Dbacks Notes from SRF

Carroll has tweaked his bat positioning when setting up in the batters box, Alex Weiner of ‘s Arizona Sports reports. He previously kept the bat flat over his left shoulder before changing to a more upright position.

Carroll deployed the refined bat position Monday, when he turned on a high breaking ball for his first spring home run. This was a tweak Carroll started during the second half of 2024, and he continued to work on it over the offseason. “We talked about, I guess, shortening the path to the ball,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “Creating better angles to certain pitches. It’s not hindering his ability to hit the pitch as well as he’s normally hitting, so he feels like that’s a good starting spot for him.” The new positioning worked for Carroll in the second half of 2024. After slumping in the first half (.635 OPS, five home runs), Carroll popped after the All-Star break (.919 OPS, 17 home runs),

Ginkel struck out two over a scoreless second inning in Tuesday’s spring game against the Cubs.

Ginkel was the first of Arizona’s potential closers to throw in Tuesday’s game. He was followed by A.J. Puk in the third inning then Justin Martinez in the fourth. Ginkel has experience closing for the Diamondbacks but appears to be behind the other two.

Puk struck out two over a scoreless third inning in Tuesday’s spring game against the Cubs.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo trotted out his three potential closers Tuesday, with Puk’s inning sandwiched by Kevin Ginkel (second inning) and Justin Martinez (fourth). All three pitched scoreless frames. Martinez was the primary closer over the final two months last season but had a shaky September and walked more than four batters per nine innings. Meanwhile, Puk was electric after being acquired at the trade deadline, posting a 1.32 ERA and 0.73 WHIP with two saves over 30 outings with Arizona.

Martinez walked one and struck out one over a scoreless fourth inning in Tuesday’s spring game against the Cubs.

It was a bullpen day for the Diamondbacks, which gave manager Torey Lovullo a chance to see his three potential closers pitch early enough in the game to see the other team’s regulars. Martinez followed Kevin Ginkel (second inning) and A.J. Puk (third inning). Martinez had the toughest task of the three, facing hitters two through four in Chicago’s order. All three relievers threw scoreless innings, compounding the difficulty of the decision for the manager. Martinez and Puk appear to be the leading candidates, but all three are expected to work high-leverage innings at the back end of the bullpen.

Bielak signed a minor-league contract with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Bielak gave up 17 earned runs over 29.2 innings between the Astros and Athletics last season. Most of his time was spent in the minors, however, where he still struggled with a 6.08 ERA and 1.60 WHIP over 66.2 frames. He’ll now attempt to bounce back during spring camp with the D-backs, though his recent performance will most likely keep him in an organizational depth role.