Year removed from 'big cloud,' Marshall again seeks spot in D-backs bullpen
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Spring training 2016 was full of tears for Evan Marshall. They were tears of joy, mostly, but looking back on it now the Diamondbacks pitcher calls the circumstances surround the emotion a big cloud.
Marshall last spring was making his way back from a near lethal comebacker the season before. While throwing live batting practice was just another rite of spring, it was a monumental accomplishment for a guy who suffered a fractured skull, brain bleeding doubts of survival less than six months earlier.
Looking back, it was all very draining, Marshall said Friday morning.
"I was tired, mentally and physically, all the time," he said. "No matter what I was doing toward making the team, there was a cloud kind of hovering over all of it: the comeback.
"There's still a little cloud, but it's little. Much less of a distraction. This go around, it's all baseball, it's all business. It's nice to get back to focusing on what I need to do to make this team better and not so much the comeback story. I much prefer it this way."
Marshall is in the thick of the competition for what could be as many as five open spots in the D-backs bullpen. Closer Fernando Rodney and set-up men Jake Barrett and Randall Delgado appear the only locks, though Barrett has dealt with shoulder soreness most of spring and has yet to appear in a Cactus League game.
"For the relievers it's going to come down to who's throwing the ball best," said Marshall, who has allowed one run on four hits in three innings so far this spring. "There's some really talented arms in this room. I like my chances because I know how hard I've been working but I think everyone would say the same thing."
Marshall was sent to Triple-A Reno on the last day of camp last season. But being able to focus on how to attack hitters versus getting over fears this spring has him optimistic about cracking the Opening Day roster.
"The stuff is better," he said matter-of-factly. "What I'm throwing to the plate is definitely better. I had more time to focus on who I am as a pitcher. I like what I'm doing with the baseball."
Marshall will next pitch Saturday against the Giants at Salt River Fields and on FOX Sports Arizona.
"We're down to the last three weeks of camp; it's time to really lock it in and figure out how to get guys out" he said. "It's time to go get outs."
