Claymores Beat Writer
The Edinburgh News
Edinburgh – The Scottish Claymores unveiled their Opening Day roster on Sunday – and it looked suspiciously like the one they unveiled last season.
Oh sure, there were a couple of mostly inconsequential additions, but most notably there were still some gaping holes in key spots.
Clark Snow
Begin with the starting rotation, where Clark Snow is still out recovering from a torn rotator cuff and won’t be coming off the Injured List for another month. Throw in a few weeks of rehab, and it’s unlikely he’ll be ready until late May.
Then, there’s Allen Guthrie, who’s got about two more weeks on the IL with shoulder tendinitis before he’s ready to resume work.
In their places are one unknown (Todd Gustafson – a Rule 5 draft pickup who had a decent Spring) and a couple of less-than-encouraging retreads: Lawrence Newman, who spent last season in AAA, and Orlando Moya, who’s best coming out of the bullpen.
Think of the rotation this way: Pérez and Robles, then roll out the tarp.
Pérez, of course, is Carlos Pérez, the closest Scotland has to a staff ace, and Francisco Robles, whose age cannot be calculated with today’s primitive computers.
All of which means the Claymores will be relying on their offense, which should still be formidable. Last season’s stalwarts – OF Vincent Powell and SS Naomi Honma – are back wielding their fearsome bats, and Scotland is hoping for more this year out of slugging OF Pat Barry and 3B Eric Jacobs.
Joining the cast this season are outfielder Will Nelson, who put up encouraging power numbers (25 homers) in AAA last year, and outfielder Tony Figueroa, who brings with him an excellent batting eye and an ability to get on base.
Neither are major additions, though.
“Well, we know that,” said General Manager Vic Caleca. “It was a difficult free agency period for us – we were not able to land any of the players we targeted. We’re continuing to negotiate with at least one guy, but we do not have our hopes up.”
That means Scotland will mostly need to rely on its current cast of characters and hope that Snow and Guthrie can bounce back from their injuries and shore up the rotation.
“Those seem like slender hopes,” said Malcolm Wilkes, a columnist and analyst for PEBA Weekly. “This likely will not be a pretty season in Edinburgh. Strap in Claymores fans – it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
One departure of note also came right at the end of spring training: the Scottish waived SP Soichiro Ogawa, whose skills have deteriorated markedly since his remarkable 2028 season, when he won 18 games and helped pace the Claymores run to the playoffs. An inconsistent 2029 coupled with a terrible spring (8.38 ERA) and scathing coaches' evaluations sealed his fate.
"We thank Soichiro for all he's done for the Claymores over the years, and if he makes it through the waiver process, maybe he can find himself at AAA again," said Caleca. "If not, though, we wish him nothing but the best."
