D-backs confirm roster spot for Hudson; Tomas to get trial in OF
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Diamondbacks were full of news Sunday.
Right-hander Daniel Hudson is on the team, health providing.
Yasmany Tomas is on the move, to play the outfield for the first time this spring Monday.
Jake Lamb is on the radar for the 13th and final position player slot -- unless he ends up starting at third base.
And the D-backs officially are down to eight candidates for the final three spots in the rotation behind Josh Collmenter and Jeremy Hellickson.
Hudson has made a pair of two-inning starts this spring and will continue on a starter's path in the immediate future, but if a relief spot is a better fit, so be it, manager Chip Hale said before the D-backs played San Francisco at Scottsdale Stadium.
"He's on this team, we just don't know what role yet," Hale said of Hudson. "He's a special guy. When you have a special guy like this, you want to keep him healthy and you have to find what that niche is."
The D-backs have had internal discussions about a variety of roles for Hudson, who hit 94 mph in his first spring start while returning from a pair of Tommy John surgeries. Will his arm respond best on starter's schedule, and if it does, does that mean every fifth day on the mound? Every sixth? Every seventh? Would a bullpen role work best, even if it meant the D-backs would carrying a second reliever with multi-inning capacity. Randall Delgado, who is out of options, could be the other long reliever if he does not make the starting rotation.
"It's really a fluid situation on starting-relieving," Hale said of Hudson.
"We've talked about pretty much everything. What if we just started him and pitched him two innings every . . . but it's funky stuff. Do we have six starters? We don't want to look like we're re-creating the wheel here. We're just trying to do something that's going to keep this guy healthy. If we can get him through the 2015 season, all the way through, healthy, then I think he's going to be on his way."
A 16-game winner on the D-backs' NL West-winning team in 2011, Hudson has given up three runs and three hits in his first two starts. He is expected to start and go three innings in his next appearance, which could come Wednesday or Thursday.
The first three spots in the D-backs' rotation seems to be firming up, with Josh Collmenter, Jeremy Hellickson and Chase Anderson appearing to be the top contenders. Trevor Cahill gave up one hit and two unearned runs in a "B" game against Colorado minor leagues on Sunday morning and is also making a strong push, as is Rubby De La Rosa. Hudson, Robbie Ray, Delgado, Archie Bradley, Allen Webster and Yoan Lopez are the others still in the running, Hale said.
Tomas will make his first appearance in the outfield this spring when he is to play right field against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, with Mark Trumbo getting a day off after getting three more hits in the "B" game Sunday morning, one an opposite-field double that one-hopped the right-center field fence against Rockies No. 1 starter Jorge De La Rosa.
Tomas has shagged balls and some work in the outfield, but he has played only third base in games the first two weeks of spring. The D-backs saw him as a third baseman when they brought him to camp, and the move does not indicate a change of thinking, Hale said.
At the same time, the D-backs have decisions to make and three weeks to make them. If Tomas does not play third, what happens in the outfield? Two-thirds of the spots are set, A.J. Pollock in center field and Trumbo in right. Ender Inciarte, David Peralta and Cody Ross are in the left field/reserve mix. It is difficult to fit six outfielders on a 25-man roster that includes 12 pitchers.
Third baseman Lamb was the Southern League MVP at Mobile last season, and the D-backs have liked what they have seen thus far in camp.
"We have a lot of questions to answer, and they're getting harder," Hale said. "I think Tomas is improving at third. I think Lamb is showing us he's a possible Gold Glove-caliber third baseman. And we have pretty good outfielders. There's going to be a lot of competition down the stretch."
In a perfect world, Lamb would play every day this season to facilitate his development, Hale said, "but there's there's that one hovering spot there, that 25th spot, that we don't know where it's going to go right now."
Lamb also could be a candidate to spell Paul Goldschmidt on his very occasional off days, Hale said. Trumbo played the last two months of 2014 at first base but will not be the backup there this season, Hale has said.
Non-roster catcher/infielder Jordan Pacheco could also be a candidate for the final roster spot.
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