D-backs assign Marte to minors, go with Owings, Ahmed at shortstop
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Diamondbacks continued to shape their Opening Day roster by assigning shortstop Ketel Marte to Triple-A Reno and adding relief pitchers Tom Wilhelmsen and Jorge De La Rosa to the major-league roster.
The decision on Marte, acquired from the Seattle Mariners in November as part of the Jean Segura-Taijuan Walker trade, means Chris Owings and Nick Ahmed will divide time at shortstop. Marte, 23, was the Mariners starting shortstop last season and hit .250 with one home run in 48 at-bats this spring.
Owings has had a strong spring, hitting .353 with a pair of home runs, and Ahmed is regarded as one of baseball's slickest fielders. Ahmed is hitting .255 this spring with six extra-base hits in 55 at-bats.
The additions of Wilhelmsen and De La Rosa, who were in camp on minor-league contracts, leaves one spot to be filled in the bullpen.
The Diamondbacks also placed outfielder Socrates Brito (broken finger) on the 60-day disabled list and re-signed outfielder Gregor Blanco to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Reno.
Blanco, a nine-year veteran, entered camp as a strong candidate to win a reserve outfield job, but he's been sidelined for a week with a strained oblique. He had been released on Monday night, a procedural move that enabled the D-backs to avoid adding him to the 40-man roster or paying him a retention bonus.
Four other players were assigned to the minor-league camp on Monday: Catcher Hank Conger, right-handed pitcher Rubby De La Rosa, outfielder Reymond Fuentes and infielder Kris Negron. With Blanco and Fuentes out of the mix, Jeremy Hazelbaker is the last candidate standing as a reserve outfielder. But Owings, infielder Daniel Descalso and catcher Chris Herrmann have all seen time in the outfield this spring.
De La Rosa is recovering from an elbow injury that sidelined him for the final four months of 2016 and could be a bullpen piece once he shows that he's healthy.
"From what I saw in his bullpen today, he looked very powerful, very strong, looked like he's progressing quickly in the right direction," manager Torey Lovullo said Monday. "However, medically, we just have to use caution and know that he's been through some challenging situations with his arm. We're not going to rush that."
Wilhelmsen has given up three hits and one run in 9 1/3 innings this spring; Jorge De La Rosa is making the conversion to the bullpen after spending the bulk of his major-league career in the Colorado starting rotation. They join Fernando Rodney, Randall Delgado, Archie Bradley and Andrew Chafin in the bullpen, leaving Silvino Bracho and non-roster pitchers J.J. Hoover and T.J. McFarland on the bubble for the final spot. The D-backs would need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster if they were to keep Hoover or McFarland.
Left-hander Steve Hathaway is likely to join Jake Barrett and Brito on the disabled list to start the season.
