From Ahmed to Wilhelmsen: Get to know the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster
Mar 31, 2017, 10:29 PM | Updated: Apr 1, 2017, 2:45 pm
Oh, how expectations change. The Arizona Diamondbacks enter 2017 with many of the same core players on the 25-man Opening Day roster as a season ago, but the expectations have been reset.
Zack Greinke, Paul Goldschmidt, Shelby Miller, Jake Lamb and Brandon Drury are among those who return. The D-backs also welcome back A.J. Pollock, who found out just before Opening Day in 2016 his season was threatened due to an elbow injury.
Yet, for a few of the above and many others, the story of the season is about rebounding from a disappointing 2016 that saw the team go 69-93.
Can a new front office change the D-backs’ fortunes around in just one offseason of work?
First-year general manager Mike Hazen has brought in veteran depth and the biggest trade addition in starting pitcher Taijuan Walker. He’s turned over much of the bullpen searching for success, adding Tom Wilhelmsen and J.J. Hoover to the mix of remaining players while turning former starters Archie Bradley and Jorge De La Rosa into relievers.
One of the biggest surprises for the Diamondbacks this spring was J.J. Hoover, who earned his spot out of the bullpen by not allowing a single run in 10 innings worth of work.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo announced after their final spring training game on Friday that Andrew Chafin beat out Silvino Bracho for the last pitching spot, while Jeremy Hazelbaker earned the last bench spot.
