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03/14/05 8:45 PM ET
Notes: D-Backs make roster cuts
Monday's moves leaves spring roster at 48
By Owen Perkins / Special to MLB.com
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In the first round of cuts, the Diamondbacks optioned Justin Wechsler, Dustin Nippert, Enrique Gonzales, Reggie Abercrombie, and Josh Kroeger. The club also reassigned Phil Stockman, Casey Daigle, Corey Myers, Alan Zinter, Juan Brito, and Doug DeVore, and gave Donovan Osborne his release.
"We're looking potentially to see if we have room for him over at minor league camp," manager Bob Melvin said of the 35-year-old left-hander with nine big league seasons under his belt. "This is a veteran guy who really is a class act. We wanted to give him some time to go out there and hook on with somebody else. If you go down to the end like that with a veteran guy, he's got no chance to go somewhere else. In that respect, we're trying to show him a little respect. It's tough to release a guy like that who's been such a good soldier here; he does everything that we're about, and he works his butt off. That was a very difficult one."
There were no major surprises among the cuts, with the remainder of the players continuing to command attention from Arizona's management. Melvin commented on the prospects of several of the young players cut on Monday.
The cuts bring the Diamondbacks spring roster down to 48 players.
Getting Medders: Brandon Medders saw his first game action since last May, pitching a perfect inning of relief against the Brewers on Sunday.
"I heard he threw great. Absolutely great," said Melvin, who managed the split-squad game in Phoenix on Sunday and missed the outing. "The ball gets on guys, he had a good slider and for a first outing it was very, very encouraging. He's got really good stuff."
Medders has been recovering from labrum surgery on his right shoulder performed last June, and he surprised himself with how good he felt facing live hitters again.
"I felt better in the game than I did in all my side work," Medders said. "I was actually more calm in the game. I was relaxed. I was just settling down and focusing more pitch to pitch, taking my time."
Medders has focused extensively on refining the mechanics of his motion, correcting a tendency to let his elbow drop down, thereby putting extra torque and pressure on his shoulder.
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"I didn't know how long I was going to be here, but I wanted the first time to be a good one," he said.
Put me in, coach: Troy Glaus made his first back-to-back starts on Sunday and Monday, putting his health concerns behind him and focusing on getting up to speed at third base. Melvin had questions about sending him out to third on consecutive days, but Glaus requested the start so he could log some innings in the field.
"I just want to be out there reading the ball off the bat," Glaus said. "I'm about a half-step slow from where I want to be. I'm seeing it, but I'm not quite quick enough to get the hop."
The desire to get comfortable with the way his pitching staff works hitters and the irreplaceable experience of seeing the ball live off the bat was enough to get Glaus to request the speeding up of his spring work.
"You can take fungos all day long and it's just not the same," Glaus said. "I want to get in the game, read some balls, get a quick break, break the right way, do what I'm supposed to do. Catching and throwing, I don't want to say is secondary, but I want to make sure I read the ball correctly and get everything in sync."
Medical tent: The Diamondbacks saw several players in and out of the trainer's room on Monday.
Coming up: Melvin expects to see the mood in camp take a turn when his squad reconvenes on Wednesday.
"After the off-day, you start to get antsy," Melvin said. "I'm excited about the group we have here and starting the season, so you want to get going at a quicker pace, but you realize you have some work to do here and some decisions to make."
Russ Ortiz gets the start Wednesday. Ortiz has a 6.14 ERA through his first three starts.
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
