Diamondbacks Spring Training Notes February 22nd

Kristian Robinson is working out, Defense is a priority, Corbin Carroll is fast, and more.

Here are some of the goings on from Diamondbacks Spring Training Camp yesterday the last couple of days

Kristian Robinson  status update

Back in early January Michael McDermott reviewed Robinson's situation. Robinson committed a felony assault on a police officer in 2020,  which was spurred by a mental health crisis during the Pandemic. Convicted in August of 2021, Robinson was sentenced to community service and probation.  According to GM Mike Hazen, Robinson has since completed his probation 

Due to the felony conviction Robinson has not been able to secure a work visa to enable him to participate in paid games with a Diamondbacks affiliate. However he is in the country on a visitor visa and was seen at workouts yesterday shagging fly balls and taking batting practice. 

According to Hazen, the next steps include a two track approach to getting him back to being able to play in affiliated games

The first track  is his attorney is working to get his felony reduced to a misdemeanor. If that is successful then Robinson should be able to obtain a work visa and begin participating in affiliated games. Hazen said that he is not able to offer an opinion on when that might happen.

The second track is through his immigration status. He is married to a U.S. Citizen and is in the process of applying for citizenship via that avenue. If that is successful then he would then be able to return to affiliated paid games. 

Hazen sounded optimistic that Robinson's issues could be worked out by early June. If they are, then he can be assigned to one of the minor league teams  In the mean time he is able to participate in extended spring training up until that point. 

Kristian Robinson can work out with team and participate in extended spring training. The team hopes his situation will be resolved by June so he can play in affiliated paid gamespic.twitter.com/WGycWtDT07

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) February 22, 2023

Torey Lovullo Notes:

Priorities

Defense, pitcher fielding, popup priorities, and learning about the pitch timer have been among the priorities in the early part of camp.  Hitters have already been taking live batting practice against the pitchers. Torey Lovullo said that while typically hitters are behind the pitchers, that's not really the case so far, as the hitters, many of whom reported early, are ready to go. 

The team was scheduled to have a seven-inning "game" against a KBO team, but they were not going to use fielders, it would be more of a live BP situation.  It's not know as of this writing whether that game will be played due to the weather. 

Evan Longoria

While the team is looking for his leadership both in the clubhouse and on the field to be a positive factor, he's not here to coach. The team expects him to play and perform as he has in the recent past. They will manage his workload however and it's not expected he will be a full time player. 

Is Corbin Carroll the fastest runner in baseball?

"I don't think I've seen somebody cut the corners as fast as him, have that body control, and run as gracefully as he does"  

Lovullo cited Carroll's body control, leg strength, hip mobility and strength, as well as good coaching from Dave McKay all contribute to why Carroll cuts the corners so well. 

Lovullo went on to say he expects the team to steal a lot of bases and be able to take advantage of the new pickoff/step off limits imposed with the new rules. Pitchers are allowed a maximum two pickoff throws or disengagements.

What they're working on

Kyle Nelson is working on a changeup. He's worked on trying to develop one in past off seasons but never felt he got it to the point where he could bring it into the regular season. Still a work in progress, the main thing for Nelson is getting a consistent grip. He is using the "Vulcan Grip" splitting the ball between his ring and middle finger. He hopes to get more downward action with this grip. 

Jake McCarthy is working to become a more consistent outfielder, and get better jumps and reads. He came into camp early to work with the coaches and shag fly balls to improve. 

Merrill Kelly is working on a new pitch. While he would not verbally identify what it was, through process of elimination and watching his bullpens he's working to add a slider. Kelly throws a fastball, cutter, changeup and curve.