Ides of March Eve MTM Update

The marks to the left of the player's name indicates that their chances of making the team are moving up (▲), moving down (▼), or staying even (–). No mark to the left indicates there was no change from the previous week.

Players on the 40-man roster

▼ Brad Baker, rhp / He’s not pitching like he wants a job, 9 ER in 5.1 IP – yikes! (Previously ▼)
▼ Blaine Boyer, rhp / He should be ready to pitch in a game soon. Remember, this type of injury (shoulder inflammation) is a tough one to recover from, and can linger for quite some time. (Previously ▼)
▲ Lance Cormier, rhp / Good outing, again. (Previously ▲)
▲ Kyle Davies, rhp / If Horacio Ramirez and/or John Thompson continue to pitch poorly, and Davies continues his impressive spring, he may be hard to overlook for a spot in the rotation. (Previously ▲)
▲ Joey Devine, rhp / Get’s back on track with a five strikeout exclamation point. He needs to keep it up, but at this point he’s a lock to make the pen. He also leads all major league pitchers this spring in strikeouts with 14 in only 7 innings. With those sort of numbers he’s put himself in the mix for the closer’s role. (Previously ▲)
▼ John Foster, lhp / Has not gotten in a game in a while, and I can’t find out what’s wrong with him, but I assume it’s just some aches and pains. Update: He's got shoulder inflamation and it might be more. He seems to be leaning towards having Tommy John Surgury, and would therefore be out all season. (Previously ▼)
– Chuck James, lhp / Good, but not great. He’s not as good as Davies at this point, and that means he’ll most likely begin the season at AAA. But, with Sosa away at the WBC for another week, James will get another chance or two to show his stuff off. (Previously –)
▼ Anthony Lerew, rhp / He must turn it around before he loses confidence. (Previously ▼)
▲ Macay McBride, lhp / He hasn’t been in a game in a while and this is why: Left-hander Macay McBride has some soreness between the foream and wrist of his pitching arm, but manager Bobby Cox didn't sound very concerned. "We'll let him rest a few days," Cox said. "If he was forced to pitch, he could." This shouldn’t hurt his chances of making the team. These spring aches and pains are common. (Previously ▲)
▲ Oscar Villarreal, rhp / He hasn’t pitched since he gave up that home run to Chipper last Tuesday. Hopefully he’s not injured. (Previously ▲)
▲ James Jurries, 1b / At the halfway point of the spring, Jurries looks like a lock to make the club. He is helped greatly by his right-handed status, as he would slot perfectly into a platoon with LaRoche. (Previously ▲)
▼ Scott Thorman, 1b / Yay, a hit. He needs to start getting more than one at bat per game to prove himself. The WBC may have cost him that shot. (Previously ▼)
▲ Matt Diaz, of / He keeps hitting. At least one beat writer thinks he’s a lock for the opening day roster. (Previously ▲)
– Kelly Johnson, of / He is slowly collecting hits and working his way back into the outfield mix. (Previously ▼)

Non-roster invitees

▲ Kevin Barry, rhp / Another decent outing, 2 Ks, 2 hits, something good, something bad. Barry’s a tough one to figure for the bullpen. It’s been much like this last game the whole spring for him, 5 G, 5 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 W, 7K. That makes him hard to pin down since he’s been giving up hits but escaping damage (quite Sosa-esque). I’m going to bump him up though, because at this point in spring you’re supposed to be separating yourself from the pack, and he seems to be doing that. (Previously –)
▼ Wes Obermueller, rhp / Ooff-ermueller finally showed some of what made him a back of the rotation starter with an ERA north of 5 in the major leagues. (Previously ▼)
Chad Paronto, rhp / (Previously –)
▼ Mike Remlinger, lhp / Unless he completely turns it around, his career look like it’s at an end. His line this spring is scary: 3 G, 2.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 W, 1K. (Previously ▼)
▼ Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c / Continues to crush the ball and impress people, still need some work on his spring average. Nonetheless, this spring Salty has announced his presence in the organization, and proven his top prospect pedigree. If he continues his onslaught in the minors, he will arrive in the majors just after the All-Star game. (Previously –)
▲ Brian Jordan, of / Keeps getting it done. (Previously ▲)
▼ Dave Kelton, of / Getting plenty of at-bats, but not getting any hits. (Previously ▼)
▼ Michael Ryan, of / You can’t make errors in a field this good and hope to make the team. (Previously –)

Off the radar and bound for the minors: Jonathan Schuerholz, ss. Bound for retirement: Eddie Perez, c. Previously off the radar Jose Ascanio, rhp; Brayan Pena, c; Martin Prado, 2b; Travis Smith, rhp; Sean White, rhp; Steve Pyzik, c; Clint Sammons, c; Cesar Crespo, 2b-ss;.