D-Backs notebook: End of DH play puts team in dilemma

BOSTON - The last day of the designated hitter on Wednesday presented the Diamondbacks with the same old dilemma.

Now with a full complement of position players, the D-Backs are back to mixing and matching with corner infielders Conor Jackson, Mark Reynolds and Chad Tracy.

Boston's Wakefield adds to D-Backs' frustrations

Before interleague play, the D-Backs had Tracy and Eric Byrnes available for only one day - May 26 - when Tracy rejoined the team in Atlanta.

When Byrnes was placed on the disabled list the next day, it enabled the D-Backs to give Jackson some time in left field. Now ... "It's a day-to-day proposition, knowing if Chad is not in the lineup, that he's our bat off the bench and we can pick a spot for him to potentially drive in runs," manager Bob Melvin said.

"Conor is a guy we need to keep out there quite a bit. Obviously we also like Mark. Those two guys have been producers for us. It's difficult to tell you 'here is the recipe.' "

Reynolds leads the D-Backs with 47 RBIs, while Jackson and Chris Young are second with 40.

Reynolds has the most home runs (16) and best home run ratio on the team. Tracy has four homers in 70 at-bats, the second-best ratio.

BULLPEN SHUFFLE

Trailing 2-0, Juan Cruz started the seventh inning for the D-Backs, and he likely would have been used ahead of Chad Qualls had the D-Backs been ahead by a small number, Melvin said.

The decision was not based on Qualls' ineffectiveness in his last two outings, when he has given up hits to eight of the 11 batters he has faced, but because he threw 41 pitches in those two outings.

"Everybody is going to go through struggles during the course of a season, and we remain confident," Melvin said.

"Early in the year, he was as good as anybody we had. I'll monitor it (bullpen shuffling) going forward. I'm not saying right now that we are going to do anything like that."

Qualls did not give up an earned run in his first 16 2/3 innings this season, until May 4.

SHORT HOPS

General manager Josh Byrnes renewed acquaintances with his friends in the Boston front office during the trip. Byrnes was a Red Sox assistant general manager when they won the 2004 World Series, and his first daughter, Avery, was born here. "Three great years of my life," he said. "A lot was wrapped into those three years."

While Arizona State's Ike Davis is among the first-round draft choices to have signed, the D-Backs would only say negotiations are continuing with left-handers Daniel Schlereth, their first-round pick out of Arizona, and sandwich-pick Wade Miley of Southeastern Louisiana. The D-Backs like to lighten the summer workload on college pitchers that they sign, but the constraints do not apply since Schlereth is a reliever. Miley is a starter. The D-Backs signed right-hander Brett Moorhouse (ninth round, Indian River Community College) on Wednesday.

Right-hander Cesar Valdez, who was leading the minor leagues with 10 victories, was promoted to Double-A Mobile from Class A Visalia on Wednesday. Valdez was 10-3 with a 2.53 ERA in 96 innings at Visalia and had not given up more than two runs in an outing since May 8.