CODE BREAKER
Deciphering hidden themes from in Opening Day rosters
OPENING DAY rosters offer a snapshot, and perhaps one never more ephemeral than this year. So many free agents signed late and were not yet on rosters, but soon will be — think Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb and Greg Holland, for example — assuring lots of early season tinkering.
Still, there were 877 players either on active rosters or a list — disabled, paternity or restricted — when the season began Thursday. And if you look a little closer, even a snapshot can be revealing:
BRONX PIPELINE
No organization had more players it signed to their first pro contract among those 877 than the Yankees — and it was not close. This gives some window into why the Yankees rebuilt on the fly so quickly — and look to be strong for years to come.
The Yanks had 45 original signs, and the next largest total was the Rangers’ 40 then the Cardinals’ 36. Thirty-four of those Yankees came via the draft, and again that was by far the most with the Cardinals’ 28 second.
And, remember, those totals do not include those likely to come up this season such as Miguel Andujar, who is being called up Sunday by the Yankees, or Dustin Fowler and, perhaps, Jorge Mateo with the A’s.
QUEENS HOLD’EM
Between their active roster and DL, the Mets had 31 players and 19 of them were homegrown. The Yankees, Cardinals and Rockies were next at 15.
Now, this includes Jose Reyes, who left and came back, and David Wright, who may never play again. But the Mets and Cardinals recently have ranked high on the list of teams that stay internal the most. In the Mets’ case, it has helped bring a certain amount of not only familiarity, but often cost certainty as well.
It also has bridged administrations, as many obtained during Omar Minaya’s GM term — Jake deGrom, Jeurys Familia, Wilmer Flores, Matt Harvey, Juan Lagares and Steven Matz — have stuck around throughout the Sandy Alderson administration (and, now, even Minaya is back as an advisor to Alderson).
To begin last season, the Mets had 31 players either active or on one of the lists, and every one of them had played with the Mets the year before. So maybe continuity is not as valuable as we think.
We will see if it matters with the team the Mets are trying to track down this year. The Nationals had 23 of their 25 active players returning (all but reserves Matt Adams and Miguel Montero) and even four of the five on one of the lists (all but set-up man Joaquin Benoit).
FOREIGN COLLATERAL
According to MLB, 254 of the 877 Opening Day players came from countries or territories outside the United States. That is 29 percent of all players. So, you better have a good feeder system.
The Rangers, with 16, had signed the most non-draft eligible international players on opening day rosters. The Mets, at 13, were second — again owing somewhat to Minaya’s GM term.
Volume isn’t everything. Quality matters most. But the volume also shows teams that have emphasized this area.
The Brewers, conversely, had just two players from this group on Opening Day rosters — their shortstop, Orlando Arcia, and the Royals shortstop, Alcides Escobar. That led to them having the fewest overall original signs with 20.
The teams with the fewest drafted players were the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, both with 16. It is staggering the Dodgers are in that pairing considering a history steeped in player development and that the past two NL Rookies of the Year — Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger — were their drafted players.
But in Walker Buehler and Alex Verdugo — who both had cups of coffee last year — plus Mitchell White, the Dodgers have homegrown pieces who could help in their quest to win the NL West a sixth straight year. The Diamondbacks’ chances of unseating the Dodgers are bedeviled by not having such entities to call upon.
PAIN INDEX
Three teams begang with an MLB-high seven players on the he The Rangers, though, had just one probable player of consequence, starter Martin Perez — unless you are nostalgic for Tim Lincecum.
The Red Sox had second baseman Dustin Pedroia, potential key setup man Tyler Thornburg and three starters — Drew Pomeranz, Eduardo Rodriguez and Steven Wright. Boston anticipates that none of the starters will be gone long. But the Red Sox do lack upper-level rotation talent, so flimsy health is a worry.
As for the Marlins, they dealt away too much talent and added too little to the point that 100 losses are in play even with good health. With bad health …
WE LOVE THE ’90s
MLB rosters were down to three players drafted in the 1990s: CC Sabathia and Ryan Madson in 1998, and Albert Pujols in 1999 (those who just drafted players, so not international signs).
The number could grow. Jayson Werth (1997) signed a minor league deal with the Mariners, and it remains plausible Matt Holliday (1998) or Brandon Phillips (1999) could still hook on somewhere. But the group is going extinct.
YOU AGAIN
I never thought I’d see “Roseanne” back in prime time, so I should not be surprised at how many “thought they were gone forever, but they are back” players were on Opening Day This is not a full list but ones that caught my eye: Matt Kemp back with the Dodgers, Ichiro Suzuki with the Mariners, Chase Headley with the Padres, Chris Iannetta with the Rockies, Luke Gregerson with the Cardinals (albeit on the DL) and Lorenzo Cain with
HALL HAL WATCH
Some players with superb careers did not show up on rosters to open this season and, thus, might be finished. But only one player with a strong Hall of Fame chance was absent — Carlos Beltran, who announced his retire-
I always keep on eye on this because, remember, five years after their last game, players become eligible for the Hall. And the less crowded a class and a ballot, the better chance a player has at election.