As we speed closer to Opening Day, some roster decisions become less muddled from performance, while others are determined by injury and circumstance. Carlos Martínez will start the season on the IL, which forcibly removes a piece from the pitching staff discussion.
On the position player side, some injuries make positional battles clearer, but there continues to be a fight to whittle down a list of players who, in a vacuum, have what it takes to make the 25-man roster. Still, the question looms of how many spots there are to fill.
Guarantees
The starting eight position players seem set, given the players available and offseason comments from the front office:
The outfield has the most question marks, with Ozuna’s shoulder and Fowler’s bat both in question following a season where they weren’t at peak performance, but there’s no doubt at this point that they’ll be in the Opening Day lineup.