Feb 20, 2013; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks player Tony Campana poses for a picture during photo day at the Diamondbacks Spring Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Diamondbacks outfield depth is being tested very early this spring training. The team had just received news that newly signed free-agent outfielder Cody Ross would be out two to three weeks. Ross will be out due to a calf injury, and will be limited to just throwing while he is out. The chances of Ross being ready for opening day are now uncertain. When Ross would return from the calf injury he would only have about one week of spring training left to get ready for the season. The diamondbacks do have options of who they want to put in place of Ross should this injury linger on into the season. The options that they have available to them are Tony Campana, Gerardo Parra, A.J. Pollock, and Eric Hinske.

One of these options could potentially be injured. Tony Campana jammed his hand while attempting to steal second base in a Cactus League game against the Brewers. Campana was seen holding his left wrist as he came out of the game immediately. If Campana is out for an extended period of time this would make the team even thinner than they already are in the outfield. The one trait that Campana possesses that the team highly values is his speed. The Diamondbacks are transitioning from a team that in the past relied heavily on hitting HRs, to a team that will use speed. Campana is a player that they could have used off the bench in late game situations. The other options that the team has are that they could do a platoon with players AJ Pollock, Gerardo Parra, and Eric Hinske. Pollock has never hit for a high average in the majors. Pollock just had a .247 in 81 at-bats last season, but that could be because he did not have consistent playing time. The other two options in Parra and Hinske have the most experience in right field. Parra has played 76 games in right field for his career. Hinske has played 160 games in right field for his career, but Hinske is more of a guy that comes off the bench rather than play every day.

The Diamondbacks have the players to use should Campana be out for a long period, but if another one of their outfielders is injured that would severely limit what the team can do.

A.J. Pollock has a chance to receive increased playing time in April. Image: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

With Gerardo Parra set to assume Ross’s place in the lineup, Pollock and Campana will battle for the fourth outfielder’s spot, crucial as manager Kirk Gibson will probably look to replace Jason Kubel late in games for defensive purposes.  Campana as the edge in Major League experience as he has had 317 at-bats in he bigs as opposed to 81 for Pollock.  Campana also swiped 30 bases last season for the Chicago Cubs, good enough for ninth place in the National League.   Pollock was the first round pick of the D’backs in 2009, drafted #17 overall.  Besides being a first round pick, another advantage for Pollock is that he bats right-handed, affording Gibby to the opportunity to platoon Parra and him should the former struggle in an every-day role.  At the moment, neither player has distinguished himself at the plate.  Campana is hitting .200 with one walk in 15 at-bats while Pollock is hitting .238 with two walks in 21 at-bats.  Campana has two RBI’s compared to Pollock’s zero while Pollock leads in stolen bases two to one.  

Whoever wins the job between the two men could receive a decent amount of playing time come April and the chance to stay in Arizona if/when Ross comes off the DL.  The loser will probably see the field a lot less and therefore earn a trip to Reno next month.  So far, neither player seems in control of this battle.  Perhaps one of them will play significantly better knowing a great opportunity awaits him at the finish line.   

Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @venomstrikes

Follow me on Twitter @ltj41 and at www.clearthebases.net

Image: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Spring isn’t all sunshine when it comes to battling for a spot on a 25-man roster for players, either.

The D’backs starting lineup is pretty much set heading into 2013 meaning the battles will be in the back end of the rotation, the bullpen and on the bench.

Miguel Montero, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Hill, Martin Prado, Chad Pennington, Gerardo Parra, Jason Kubel, Adam Eaton, Cody Ross and Willie Bloomquist are locks along with Ian Kennedy, Trevor Cahill, Brandon McCarthy and Wade Miley in the rotation. In the bullpen, JJ Putz, Heath Bell, David Hernandez and Brad Ziegler are also pretty much assured spots.

With the D’backs likely to carry 12 pitchers that leaves one starter, three reliever spots and three bench spots open.

Starting spot battle: Tyler Skaggs vs. Randall Delgado

Delgado was acquired in the Justin Upton trade along with Martin Prado. Delgado is probably projected for a back-end starter for his career and has solid stretches throughout his career so far. He owns a career 3.95 ERA over 127.2 innings in the majors. Skaggs has been a top-tier pitching prospect for a few years and appears to be ready to pitch a full season in the bigs. Skaggs owns a career 2.98 minor-league ERA. He did struggle a bit in his brief appearance with the D’backs last season with a 5.83 ERA over 29.1 innings.

Edge: Skaggs

Three bullpen spots: Patrick Corbin vs. Tony Sipp vs. Matt Reynolds vs. Josh Collmenter

Sipp and Reynolds have each spent quality time in the majors with solid results. Sipp has thrown 220.1 innings over the past four seasons with a 3.68 ERA and Reynolds has thrown 126 innings over the past three seasons with a 3.93 ERA. Reynolds and Sipp, both lefties, are solid bets to make the bullpen.

That leaves the final spot for Corbin and Collmenter to battle it out. Corbin is also a leftie and was effective over long stretches in the beginning of last season but then struggled down the stretch. Collmenter on the other hand, struggled mightily early and then picked it up as the season progressed. Edge: Collmenter

Bench Spots:

Back up catcher – Wil Nieves vs. Rod Barajas

Nieves was productive in limited time with both the D’backs and Rockies last season, hitting .301/.330/.410 over 89 plate appearances. On the other hand, Barajas was pretty awful in 321 plate appearances for the Pirates in 2012. He hit .206/.283/.343 for the season.

Edge: Nieves

With an outfielder and a utility player in Bloomquist on the bench already, the D’backs have some flexibility in the two remaining bench spots: Eric Chavez vs. John McDonald vs. Tony Campana vs. A.J. Pollock vs. Matthew Davidson

Edge: Chavez and McDonald