All alone at short Ahmed went 1-for-4 in Friday's 8-3 loss to the Cubs. Impact Ahmed, who is batting just .225 with a .615 OPS, manned his usual spot at shortstop and could be doing that for a while. Arizona's primary backup at short is Josh Rojas, who is expected to hit the injured list with a fractured left pinky finger. That leaves the Diamondbacks without a true backup. Per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, manager Torey Lovullo named Andrew Young and Eduardo Escobar as Ahmed's backups, but neither has much recent experience there. Scouts don't regard Young has an average defender at second base, let alone shortstop, and Escobar has played just two innings there since joining the Diamondbacks three years ago. At any rate, it may not matter if Ahmed continues to hit. Since returning from the All-Star break, he's batting .409 with a .980 OPS over seven games.
JULY 24, 2021 • ROTOWIRE