NRI Analysis

I know Christina Kahrl at BP has been doing her analyses of non-roster invitees (NRIs) of the various divisions, but she hasn't done the AL Central yet. So worry not - this is all me.

I assume the Indians are going to go with 13 hitters and 12 pitchers. Just looking at the pitchers, there are four starters guaranteed spots - Sabathia, Carmona, Westbrook and Byrd. Of the seven bullpen spots, six are quite well set: Borowski, Betancourt, Kobayashi, Jensen Lewis, Perez and Fultz. This leaves two spots open for pitchers. They come down to Laffey, Lee and Sowers for the starters - all on the 40 man. The pen is a little more open. NRIs Rick Bauer, Scott Elarton and Jorge Julio all have reasonable shots at that last spot, but they have to beat out Mastny, Mujica and possibly Laffey if he loses the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation.

That's pretty much it though. I don't think there's any other NRIs that have a shot of making the team. Jason Tyner's the only position player NRI that has any sort of Veteran Presence, but he's ticketed to help the Bisons actually win games - that's important for Buffalo's psyche.

If one of the NRIs win the last spot on the pitching staff, there will be a spot available for him, as Juan Lara will certainly spend the year on the 60 day DL after his horrible accident in his native Dominican Republic.

As for the Rule 5 players we lost, I don't see Brian Barton coming back. I fully envision him being able to play adequately as a Cardinal reserve this season, although whether there will be room for him when Colby Rasmus takes over an outfield spot permanently is another matter. I am much more doubtful that Matt Whitney will stick with the Nats. They already have two first basemen in Dmitri Young and Nick Johnson (till he gets hurt again), plus a wide assortment of outfielder types who'll be keen to pinch hit on days they're not starting. I don't think they'll be able to keep a player who can't play much defense and hasn't played above A ball around. On the other hand, they kept Jesus Flores all 2007, and he had never played above A ball either.