Big things are expected from Yasmany Tomas with the D-backs this year. (Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The new-look Arizona Diamondbacks entered spring training with a host of questions, and they have done a good job of whittling them down, although two big ones remain — where will Yasmany Tomas play, and what role best suits right-hander Daniel Hudson?
Free agent signee Tomas was brought to camp as a third baseman despite spending most of his career in Cuba in the outfield, and he has done virtually all of his work at third this spring. While his defense is coming along, the D-backs also have talked about having Tomas play some outfield. It is still possible that he opens the season in the minor leagues, an option they noted after signing him to a six-year, $68.5 million contract this winter. Tomas is hitting .268 with two homers and eight RBIs, and the D-backs recently tweaked his batting stroke.
“If we can get his bat started, it makes everything much better. We’ll see how those things work out,” D-backs general manager Dave Stewart said. “We’d like for him to make our major league club. I don’t know that we’ve seen enough (to make a decision either way). Right now we have to go as far with this as we can. If he is not a fit, then we’ll make that decision to put him in the minor leagues.”
If Tomas does not open at third base, the position could go to 2014 Southern League MVP Jake Lamb, who had a look-see last year and is the better defender. Lamb has six doubles, two homers and six RBIs this spring.
Hudson won 16 games in 2011 and the D-backs have said they will do just about whatever it takes preserve and protect his arm this season while keeping the long term in mind. They have said he could have a soft limit of about 85 pitches a game this season, a number that would seem problematic for a starter inasmuch as it could overtax the bullpen. At the same time, they might be better able to control his recovery on a starter’s rigid schedule.
Hudson hit 96 mph a half-dozen times in his Sunday start and was consistently at 95. The D-backs have said they will take his opinion into consideration when making a final decision. Hudson, Chase Anderson and Trevor Cahill appear to be the leading candidates for the final two spots in the rotation.
“It’s a newer, kinder baseball than it was when I played,” said D-backs manager Chip Hale, who played seven major league seasons.
Any questions about Mark Trumbo’s move from left field to right have been answered. He has played a reliable right field, and with seven extra-base hits and 11 RBIs look poised for the kind of big season he had with the Los Angeles Angels before a foot injury cost him 11 weeks last year.
Ditto center fielder A.J. Pollock and second baseman/shortstop Chris Owings, who also three months apiece but are back. Owings with a new hitting approach designed to take some of the stress of his surgically repaired left shoulder.
Add with Paul Goldschmidt, and the D-backs should score runs. They may need to. Josh Collmenter and Jeremy Hellickson had rotation jobs coming in and Rubby De La Rosa was recently named the third starter, but there is not a lot of experience among any of them unless Trevor Cahill can make his new delivery work and return to the form that saw him post double-digit victories in his first four major league seasons, three with Oakland.
