Chafin, Hazelbaker make team as Arizona Diamondbacks finalize roster

Mar 31, 2017, 11:19 PM | Updated: Apr 1, 2017, 2:45 pm

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

BY CRAIG GRIALOU

Arizona Sports

PHOENIX – After their final tune-up of the spring, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced their final 25-man roster.

Making the team were reliever Andrew Chafin and outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker.

Chafin beat out right-hander Silvino Bracho, who was optioned to Triple-A Reno, for the final bullpen spot.

“It was a very tough decision,” manager Torey Lovullo said, following the D-backs’ 9-4 exhibition loss to the Cleveland Indians at Chase Field. “We like the idea of having a second lefty in the bullpen (along with Jorge De La Rosa).”

Chafin struggled at times, as evident by his 6.10 ERA (7 ER in 10.1 IP) over 11 Cactus League appearances, but “inside each appearance the fastball command and velocity was coming back. The secondary pitches were starting to show a little bit more consistency,” according to Lovullo.

Bracho, meanwhile, made five straight scoreless appearances, sandwiched around his participation with Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, before allowing two runs in one-third of an inning against the Indians on Thursday.

“We wanted to let that one play out for as long as possible, and we had discussions all the way up until today,” Lovullo said. “We had some really good internal discussions and that was the final decision that was made as a group.”

Hazelbaker, claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals on Nov. 4, can play all three outfield positions, giving Lovullo even more options to play with.

“We like the coverage in the outfield. We like the versatility of all those guys,” Lovullo said, adding Chris Herrmann and Chris Owings to the mix. “We feel very comfortable being able to move a lot of different parts and play a National League game, when the need arises.”

Owings, though, “will get most of the time at shortstop” according to Lovullo. That does not mean Nick Ahmed is a backup, however.

“A backup, in my opinion,” Lovullo said, “is somebody (who) is there in case and Nick Ahmed is going to get a number of starts as is C.O. at shortstop.”

The 25-man roster includes 12 pitchers and 13 position players.

Lovullo had hoped to have his team in place before these last two exhibition games.

“The final roster has taken a little while for us to drill down to because of how these guys have gone out and really performed and made this decision hard on a group of people that were set out to evaluate them. In certain cases we wanted to let that process play out for as long as it possibly could have,” he said. “I personally want to just say thanks to the guys. I want to acknowledge their hard work and their patience.”

BASE HITS

— Facing the Indians for the second time in as many starts, left-hander Robbie Ray allowed a pair of home runs over four innings. Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion and catcher Yan Gomes each hit solo shots in a two-run second inning.

Overall, Ray was charged with three runs on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 80 pitches, 43 for strikes including 8-of-17 first-pitch strikes.

Ray went 3-1 with a 5.11 ERA in seven Cactus League starts.

— After recording just one hit in 23 at-bats over nine games, left fielder Yasmany Tomas had two in his first two at-bats, including an RBI double that plated the D-backs’ first run. He finished 2-for-3, raising his batting average to .115.

Tomas was slowed this spring by an oblique strain that sidelined him nearly three weeks.

In addition to Tomas, right fielder David Peralta recorded a pair of hits. He also drove in a run, as did shortstop Nick Ahmed and third baseman Jake Lamb; all contributed in a three-run fifth inning that put the D-backs ahead, 4-3.

— The D-backs had won two straight before losing to the Indians, splitting the two-game exhibition set, in front of an announced crowd of 11,879.

With the defeat, the D-backs dropped to 15-15-2 in this, their 20th Cactus League season.

— The D-backs will hold a full-squad workout at Chase Field on Saturday, the day before the season opener against the San Francisco Giants. The workout, which is closed to the public, will include a simulated game with right-hander Shelby Miller scheduled to throw.

Miller is slotted fifth in the rotation, so his first regular-season start is against the Indians on April 7.

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Arizona Diamondbacks' Nick Ahmed, left, throws to first base after forcing out Los Angeles Dodgers' Howie Kendrick (47) during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 16, 2016, in Phoenix. Andrew Toles was safe at first. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Archie Bradley throws during the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Sunday, March 12, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Andrew Chafin, RP -- After going 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA in 2015, the left-handed reliever struggled a year ago with shoulder and groin issues. When he was healthy, his ERA ballooned to 6.75 in 32 appearances. And though he struck out 11 per nine frames compared to seven in 2015, his home run rate (6.7 to 8.7 per nine) and walk rate (3.6 to 4.4 per nine) also jumped from the season prior. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Patrick Corbin, LHP -- Lost amid the disappointment of Shelby Miller's 2016 season was Corbin's own. The lefty starter found himself demoted and closed the year with a 5.15 ERA and 5-13 record. While Miller found himself working in Triple-A to re-find his stuff, Corbin worked out of the bullpen to finish with seven strong September outings where he allowed just two earned runs over 15 innings. (Photo by Tyler Drake/ Cronkite News)

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa delivers to Arizona Diamondbacks' A.J. Pollock in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Randall Delgado (48) pitches during the 5th inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Kansas City Royals' Alex Gordon dives safe back to first as Arizona Diamondbacks' Daniel Descalso applies the tag during the second inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 21, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Kansas City Royals' Alex Gordon is tagged out by Arizona Diamondbacks' Brandon Drury trying to steal second during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 21, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

United States' Paul Goldschmidt (44) scores on a hit by Giancarlo Stanton as Jonathan Lucroy (25) greets him at the plate during the sixth inning in a first-round game against the Dominican Republic, in the World Baseball Classic, Saturday, March 11, 2017, in Miami. The Dominican Republic won 7-5. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a spring training baseball game Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Jeremy Hazelbaker is forced out at second as Oakland Athletics' Marcus Semien throws to first for the double play in the first inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 7, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Chris Herrmann watches his home run during the second inning of a spring training baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Tuesday, March 21, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

J.J. Hoover, RP -- The five-year MLB vet and former Cincinnati Reds reliever latched on with the D-backs on a minor-league deal after playing in just 18 games during 2016. Coming off surgery, his 18 games a year ago were ugly -- he closed 2016 with a 13.50 ERA having allowed 14 hits and 4.3 home runs per nine frames. His spring, however, went much better. He didn't allow a run in his first eight outings. (AP Photo/Billy Hurst)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Chris Iannetta runs after hitting a home run during the second inning of a spring training baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Jake Lamb dives for a ball hit by Oakland Athletics' Yonder Alonso during the third inning of a spring training baseball game, Tuesday, March 7, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Jeff Mathis, C -- Like teammate Chris Iannetta, Mathis was brought to Arizona for his pitch-framing technique. D-backs pitching coach Mike Butcher knows him well; Mathis spent his first seven years in MLB with the Angels working with Butcher's pitchers when the latter held the same title in Anaheim. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Shelby Miller, right, pauses as catcher Welington Castillo, left, talks with the pitcher during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016, in Phoenix. The Dodgers defeated the Diamondbacks 6-2. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Mexico's Xorge Carrillo is forced out at second as Arizona Diamondbacks' Chris Owings takes the throw during the fourth inning of an exhibition baseball game Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder David Peralta, right, poses for a picture with some fans prior to a spring training baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Diamondbacks' A.J. Pollock dives back to first during the first inning of an exhibition baseball game against Mexico, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Robbie Ray throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)

Dominican Republic pitcher Hector Neris (50) and pitcher Fernando Rodney (56) are introduced before a first-round game against Canada in the World Baseball Classic, Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Yasmany Tomas, LF -- The four years remaining on a $68.5 million contract signed two years ago only adds to the high-risk, high-reward abilities of Tomas. The Cuban broke out as the D-backs' best home run hitter, slugging 31 bombs last season. But he also recorded minus-16 Defensive Runs Saved with eight of those coming in each of left and right field in 2016. And he spent much of spring rehabbing an oblique injury. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Taijuan Walker, RHP -- The 24-year-old pitcher traded to Arizona in exchange for infielder Jean Segura comes in with his own rebounding to do. Walker struggled with the Mariners last year, going 8-11 with a 4.22 ERA before undergoing surgery on his foot. His strikeout-to-walk ratio carried him in the spring. (Photo by Tyler Drake/ Cronkite News)

Seattle Mariners closer Tom Wilhelmsen yells after the last out in the Mariners' 7-5 win over the Houston Astros in a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

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