Montgomery makes case for final rotation spot

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- There was no announcement of an Opening Day starter -- stay tuned that could come Thursday -- but it was an eventful day in Diamondbacks camp. Here are three of the biggest things you need to know:

1. Montgomery pitches well

The battle for the No. 5 spot in the Diamondbacks rotation continues as Jordan Montgomery had his best spring outing. He allowed three hits and a walk while striking out two over 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the D-backs' 1-0 victory over the Rockies.

Montgomery, competing with Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson for the final spot, suffered a strained left index finger just before camp opened, putting him behind the other starters. Then, in his first outing of the spring, he was hammered by the Reds, allowing five runs while walking two and hitting a batter in just one-third of an inning.

His next outing came in a backfield game in which he said he felt good, but it’s hard to judge results in those conditions.

“Sinker was really good today,” Montgomery said. “Threw a couple good curveballs. Threw a good changeup to get that first-inning strikeout, but sinker was really good.”

This was a crucial outing for Montgomery, who threw 40 pitches (23 strikes). Despite his struggles last season and early in camp, he still knew what he was capable of as a pitcher.

“I’ve never lost confidence,” Montgomery said. “I know I’m a good pitcher.”

2. Jameson and Lawlar optioned

The Diamondbacks trimmed their roster, optioning right-hander Drey Jameson, infielder Jordan Lawlar and left-hander Kyle Nelson to Triple-A Reno. They reassigned right-hander Scott McGough and infielder Trey Mancini to Minor League camp.

The only somewhat surprising move was that of Jameson, who had allowed just one earned run over 5 2/3 innings and was considered a serious candidate to land a bullpen spot.

Jameson, though, is coming back from Tommy John surgery, which cost him all of 2024 and part of 2023, and the team just didn’t feel like he was quite ready to go multiple innings or pitch on back-to-back days yet. Though he was close to being able to be cleared by the medical team to do so, manager Torey Lovullo said, they simply ran out of time with Opening Day a little more than a week away.

Lawlar is the Diamondbacks' top-ranked prospect, but he did not seem to have a clear path to playing time coming into the spring. Shortstop is Lawlar’s primary position and Arizona signed shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to a four-year, $45 million extension early in camp.

After missing significant time last year due to injuries, Lawlar went to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball, where he saw time at shortstop and third base. But, third base is occupied by veteran Eugenio Suárez, who is in the final year of his contract.

Combine all that with All-Star Ketel Marte locked in at second base and the best Lawlar could hope to get from a playing time standpoint was a couple of games a week, and the Diamondbacks preferred that he continue to get regular at-bats in the Minors instead.

While in Reno, Lovullo said that Lawlar will see playing time at third, short and second.

3. No closer … for now

Lovullo came into the spring thinking he would pick a closer from among left-hander A.J. Puk and right-handers Justin Martinez and Kevin Ginkel.

It has typically been Lovullo’s preference to have a designated closer, but with all three throwing the ball well this spring, it looks like the competition will carry over into the regular season.

“I’m going to be a little bit fluid with it,” Lovullo said. “Everyone has thrown really, really well. I’ll probably go more matchup-based until it’s the right time to make that decision.”

Lovullo could use the left-handed Puk in the eighth or ninth, depending on how many lefties an opposing team has coming up, and vice versa with either Martinez or Ginkel.