'They're not forgotten': How Spring Training cuts look for the D-backs

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The D-backs made their first roster cuts of the spring Sunday, reassigning nine players to Minor League camp.

There were no surprises among the group, and there usually aren't at this point in spring, but it's still a day that everyone from GM Mike Hazen to manager Torey Lovullo and the coaches dread.

The moves are discussed on the days leading up to the day, usually Sundays. Because of that, Lovullo expects his coaches to come into that day ready to present to the players who are being sent down on what areas they need to improve.

"I expect every coach to be prepared and give excellent attention to the player," Lovullo said. "Make it his moment. Be very attentive to the player's needs. It is all about who's getting sent down."

Lovullo was on the other end of these conversations during his playing career, so he's hyper-focused on ensuring the players feel respected. Both he and Hazen want a very organized process.

Bench coach Jeff Banister finds the players and brings them to Lovullo's office. It's important to the staff that they get to a player before he gets into uniform. They don't want him to dress in his baseball uniform, thinking he has a regular day ahead of him, only to have that rug pulled out from under him.

While Banister doesn't deliver the news, players know what it means.

When the player enters the office, he will find Lovullo, Hazen, his position coach and farm director Shaun Larkin waiting.

"Walking into my office before they sit down, they know what's going to be happening there," Lovullo said. "It's probably something they've been dreading. So, I try to connect with them a little bit from a place of empathy. We've all sat in that chair, and we all know what that feels like. So that's my starting point and then I start to deliver very important messages about how important their development is to this organization."

Part of that message is what the team would like to see the player work on while in the Minors, and that is why Larkin is in there. As head of player development, he's tasked with setting up a plan to make sure that gets done.

Hazen also asks Larkin to follow up with the player a day or so later because even though what they want the player to work on is laid out in the meeting, the GM knows that sometimes, after a player hears the news that he's being sent down, everything else becomes a blur.

Before the player leaves the office, Lovullo will ask them how they think their time in camp went. If their answer matches what he's seen, that's good. If it doesn't, he will explain what he saw and make sure they're on the same page.

Players are obviously disappointed, which is to be expected, but they also know that it comes with the territory and usually don't react with anger or raised voices.

Left-hander Kyle Nelson was one of the team's final cuts each of the past two seasons and both times it only lasted a few days because of an injury. How professionally he's taken the news, even when he has had good springs, has not gone unnoticed by the staff.

"What I've learned from my experience is that the best thing to do is not take it personally," Nelson said. "Because 99 percent of the time, it really isn't."

Said Lovullo, "I always make sure that I tell them that they're not forgotten because when you walk out of my office, you think that you're going to be a player that will never be seen or heard from again. That's not the case. I have conversations on some level with player development several times a week about everybody's progress, and I let [players] know that it's up to them, their development is up to them, and we'll be here for them."