Arizona Diamondbacks: Does Brandon Drury end up at third?

The future of infielder Brandon Drury of the Arizona Diamondbacks remains uncertain.

Not that the Arizona Diamondbacks have many dilemmas coming into spring training, but one could be the destiny of infielder Brandon Drury. In the native of Grants Pass Ore., the Diamondbacks realize they have “a gym rat” in their midst, and Drury’s total dedication and commitment to the game of baseball is well-documented within the organization.

That may not be good enough to render Drury valuable to the upcoming edition of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Used as an outfielder under then-manager Chip Hale in 2016 and back to the infield under Torey Lovullo last season, Drury’s production at the plate may have been affected by the uncertainty of where to feel comfortable.

A natural third baseman by trade, Arizona decision-makers moved Drury to second for the 2017 season. The results were less than encouraging, and at the end of the season, Drury’s offensive numbers diminished while his defensive liability increased.

The roadblock for Drury remains Jake Lamb at third, who settled as arbitration-eligible, for an undisclosed amount, before the Friday deadline. With his NL All-Star selection last season, Lamb established his credentials as a power hitter and slammed 30 homers with 105 RBIs. That was wrapped around a .248 batting average which declined from his .249 average in 2016.

Yet, the rap against Lamb remains his inability to consistently and efficiently hit left-handed pitching, and slow to move to his left in the field. Plus, Lamb’s production over the second-half of the past two seasons declined. He ended the season hitting under .250 and hit only eight homers over the course of the final two and one-half months of the season.

In early July, Lamb was hitting .282, and after a two-home run effort against the Reds in Cincinnati on July 18, he slammed 22 at that point and accumulated 76 RBIs. While his production faltered down the stretch, his name was rarely mentioned at the winter meetings last month in Orlando.

Instead, Drury surfaced, and along with pitcher Patrick Corbin, piqued the interest of the New York Yankees. Since Arizona GM Mike Hazen has been quiet on the transaction front. By nature, Hazen keeps a very low profile and is rarely seen around Chase Field during the championship season.

That does not mean he remains quiet. In the quest to acquire another starter, there is no question Hazen continues to work the phones and keep contacts on the front burner.

All of which leaves Drury almost like a man without a position.

In 2016 while toiling in the garden under Hale, Drury hit. 282 with 31 doubles. Those two-baggers, that good enough for second among NL rookies. Then last season, his average dropped to .267, but his 37 doubles tied for seventh best in the NL.

While Drury would be willing to play both in the infield and outfield, Lovullo all but benched the 25-year-old in the playoffs. In four post-season contests, Drury made only one start and that in game one of the NLDS. Here, the hit fifth and went 0-for-4. In the average post-season games, Daniel Descalso received the start at second base, including hitting fifth in game two of the NLDS against lefty Rich Hill of the Dodgers.

With a month to the start of spring training, there is no reason to believe that Drury is not penciled in as the starting second baseman. That does not preclude there are still essential weeks ahead for teams, including Hazen and the Diamondbacks to make additional personnel moves and solidify their roster.

On the dotted line …

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With the arbitration deadline set for 1 p.m. Eastern time Friday, the Diamondbacks, along with the 29 other clubs, attempted to avoid arbitration,

All 13 players who were eligible signed but pitcher Shelby Miller, who earned $4.7 million last season, but appeared in only four games (2-2, 4.09 ERA) before ending his year in late April due to Tommy John surgery.

Of the remaining 12 restricted free agents for the Arizona Diamondbacks, six, including shortstop Nick Ahmed, infielder Chris Owings, outfielder David Peralta, third baseman Jake Lamb and pitchers Randall Delgado and Andrew Chafin, settled for an undisclosed amount.

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Those who also signed on Friday included outfielder A. J. Pollock ($7.5 million), pitcher Taijuan Walker ($4.825 million), pitcher Robbie Ray ($3.95 million), pitcher Brad Boxberger ($1.85 million), catcher Chris Herrmann ($1.3 million), and pitcher Patrick Corbin ($7.5 million).