The Diamondbacks can only hope second baseman Tony Abreu is as good for them as he was against them.
Abreu, 24, is the leading candidate to start at second base after being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers to complete the trade for Jon Garland, and it is not difficult to understand why the D-backs sought him to plug the hole left with the trade of four-month rental Felipe Lopez to Milwaukee in late July.
Both of Abreu's major league home runs have come against the D-backs, and both were at Chase Field. A switch hitter, he hit one from the right side in the 10th inning of the Dodgers' 6-5 victory on June 26, 2007. He hit one from the opposite side of the plate 89 days later, in another Los Angeles win.
"He can swing the bat, and we know he can play second base. He has grown into some power. He does have a little pop. We like a middle infielder who can hit and can play some defense," D-backs general manager Josh Byrnes said.
Abreu hit .336 with 11 homers and 53 RBI with a combined .902 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in stops at Class AA Chattanooga and Class AAA Albuquerque this year. He missed the 2008 season after a spring training injury led to May 28 hip surgery. He hit .271 with 14 doubles and 17
RBI in 166 at-bats with the Dodgers in 2007 after being recalled from Class AAA Las Vegas, where he was hitting .355 with 22 doubles in 54 games.
He has played second, shortstop and third base in the majors, and the D-backs consider him accomplished enough that he could start at shortstop when matchups dictate. Other second base candidates are Ryan Roberts, Augie Ojeda, and Rusty Ryal.
Abreu came to the D-backs only after he and his representatives settled a grievance over service time with the Dodgers. Had Abreu won the grievance, he could have been eligible for arbitration as a "Super 2" player after the 2010 season. By settling, arbitration was held off for another year.
"We weren't involved in that, but I think Tony wanted to get his career started with us," Byrnes said.
SNAKE BYTES
--Doug Drabek will make his coaching debut in the Diamondbacks organization in 2010 after accepting an offer to become the pitching coach at short-season Yakima. Drabek was the 1990 NL Cy Young Award winner after going 22-6 with a 2.76 ERA for Pittsburgh. He also finished eighth in the NL MVP voting that year. He was fourth in the NL Cy Young balloting in 1992 and fifth in 1994. Drabek went 155-134 in 13 major league seasons spent primarily with Pittsburgh and Houston.
--Gil Heredia, a 10-year major league veteran, was named the pitching coach at rookie-level Missoula to replace Steve Merriman, who took a job with the Major League Scouting Bureau. Heredia worked with the staff at short-season Yakima in his first season in the system. A right-hander, Heredia won 13 games for Oakland in 1999 and 15 in 2000,
plus went 57-51 with a 4.46 ERA overall in a career that began with San Francisco and included stops in Montreal, Texas, and Oakland.
--OF Eric Byrnes had four hits in his first 16 at-bats after reporting to Licey of the Dominican winter league in early December. Byrnes, hoping to work his way back to candidacy for the D-backs' left field spot, had two doubles and three
RBI in five games. He has missed most of the past two seasons with injuries and has fallen behind 1B/OF Conor Jackson and OF Gerardo Parra in the major league pecking order.
--Former major-leaguer Rico Brogna will make his managerial debut in the D-backs organization at Class AA Mobile after serving the previous three seasons as a major league scout. Brogna, 49, hit .269 with 106 home runs and 458
RBI in a nine-year major league career that included three years with the Mets and 3 1/2 seasons in Philadelphia. He averaged 34 doubles, 21 homers and 95
RBI in three full seasons with the Phillies from 1997-99.
--Audo Vicente was promoted to manager of high Class A Visalia after spending the previous two seasons as the manager at rookie-level Missoula. Missoula made the Pioneer League finals last season, and a handful of the players from that team also are expected to be assigned to Visalia. Former major-leaguers Alan Zinter and Erik Sabel are on the Visalia staff, Sabel after being promoted from low Class A South Bend. Zinter will spend his second year as the team's hitting coach.
DIAMOND STAT: 1 -- Number of Diamondbacks position players
slated to make more than $5 million in 2010. Eric Byrnes is guaranteed
$11 million in the final year of a three-year, $30 million contract.
QUOTABLE: "We have a chance to have a high-end rotation." -- D-backs general manager Josh Byrnes, after picking up RHP Brandon Webb's 2010 option and acquiring RHP Edwin Jackson and RHP Ian Kennedy in offseason trades.
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