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Ryal working on outfield skills this winter

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By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com

10/12/09 8:20 PM EST

PHOENIX -- Rusty Ryal will gladly play anywhere on the diamond the D-backs want him to next year.

However when the 26-year-old heads to Venezuela to play for Caracas for five weeks this winter, there is only one place he plans on playing: outfield.

"It's in my contract," Ryal said of his deal with Caracas. "I'm going there for one thing: to get better in the outfield. Hopefully I go there and do well because I know it's important for them to win. If I don't perform well there, they will just send me home. I know that. I think playing outfield there is going to do a lot for my career."

Ryal saw time at first and second base after being promoted from Triple-A Reno in August. He can also play short and third, but the one position where he has seen the least amount of time is in the outfield. Since being drafted in 2005, he has played just three games there, all coming last year with Reno.

By adding outfield experience to his resume, Ryal hopes to improve his chances of making the big league roster out of Spring Training next year.

Ryal made a positive impression this year when he hit .271 in 59 at-bats. A right-handed hitter, he has hit better against lefties, and Arizona manager A.J. Hinch likes having him as a weapon on the bench against opposing teams' southpaws.

With Ryan Roberts having played well at second in 2009 and infielder Tony Abreu joining the team as the player to be named in the Jon Garland trade, not to mention the possibility that Augie Ojeda could be back next year, the D-backs have a plethora of backup infielders.

However, if Ryal were able to play both corners in the outfield in addition to all four infield spots, well, that would certainly help him not just find a spot on the Arizona roster, but it would make him more valuable going forward.

With that in mind, Ryal is going to make a five-week commitment to doing that.

"I'm going to get better at something I need to get better at," he said. "It will be a lot of baseball, but it will be good. I'm always up for doing something new. I'm not going over there to just get some work in, I'm going because I feel like I need to get better and see some different pitching. I've got a pretty good plan."

Steve Gilbert is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.