SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Diamondbacks like that Yoan Lopez takes the good with the bad.
The young Cuban pitcher did that again in his final spring training game Monday, taking the mound just before the team announced its locks for the pitching rotation. With Trevor Cahill and Chase Anderson in, Lopez was officially out.
It wasn't a surprise. And it probably wouldn't surprise D-backs manager Chip Hale that the 22-year-old said he wasn't disappointed when he learned he was being sent to the minors, right after the D-backs' 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I know I need to work a little bit more to get better, to get back," Lopez said through coach and interpreter Ariel Prieto.
Lopez's fastball velocity sat in the low-to-mid 90s this spring, but combining that with his solid secondary pitches is a learning curve that can best be addressed in the minors.
"The breaking ball is good, but I'm still working how to mix it up in the right way to get a good location," Lopez said through Prieto.
The most important thing to Lopez is his willingness to improve and take criticism, Hale said.
Lopez went four innings on Monday, throwing 78 pitches and allowing three runs and four hits. He struck out three and walked two, and for the spring has gone 13-2/3 innings, giving up 16 hits and 12 runs while striking out nine.
Arizona's roster sits at 37 players: 20 pitchers, five catchers, seven infielders and five outfielders ... The team announced Trevor Cahill and Chase Anderson will fill out the rotatin, though an order is to be determined ... Along with Lopez, the D-backs also sent to minor league camp: outfielder Nick Buss, infielder Walter Ibarra, and pitchers Allen Webster, Matt Reynolds, A.J. Schugel and Dan Runzler.
Buss was assigned to minor league camp after he suffered a broken foot on Sunday. He was in a walking boot Monday. ... Hale confirmed Hudson won't pitch back-to-back days to start the regular season. ... Hale also said by optioning Reynolds to the minors was difficult but necessary as he continues a come back from Tommy John surgery. "That was a really tough one," the skipper said. "We felt like he's made strides in the right direction. We just want to see him pitch more. His velocity we believe is going to pick up too, he'll have a little more trust in his breaking ball. Just to be able to pitch back-to-back and do that down in Triple-A, work on that more and just getting to where we think he's more usable to us."
Probable pitchers: Arizona -- RHP Trevor Cahill, RHP Chase Anderson. Texas -- RHP Nick Martinez, RHP Phil Klein, RHP Keone Kela, RHP Roman Mendez, RHP Anthony Bass.
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