Chafin has had an efficient spring thus far, which makes it hard for manager Torey Lovullo to evaluate the left-hander, Richard Morin of the Arizona Republic reports.
Chafin, perhaps more than other Diamondback reliever, will be impacted by the rule change requiring relievers to face a minimum of three batters upon entering a game unless the inning comes to an end first. He's been successful attacking hitters, putting the ball in the zone with good results. A byproduct of that is a low pitch count. Lovullo would like to see more pitch variety from Chafin. "I would have liked to seen him throw a slider or two," Lovullo said after one outing. "But he knows what he needs to get to [get ready for Opening Day]. We'll figure that out." Chafin is an old-breed lefty specialist. He's made 225 appearances over the last three seasons, totaling 153.1 innings.