SCOTTSDALE, Ariz -- Torey Lovullo remembers a time when he had much bigger problems than a difficult decision about which starting pitcher would take the mound on Opening Day.
¡°I like that we have these problems,¡± the D-backs¡¯ manager said of the Opening Day starter question and the decision on who will be Arizona¡¯s fifth starter. ¡°It means we have a good team. I know the problems we had in the past, when it was very dark here. These problems are totally different.¡±
Darkness has become light around the D-backs, particularly in the starting rotation. When Arizona landed ace right-hander Corbin Burnes on a six-year, $210 million contract this offseason, he joined a group that already included ace Zac Gallen, who owns a career 3.29 ERA and two top-five Cy Young Award finishes in the last three years.
Not only that, Arizona¡¯s starting staff now has so much depth that Lovullo will have to make difficult choices regarding who will fill the last slot in the rotation, and who will either go into the bullpen or to Triple-A Reno.
Brandon Pfaadt -- who struck out seven over five scoreless innings on Sunday -- Ryne Nelson and Jordan Montgomery are all vying for the fifth spot behind Burnes/Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez. Kelly made his fourth Cactus League start of the spring on Monday against the Angels at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, giving up three runs over 2 2/3 innings in Arizona¡¯s 11-5 loss.
Decisions, decisions.
But first things first. Will it be Burnes or Gallen for the regular-season opener against the Cubs at Chase Field on March 27?
¡°I¡¯m probably going to take tomorrow to think about it as thoroughly as possible,¡± Lovullo said, ¡°and start to shift gears and let it be made known internally what my thought is.¡±
How tough of a call is it? With under two weeks until Opening Day, only one other team -- the Guardians -- hasn¡¯t announced who will get the ball for the season opener.
Burnes, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2021 with the Brewers and has been as reliable and consistently excellent as they come since becoming a full-time starter in 2020, has a 1.35 ERA in five Cactus League starts with his new club.
Gallen, meanwhile, has been Arizona¡¯s ace over the past several seasons. From 2022-24, he posted a 3.20 ERA (131 ERA+) and helped lead the D-backs on a surprise World Series run in ¡¯23.
Both are deserving. And both redirect the focus behind the question toward what makes the dilemma a good thing.
¡°You can never have too much starting pitching,¡± Burnes said. ¡°I think we¡¯ve kind of seen that over the years -- that it takes more than five starters to get through a season. So the fact that we have that kind of depth is a good problem to have. There are guys we¡¯ll be sending down to Triple-A that probably should be in the big leagues making starts.¡±
Pfaadt has looked good this spring and has pitched in some big games for the D-backs. In the 2023 postseason, he had a 1.29 ERA over three starts between the NL Division Series and the NL Championship Series. Nelson has steadily improved and eclipsed the 150-inning mark last year. And Montgomery, who was a coveted free agent before signing with Arizona in 2024, is hoping to bounce back from a subpar campaign.
Gallen, like Burnes, emphasized the importance of depth over the decision about which one of them should take the ball in 10 days. But unlike Burnes, Gallen has seen the D-backs¡¯ darkness dispelled since he debuted with Arizona in 2019.
¡°The level of talent we have in the room and the level of depth has been a cool evolution for me to see,¡± Gallen said.
The D-backs aren¡¯t the only club with depth, of course, particularly on the pitching side. They can look within their own division to find the most prominent example. The Dodgers have been garnering headlines with their incredible offseason and the resulting embarrassment of riches.
But Burnes and Gallen don¡¯t mind being overlooked. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time. And regardless of which of them gets the ball on Opening Day, they both know what good problems can bring.
¡°They can have all the attention and the publicity,¡± Burnes said of the Dodgers. ¡°We¡¯ve got a very good baseball team and we¡¯re excited to show people that.¡±