SS Ahmed: You can’t ‘hibernate your whole life’
Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed said he feels good about the health and safety protocols in place as baseball tries to play during a pandemic and believes “everyone will be OK” so long as the right precautions are taken by those involved.
That said, he also doesn’t seem to think COVID-19 is reason enough to not play the season.
“I’m of the personal opinion that you can’t just hide out in your house and hibernate your whole life,” Ahmed said during a conference call on Friday morning. “You do your best to mitigate the risk the best you can. There’s never going to be no risk at all. As a baseball analogy, you can’t take away the risk of injury. You have to accept that and go out and play.
“Ultimately, somebody’s going to get the virus and get sick, you just hope that it’s not bad. But just hiding out in your house and not doing anything for the rest of your life is not the answer. It’s time to get back.”
Ahmed characterized the concern among teammates as “pretty low,” saying he does not believe anyone with the club represents a significant health risk and thus would not be “put in a difficult situation.”
“Guys were more excited to get back out there,” he said, “than they were worried about their health situation.”
Ahmed, the Diamondbacks’ union representative, said he was encouraged not just by the way players came together during negotiations with the league but also by how engaged and inquisitive they were. That bodes well heading into next year’s negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, he said, with the current one ending after the 2021 season.
Players probably will be “even more” united than they were this year, he said, “knowing that we’re not just negotiating for 60 games, but we’re negotiating for five years. I can’t wait to see how the player group comes together here.”
The drawn-out negotiations, which ended this week not in an agreement but with Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred imposing a season, appeared to sour many fans who couldn’t believe the dispute was happening in the midst of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Ahmed called it “unfortunate” that the back-and-forth of negotiations was as public as it was.
“I think as soon as you get back on the field,” he said, “as soon as fans have baseball to watch, I hope that fans will be back involved in the game the way they want to be.
“… If there are fans who are upset about the way the whole process played out, hopefully it won’t linger too long.”
Pool party
Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, outfielder Alek Thomas, left-hander Blake Walston and outfielder Corbin Carroll are said to be among the prospects the Diamondbacks will keep active this season.
When camps open next week, teams will have 60 players at their disposal, the regular 40-man roster plus another 20. Rosters initially will be capped at 30, then will pare down to 28 after two weeks and ultimately to 26 two weeks later.
With there likely to be no minor league season, the other 30-or-so players will be part of a player pool that will be working out and scrimmaging in order to stay ready in case they are needed.
The Diamondbacks have not announced their pool, but a source said the team is using several of those roster spots to keep prospects active and developing during the shutdown.
Perdomo, Thomas, Walston and Carroll will be joined by other non-40-man roster prospects including lefty Tommy Henry and outfielder Dominic Fletcher. None seem likely to play in the majors this season, though Walston and Carroll, both of whom were drafted out of high school just last season, seem the least likely to play.
Other prospects might be included, as well.
Short hops
Manager Torey Lovullo said he would prefer to stick with a five-man rotation for the season despite having the roster flexibility to go to six. He said he wants his starters taking the ball on a regular schedule and getting stronger with each outing.
• With their bodies being rested and spring training being a little bit shorter, I think our guys should be ready to go on a five-man rotation,” he said. “That’s the baseball traditionalist in me talking, but the shape of that could change quickly given the landscape that we’re getting ready to walk into.”
• Lovullo said none of his coaches are planning to opt out due to safety concerns. “As of a couple of days ago, everybody was race ready and very eager to get in and do their job,” he said.
• Though he is known for being a good-hitting pitcher, lefty Madison Bumgarner is not likely to be used at the plate, Lovullo said, not with the National League implementing the designated hitter this season.
“As far as hitting,” Lovullo said, “I think we might have to compartmentalize that for a while and talk about him hitting next year in 2021.”