Lovullo ready to get 'creative' with lineup

PHOENIX -- When it comes to potential lineup combinations this year, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo is going to have a lot to choose from, and change may be one of the few constants.

"We want to be as creative as possible," Lovullo said. "We want to maximize run-scoring opportunities."

Regardless of how the final spots on the roster are determined, Lovullo is going to have players that have positional versatility, as well as plenty of left-handed/right-handed options to choose from.

• Projecting the D-backs' Opening Day roster

Ketel Marte's ability to play center, short and second is a key part of it, but he's one of many players with defensive flexibility. Possibilities include:

• Eduardo Escobar will play third and maybe some second.

• Tim Locastro will likely see time at all three outfield positions.

• Daulton Varsho, if he makes the team, can catch as well as play all three outfield positions.

• Asdrúbal Cabrera can play third, second and first.

• Josh Rojas has played in the outfield as well as second, third and short.

"It’s not something that’s going to be a hasty decision on my part," Lovullo said. "I just want to make sure that I am spending as much time as I possibly can, getting as familiar as I possibly can, with different lineup thoughts."

There will be "mainstays" as Lovullo calls them, who will be in the lineup most days like David Peralta, Marte, Escobar, Nick Ahmed and Christian Walker, but even then Marte and Escobar will likely be moved around.

Matchups will determine what the lineup is on a given day, but it's not just a right vs. left situation. Using advanced metrics and swing plane information, some hitters will match up better against a pitcher even if it's left vs. left or right vs. right.

For Lovullo, the more possibilities the better.

"The flexibility is how my mind works," Lovullo said. "Being able to get creative and have conversations with different coaches and put the guys in the right situations, it's like a game of chess to me, and I enjoy that."

Lovullo has spent the spring moving players around, trying to see how guys look at different spots and judging their comfort level.

"I don't want to overcomplicate things," Lovullo said. "I don't want to make guys do things they aren't prepared to do, and that's what we're working through in Spring Training right now. So, once we get that base camp taken care of where these guys know what they're capable of doing, from a defensive standpoint, then it's just kind of plug-and-play in different spots at different times."

When it comes to where guys hit in the order, that, too, will be a little different.

No longer will the leadoff hitter primarily be a speed guy, and the No. 2 hitter doesn't have to be a hitter that bunts a lot or goes the opposite way.

"I want to make sure that people understand that when I’m constructing a lineup that I want the best hitters to hit the most and give us the chance to score as many runs as possible," Lovullo said.

While there figures to be a lot of moving parts, those involved will be well aware of how they fit into the mix. Communicating with his players is one of Lovullo's biggest strengths as a manager, and that will come in handy this year.

"That’s something that I’ve been working on and making sure that players do have buy-in," Lovullo said. "It’s up to me to deliver those messages the right way and make sure that I’m having conversations about what’s important and why things are done a certain way. That, to me, is the art of being a baseball manager. We have a really special group of players that respond very favorably to whatever they are asked to do. I’m very thankful for that."