Two non-roster Diamondbacks, one hitter and one pitcher, are making a serious push towards the Opening Day roster. Ildemaro Vargas and John Curtiss have made the most of their early opportunities and are in competition for an open spot.
Curtiss, 31, was originally a minor league signing with a camp invite back on February 11. In three outings, he's retired all 10 hitters with four strikeouts. His fastball velocity has ticked upward, averaging 94.6 MPH, nearly a full tick above his 93.8 MPH average over the past two seasons. That mark would be his highest since his most successful season with the Miami Marlins, when he pitched to a 2.48 ERA in 35 appearances before getting traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Both general manager Mike Hazen and assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye listed the bullpen as the area they're looking to improve. Hazen specifically mentioned the front end of the pen, which is your long reliever and middle relievers, is where he wants to improve the most. Sawdaye mentioned Curtiss as someone who's impressed him in this spring in his appearance on Bickley & Marotta on Monday.
There are other players on the 40-man roster who are also competiting for the final middle reliever role, such as Bryce Jarvis, Kyle Nelson, and Drey Jameson. All three of them have options remaining if the team wanted to roster Curtiss, although they would have to clear a 40-man roster spot.
Vargas, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks on January 31. This is his third stint on the team, debuting with the team in 2017, and spending parts of five seasons in Arizona. Defensive versatility is his calling card, spending time at second, shortstop, and third base. Due to that versatility, he makes the ideal backup to both Ketel Marte and Eugenio Suarez when they're starting as the designated hitter or need a day off.
This spring, Vargas is off to a blistering start. In six games, he's batting .400 with four extra-base hits, two home runs, and a 1.404 OPS. Throughout his career, he's been a guy who puts professional at-bats and typically hits the ball into play. That's why he was listed as a potential non-roster candidate to make the roster.
The one concern is a lack of shortstop reps this spring. Connor Kaiser, another non-roster invitee, has gotten most of the reps after starting shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and top prospect Jordan Lawlar. However, Vargas is a veteran infielder with more than 300 career innings at short, so he is still an option there. Other players in the mix include another non-roster infielder in Garrett Hampson and Grae Kessinger, who the Diamondbacks traded for in January.
While these two players have done the most to earn a roster spot in the first two weeks of Spring Training, a lot can change over the next three weeks. Whether that's an injury, another player in the competition getting hot, or one of these two players suddenly struggles, the competition is far from over.