One of the underlying storylines this spring has been the closer competition between Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk, and Kevin Ginkel. Despite a strong effort, the Diamondbacks failed to acquire a closer during the offseason. Without a proven player to occupy the role, the team will use matchups to dictate their late-inning usage at the start of the season.
This is not a different approach from what they took to begin the 2023 season. That season, they shuffled the closer role between Andrew Chafin, Miguel Castro, and Scott McGough to mixed results at best. With none of the three able to hold down the role, the Diamondbacks were forced to pay a premium to land Paul Sewald from the Mariners.
Often, the bullpen is built backward, starting with the closer and working one inning back toward the middle innings. So it will start with those three and work its way backwards. Joe Mantiply and Kendall Graveman, once he gets over his back issues, also figure to play a key role in the bullpen as setup men that match up against lefties and righties. Then
However, this approach makes more sense given the current composition of the bullpen. Arizona has more capable relievers than two years ago. Ginkel, Puk, and Martinez have shown to be very capable late-inning options and were tested in the closer role last season.
"Somebody is going to emerge from that group," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told Jack Sommers of Arizona Diamondbacks on SI. "We have some really good arms and who that is, is yet to be determined. So there's a little bit of a change from what I'm used to and what I'm comfortable with."
A case can be made for any of the three to take over the closer role full-time. Ginkel has been the team's most dependable reliever since the second half of the 2022 season. He was tasked with the closer role at the start of the 2024 season, when Sewald was on the injured list with an oblique strain. Puk was the Diamondbacks' most dominant reliever in the final two months of the season and has previous closer experience with Miami. Martinez is the long-term favorite to close due to his filthy stuff, but at 23 years old and just one season under his belt he's not quite ready to handle the physical and emotional pressure of handling the final inning.
The hope is that among the three relievers, one will seize the closer role while the other two become late-inning relievers. Lovullo has always preferred having one guy to depend on for the ninth inning, so the sooner the better.