(Few) Spring Training Roster Battles to Watch

With most of the roster spots all but decided for the 2014 season, the more gripping spring training story lines for the Diamondbacks may instead be playing time battles. On the position player side, in particular, the starter at each position is pretty much set — with the possible exception of Cody Ross, who has been a wild card for just about everything over the offseason. Still, there are still some battles to watch, with today the first official workouts of spring training for pitchers and catchers.

A quick tour around the roster:

Position Players

On the infield, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Hill and Martin Prado are set. Eric Chavez will also make the team as a sometime third baseman, and two or three of Didi Gregorius, Chris Owings and Cliff Pennington will make the squad. Matt Tuiasosopo is also clearly in the mix as a backup, but the presence of Chavez might make him expendable, especially if the D-backs try to carry all three shortstops. Miguel Montero has a spot, and although his identity is not yet clear, the team will obviously carry a backup catcher.

The outfield is a bit more tricky, given the uncertainty that surrounds Cody Ross. Gerardo Parra, A.J. Pollock and Mark Trumbo are definitely the starters come the regular season, and if Ross is functionally the fourth outfielder, Parra becomes the second-stringer in center. The team may be willing to go with just four players who are getting their primary playing time in the outfield, especially since Prado could be a factor (it would be hard to get Chavez any regular starts otherwise), and especially if Tuiasosopo makes the team.

Not all of these fourteen position players will make the team, if the D-backs carry 12 pitchers on the roster as expected. And it doesn’t help the roster crunch if Ross is left off at the outset for a rehab assignment — the team would still carry four outfielders, with Tony Campana likely on the bubble. We get to thirteen if Tuiasosopo is left off, or if one of the three shortstops is demoted (Owings?), cut (Pennington?), or traded (Gregorius?).

Pitchers

Assuming no deal is consummated with a free agent starter, the starting rotation is set. It’s Patrick Corbin, Wade Miley, Brandon McCarthy, Trevor Cahill, and Randall Delgado. I’m going to assume that Archie Bradley is not in the mix for the first games this season, although that’s not necessarily the case. There really are no “battles” among starting pitchers, although the rotation could still affect the bullpen if Delgado is bumped by a free agent.

The bullpen is also pretty much set. J.J. Putz and Addison Reed are both in the fold, with one a setup man and the other a closer. David Hernandez would have to be pretty terrible in the spring to not get a spot. Joe Thatcher will be included, Brad Ziegler has a spot assured, and Josh Collmenter is also a safe bet with his excellent track record in long relief. Like Hernandez, I think Will Harris would also have to be pretty terrible in the spring to not earn a spot of his own.

The 12 guys mentioned above are exactly enough for a 12-man staff. Ideally, the team would have two lefties in the bullpen, but I’d like to see if Will Harris can maintain his reverse platoon split in inning-long stints that might include at least two LHH. Chances are pretty good that one of these 12 pitchers will have an injury that delays the start of his season, so we can still look at potential eighth men for the ‘pen, but keep in mind that if the D-backs sign a starter, Delgado will be that guy.

The Battles

Unlike in previous springs or other training compounds, there really aren’t many battles to watch here, and it’s extremely unlikely that any of the non-roster invitees will end up making the active roster out of camp. The thing I am most interested to see this spring is how Cody Ross looks, but that’s not really a battle. So here are the actual “battles,” in order of impact on the team:

1. Shortstop. Getting Eric Chavez more than one start a week will require some creative usage of Martin Prado, and with few starts to spare in the outfield, Prado may end up Aaron Hill’s principal backup at second. That could mean that the three D-backs shortstops are all competing for playing time at a single position, and that’s just not going to work. Platooning Didi Gregorius and Chris Owings is also not in the interests of the team, which has a stake in both players’ development as long as they are both team assets. So something’s gotta give. Jeff Wiser treated this subject in depth. ZiPS also has some insight on what to expect.

2. Backup Catcher. This is the only open competition on the team, with Henry Blanco in the fold, Tuffy Gosewisch the holdover from the end of last season, journeymen Bobby Wilson and Blake Lalli recently signed, and Raywilly Gomez potentially developed as much as he’ll ever be in the minors. Steamer projects Blanco at 69 wRC+ (31% worse than average) at creating runs this season, which is terrible, but which would be a pretty huge upgrade from the contributions he’s made at the major league level the last two seasons (30 wRC+ in 2012, 32 wRC+ in 2013). At 42 years old, it’s hard to imagine Blanco is the defensive catcher he once was. Maybe the D-backs are interested in riding Blanco until he breaks this season, but it’s also possible he’s in camp as, essentially, an extra instructor for pitchers and catchers.

Gosewisch is already on the 40-man, so he may have a leg up — and he does have a good defensive reputation. His rhythm with D-backs pitchers is a hard thing to “watch” during spring training, but it could make or break his chances. ZiPS gives him a weighted on base average (wOBA) of .266 (think on base percentage), so Gosewisch may need to set himself apart on defense to earn the backup job. Wilson (.281), Lalli (.277), and Gomez (.278) all project a bit better as hitters in 2014. I’ll keep an eye on Gomez.

3. Eighth Man in the Pen. Again, there may not be a major league role for any of these guys at the outset of the season. A week or two before the season-opening series in Australia, I will publish a suggested game plan for the D-backs to use for that two-game series — with just two games and a week to recover, there’s really no reason to carry five starting pitchers on the active roster, which could mean carrying extra relievers, and even taking the starters out a bit earlier than might otherwise be normal. That would be one way to bring Australian LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith along for the ride.

But an injury is probably more likely than not likely. Remember, RHP Marcos Mateo is a Rule 5 pick from the Chicago Cubs system — if he does not make the active roster coming out of the spring, he must be offered back to Chicago for just half ($25,ooo) of what the D-backs paid to draft him. Joe Paterson could also be in the mix, as he throws with his left arm; we will get new looks at Chase Anderson and Charles Brewer, and first-time looks at Matt Stites and others.

The “Eighth Man” competition is just as much for a later-season callup as it would be for late March. At some point this season, we will see one or more of Stites, Jake Barrett, A.J. Schugel, and Andrew Chafin. Schugel and Chafin will probably begin the 2014 season in the Reno rotation, but both may have more promising futures in Arizona as relievers (particularly Chafin, who may join Matt Reynolds as a lefty tandem in the 2015 bullpen). Barrett and Stites, on the other hand, are already relievers, and both have good chances at being above-average relievers. If fewer bullpen spots were locked up right now, we might have seen them at Chase Field in April. Both can be controlled for an extra season if brought up later this year, so that’s the likelier scenario now. Barrett and Stites both have exciting arms, however, and by mid-March, we may find ourselves debating which of the two should be called up first.