SS? 3B? 1B? Urshela ready to play anywhere

MESA, Ariz. -- Participating in his 11th Spring Training, Gio Urshela understands that this first batch of at-bats is centered on remembering what pitches look like and what your swing feels like. Just 12 plate appearances into Cactus League action, Urshela, who was acquired in a trade with the Twins back in November, is still focused on finding his rhythm.

“With Spring Training, it’s for making adjustments,” said Urshela. “We’re just trying to figure out how to get back to timing, get back to where your swing is better and try to do the little things.”

But after going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles in Friday's 2-2 tie against the Dodgers -- spraying the ball to both sides of the field and playing solid defense at shortstop -- the 31-year-old is already beginning to confirm the coaching staff’s positive assumptions.

“First off, he knew he was going to come in and have an opportunity to play a lot of short,” said manager Phil Nevin before Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Cubs at Sloan Park. “He’s slimmed his body down and he’s moving around great out there. You watch him in the fundamental drills we do, where we kind of throw a lot at him. He’s on point wherever we put him.”

Urshela arrives hot off a bounceback year on the offensive side in Minnesota, where he found his footing again after his departure from the Yankees. He slashed .285/.338/.429 with 27 doubles and raised his OPS+ from 96 to 121, while also displaying considerable consistency against both left-handed and right-handed pitchers. Urshela gained steam as the season trudged along, too. In the months of September and October, he hit .333 with an OPS+ of 139, finding his stride with the more pitches that he saw.

Defensively, ‘22 was a down year for Urshela, whose -5 outs above average in 136 games at the hot corner put him in the lower tiers of third basemen (similar to Jeimer Candelario and Austin Riley). But with the aforementioned adjustments and offseason work, Nevin believes that Urshela is shaping up to improve his movement with the glove.

“Wherever we put him -- third, short, first -- he’s just really smart with his baseball IQ,” said Nevin. “He’s going to be able to play a lot. He’s going to play all over the field for us and be a big part of it.”

Urshela has accepted his role as a potential utility infielder. He’s beginning to feel more comfortable at shortstop during the spring, taking his work from the back fields into games. He could also slot back in at third base to give Anthony Rendon a break, be one of the numerous options up the middle (a group that features David Fletcher, Brandon Drury and Luis Rengifo) or even fill in at first. Whatever the Angels call for, he’s prepared to do.

“I do really like to play shortstop. I enjoy playing there,” said Urshela. “Whenever they need me to play third, short, second or first, I’m able to play any position for them.”

Arms maintain early spring momentum
Reid Detmers’ second Cactus League outing got off to a dazzling start when he sent the top of the Cubs’ lineup down in order, including striking out both Ian Happ and Cody Bellinger. The lefty ended up pitching into the third inning, striking out three with two walks and no hits allowed over 2 1/3 innings -- a decent showing that continued the momentum of his buildup.

“[Detmers] had a good body of work,” said Nevin. “I really liked the fact that he’s landing a lot of those big curveballs and had a strikeout with one late. Slider, he’s landing it, though he left some arm side. But the velocity was good on all pitches.”

Despite the loss on Saturday, Nevin felt as though the positives were plentiful, as four pitchers delivered scoreless appearances -- veteran newcomers right-hander Chris Devenski, left-hander Matt Moore, Angels No. 24 prospect righty Mason Erla and No. 29 prospect righty Victor Mederos.

“There’s certainly some learning moments when you get in front of a crowd like this. It’s a good experience for all of them,” said Nevin. “But I like what I’ve seen. I guess the results to me are not that big of a deal at this point. Mederos at the end was really good. Erla was good. Devenski’s changeup -- we’re starting to see that devastating changeup from when he was an All-Star."