Piniella also declined to anoint Carlos Marmol as his closer over newcomer Kevin Gregg, despite Marmol's dominance as the set-up man.

"He has earned it, but the other kid has done well," Piniella said. "Let them compete. I think it worked very well last year [with Kerry Wood, Marmol and Bob Howry] when we went into camp and let them all compete. I feel comfortable with Marmol, no question. But remember, we traded for this other young man and he was a closer [for Florida] with success, so give him a chance too.

"What we need to develop is a seventh-inning pitcher. That's going to be a bigger job than [picking] the closer."