titanbaseball04
02-25-2003, 10:35 PM
Chris Donnels knows he's facing long odds, but that's nothing new.
Last year the veteran was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training and seemed destined to start the year at Triple-A Tucson. Then Matt Williams broke his leg, Jay Bell hurt his calf and suddenly the 36-year-old was on the Opening Day roster.
Donnels stayed in the big leagues all year -- aside from a short injury rehabilitation stint in Tucson -- and proved to be a valuable member of the bench while also making 11 starts at third.
With that experience in mind, Donnels is keeping an open mind this spring as he faces similar long odds.
Assuming Arizona manager Bob Brenly elects to keep 11 pitchers to open the season, which he says he's leaning towards, that would leave the Diamondbacks with room for 14 position players.
The starting outfield of Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley and Danny Bautista is set with the backups almost certainly being David Dellucci and Quinton McCracken. And Brenly plans to keep two catchers -- Rod Barajas and Chad Moeller.
That leaves room for seven infielders and if you figure Craig Counsell, Tony Womack, Junior Spivey, Lyle Overbay, Mark Grace and Matt Williams are locks, it leaves all of one backup infield spot open for Carlos Baerga, Mike Bell, Alex Cintron and Donnels to fight over.
A big factor will be the health of Counsell, who is penciled in as the starting third baseman. His recovery from offseason neck surgery seems to be on schedule and he vows he'll be ready to go by Opening Day.
"If he's fully functional and able to play, no restrictions, then we might be more likely to go with more of a specialist, a pinch-hitter type," Brenly said. "If there was any question as to whether Craig was physically able to handle what we needed him to do, then we might be more likely to go with a versatile defensive player that could play more than one position."
With that in mind, here's a look at the candidates:
Carlos Baerga: Signed to a minor-league contract and invited to Spring Training, Baerga can play second, third and first and he has proven that he can pinch-hit, leading the American League last year with a .345 mark for the Red Sox. The switch-hitter has a short stroke and has adjusted nicely to coming off the bench after being a starter for so many years in Cleveland.
"Carlos Baerga is running around camp like a 19-year-old," Brenly said of the 34-year-old. "He's taking groundballs at every position. Every time we need a body to fill a place, he's there to do it. He realizes there's an opportunity there for him to come in and make an impression and he's doing all the right things."
Mike Bell: Another non-roster invitee, Bell was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 1997 Expansion Draft, but never ended up playing for the club. Injuries limited him to 64 games last year and he still has a minor league option, which means he can be sent down without having to clear waivers. The right-handed batting son of Reds Manager Buddy Bell can play second, third and first in a pinch.
"He does a lot of things well, which you'd expect being the son of a former big leaguer," Brenly said. "He's got some pop in his bat, he's a very smooth defensive player. He's another guy who as we get into the games here, we'll take a look at him and see what's there."
Alex Cintron: A homegrown product, Cintron is the only one of the four who is able to play shortstop and is the fastest runner of the bunch. The switch-hitter impressed the Diamondbacks during his 38 games with the club last season.
The two things he has working against him, though, is he still has a minor league option and the club might want him to play everyday in Triple-A rather than sit on the bench in Phoenix. Last year, he hit .213 with the Diamondbacks, but batted .324 when he started 11 games in place of Spivey.
"When we decided to put Junior on the disabled list, Alex was swinging a hot bat down here in Tucson and came up and just continued to swing a hot bat in the big leagues," Brenly said. "I think he suffered a little bit from a lack of playing time when we got everybody healthy, his timing was a little bit off at the plate. Just based on what we've seen so far, I think Alex is a more effective player if he plays everyday."
Chris Donnels: Donnels showed he could adjust to sporadic playing time in 2002. The left-handed hitter can play third and first base and at 36 has been around the game long enough to understand his role off the bench.
Last year the veteran was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training and seemed destined to start the year at Triple-A Tucson. Then Matt Williams broke his leg, Jay Bell hurt his calf and suddenly the 36-year-old was on the Opening Day roster.
Donnels stayed in the big leagues all year -- aside from a short injury rehabilitation stint in Tucson -- and proved to be a valuable member of the bench while also making 11 starts at third.
With that experience in mind, Donnels is keeping an open mind this spring as he faces similar long odds.
Assuming Arizona manager Bob Brenly elects to keep 11 pitchers to open the season, which he says he's leaning towards, that would leave the Diamondbacks with room for 14 position players.
The starting outfield of Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley and Danny Bautista is set with the backups almost certainly being David Dellucci and Quinton McCracken. And Brenly plans to keep two catchers -- Rod Barajas and Chad Moeller.
That leaves room for seven infielders and if you figure Craig Counsell, Tony Womack, Junior Spivey, Lyle Overbay, Mark Grace and Matt Williams are locks, it leaves all of one backup infield spot open for Carlos Baerga, Mike Bell, Alex Cintron and Donnels to fight over.
A big factor will be the health of Counsell, who is penciled in as the starting third baseman. His recovery from offseason neck surgery seems to be on schedule and he vows he'll be ready to go by Opening Day.
"If he's fully functional and able to play, no restrictions, then we might be more likely to go with more of a specialist, a pinch-hitter type," Brenly said. "If there was any question as to whether Craig was physically able to handle what we needed him to do, then we might be more likely to go with a versatile defensive player that could play more than one position."
With that in mind, here's a look at the candidates:
Carlos Baerga: Signed to a minor-league contract and invited to Spring Training, Baerga can play second, third and first and he has proven that he can pinch-hit, leading the American League last year with a .345 mark for the Red Sox. The switch-hitter has a short stroke and has adjusted nicely to coming off the bench after being a starter for so many years in Cleveland.
"Carlos Baerga is running around camp like a 19-year-old," Brenly said of the 34-year-old. "He's taking groundballs at every position. Every time we need a body to fill a place, he's there to do it. He realizes there's an opportunity there for him to come in and make an impression and he's doing all the right things."
Mike Bell: Another non-roster invitee, Bell was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 1997 Expansion Draft, but never ended up playing for the club. Injuries limited him to 64 games last year and he still has a minor league option, which means he can be sent down without having to clear waivers. The right-handed batting son of Reds Manager Buddy Bell can play second, third and first in a pinch.
"He does a lot of things well, which you'd expect being the son of a former big leaguer," Brenly said. "He's got some pop in his bat, he's a very smooth defensive player. He's another guy who as we get into the games here, we'll take a look at him and see what's there."
Alex Cintron: A homegrown product, Cintron is the only one of the four who is able to play shortstop and is the fastest runner of the bunch. The switch-hitter impressed the Diamondbacks during his 38 games with the club last season.
The two things he has working against him, though, is he still has a minor league option and the club might want him to play everyday in Triple-A rather than sit on the bench in Phoenix. Last year, he hit .213 with the Diamondbacks, but batted .324 when he started 11 games in place of Spivey.
"When we decided to put Junior on the disabled list, Alex was swinging a hot bat down here in Tucson and came up and just continued to swing a hot bat in the big leagues," Brenly said. "I think he suffered a little bit from a lack of playing time when we got everybody healthy, his timing was a little bit off at the plate. Just based on what we've seen so far, I think Alex is a more effective player if he plays everyday."
Chris Donnels: Donnels showed he could adjust to sporadic playing time in 2002. The left-handed hitter can play third and first base and at 36 has been around the game long enough to understand his role off the bench.