D-backs hope Rodriguez can aid return to fall glory

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The last time the D-backs played the Rangers, there was a lot of heartbreak in the Arizona clubhouse when the game was over. So when the two teams met up Tuesday for the first time since Game 5 of the World Series, it brought back some not-so-pleasant memories for Torey Lovullo.

The D-backs’ manager was watching some of his players take batting practice on a backfield at Salt River Fields when Minor League shortstop Blaze Alexander walked over to him.

“It’s a World Series rematch, man, you ready to go?” Alexander asked Lovullo.

“You know, when he said that, I hadn't really thought much about it,” Lovullo said. “But yeah, the last time that we were on the same field, they beat us to [win the World Series] and I remember doing interviews postgame and it hurt. It hurt me a lot.”

Lovullo recalled standing in the tunnel behind the D-backs’ dugout doing a postgame interview with FOX Sports’ Tom Verducci and hearing the public address announcer say “your World Series Champion Texas Rangers,” which forced Lovullo to stop the interview to compose himself.

While the hurt might still linger, the D-backs are now focused on getting ready for the 2024 season, and part of that process was facing the Rangers on Tuesday with lefty Eduardo Rodriguez making his debut.

The D-backs signed Rodriguez to a four-year, $80 million contract during the offseason in part because they realized they needed more pitching depth after having to throw a bullpen game in Game 4 of the Fall Classic.

Of course, unlike the postseason and the regular season, Spring Training results don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. So the fact that Rodriguez allowed four runs in one-inning-plus and the D-backs lost, 10-3, was not nearly as important as the fact that Rodriguez came out of his outing healthy and feeling good about his stuff.

“I was throwing my pitches almost where I wanted,” Rodriguez said. “My command was a little off, but overall I was feeling good. My velocity was right where we wanted it, like 90-92 mph up to 93 sometimes, so overall everything was good. Just location, a little bit, but that’s what we’ve got Spring Training for.”

Spring results are important for younger players trying to make the team, but Rodriguez doesn’t have anything to prove. He has a big league track record and knows what he has to do to be ready for the season.

“I thought the ball was coming out of his hand pretty good,” Lovullo said. “First outing, I'm fine with what he did. We just want to get that pitch count up and let it keep climbing.”

Due to injuries and some struggles by some of the younger pitchers in the rotation, the D-backs found themselves in October trusting just Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt to start games.

Lovullo and GM Mike Hazen were familiar with Rodriguez, as the trio was in Boston at the same time Rodriguez was coming up with the Red Sox. That was one of the reasons that Rodriguez chose to sign with the D-backs over a host of other suitors.

So far, his transition to Arizona after six seasons in Boston and two in Detroit has been seamless.

“I will say it’s been better than I expected in every way -- teammates, ballpark, fans, staff, everything has been better than I expected,” Rodriguez said.