Drury finds home at 2nd
Notable spring face
uIF- OF Brandon Drury: Drury finished his rookie season on a tear, hitting .319 with a .891 on-base plus slugging (OPS) over the final two months. In the process, he might have elbowed his way into the Diamondbacks’ plans for 2017.
Drury bounced between left and right field and third and second base last season. He struggled at times in the field, and it was clear the positional instability wore on him.
But it looks like he could have a more stable home this year after the club traded infielder Jean Segura, opening up second base. For Drury, who has played 22 games at second, spring training is a chance to commit to the position while showing his late-season surge was a sign of things to come. Burning question Who’s in the bullpen?
The Diamondbacks had the fourth-worst bullpen by ERA (4.93) in the majors last season, and they committed relatively few resources toward improving it in the offseason. They signed soon-to-be 40-year-old Fernando Rodney to a guaranteed contract, and besides him only veteran Randall Delgado and righthanders Jake Barrett and Enrique Burgos appear to have legs up on jobs.
That means they could have as many as four spots available this spring. They’ll have a host of candidates competing.
There’s 40-man roster returnees in lefthanders Andrew Chafin and Steve Hathaway and right-handers Silvino Bracho and Evan Marshall. Righties J.J. Hoover, Keyvius Samp- son and Erik Davis are among those in camp on minor league deals. There’s also Rule 5 pick righty Tyler Jones; prospects such as righties Jimmie Sherfy and Jared Miller; and veteran Rubby De La Rosa, who will try to put elbow troubles behind in a bullpen role.