson from baseball-reference.com
Wikipedia and baseballcube.com also agree with this.
Quoting wikipedia? You just get better and better.
The Mariners media guide has him born in ’82. There’s no reason to believe anything else.
Perhaps we should just ask Miguel Tejada or Danny Almonte.
USA Today said he was 26 last year and that would make him 28 in July.
I wasn’t quoting it – I was pointing out another place with the discrepancy. I also didn’t “believe” either source, although now it appears that mlb.com is, in fact, more authoritative.
I would think age would play a major difference in evaluating players, and deciding the “battles” described in this article.
Since all evidence points to him graduating high school in 2001, then getting drafted as hte 123rd pick in 2004 think it is much more reasonable to put his age at 26 right now.
Also mlb.com lists Rob Johnsons age as 26 here.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/draftday/y2004/search.jsp?sc=round&sp=4
The ONLY place I have seen it listed as 27 is the one singular Mariners page on mlb.com.
Anyone know for sure? Anyway, I am going with 26 until proven otherwise.
Just a reminder, Rob Johnson is a year and 4 months older than Jose Lopez.
I hope everyone who has written about how there is time for Rob to improve his defense, hit better, and become an above average player has never said anything bad about Jose.
I agree that age is important and it does affect my opinion of Johnson. I was operating on the assumption that Baseball Reference was correct and it appears that it may not be.
RE: the age discrepancy.
It seems that it is a very debatable issue.
B-Ref, TBC, ESPN, Retrosheet list it as 7/22/1983, while MLB, and SI say 7/22/1982.
However, the fact he graduated HS in 2001 with no note in any personal bio about him being held back would put him at 1983 in every state I know the cutoff b/d for.
[spring training puffery grain of salt] Tony Blengino said this afternoon that Cordero is in camp, 26 lbs lighter, arm is finally healthy — never a big velo guy, but stuff is def. crisper.
Does Baek getting a try-out add him to the 5th/Long Man debate?