When the regular season begins, Ian Desmond will be the oldest center

SCOTTSDALE lex Reyes Jersey , Ariz. (AP) —fielders in the majors at 33. He’s OK with that and so are his teammates on the Colorado Rockies.“He’s blessed,” Rockies left fielder David Dahl said Tuesday. “He’s a freak athlete. It’s a ‘getting better with age’ kind of thing. He’s a great athlete and takes care of his body and can run and in ’16, he was an All-Star there. We’re excited to have him out there.”For the first time this spring, the Rockies’ outfield was aligned the way it’s projected for the regular season with Desmond in center, Charlie Blackmon in right field and David Dahl in left on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers.Desmond was an All-Star outfielder while with the Texas Rangers in 2016. He also was an All-Star shortstop in 2012 with the Washington Nationals. After playing primarily left field in 2017 and first base last year, Desmond will be in his third position in the last three years.“I’m excited for the challenge,” Desmond said. “I embrace the challenge of it. I’m glad they have confidence in me to do it.”“He’s motivated to play center,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He sees himself as a middle of the diamond defender — this guy grew up a shortstop and he sees the game from the center of the diamond.”Desmond worked on his perspective on Sunday. After playing two days in a row this spring, he spent batting practice in center just watching balls off the bats to track them. It gave him a chance to not only rest his legs a little while working on his reads.Desmond’s arm hasn’t been tested this spring but Black is confident the veteran will do fine.“He has a powerful arm,” Black said. “When he was at shortstop, he was voted to have the best arm in the National League. He’s got a cannon.”Desmond had to deal with injuries in 2017 and was limited to 95 games. He played in 160 games last season and Black says they’ll keep an eye on him as well as Blackmon, 32, who is moving from center to right.“We think with Charlie, Ian Evan Longoria Jersey , David, (Raimel) Tapia, (Noel) Cuevas, we feel we have a very solid defensive outfield,” Black said. “We’ll see. I’m extremely confident in Ian’s ability to play a very solid center field.”Dahl, 24, doesn’t doubt Desmond’s ability to handle the move.“I think Ian will be able to cover the ground in center and I’ll cover the ground in left and Charlie will do a good job in right so it’ll work out,” Dahl said.Desmond knows he’ll have to be conscientious regarding the altitude in Denver and staying healthy.“I’m not getting any younger,” he said. “I just have to make sure I’m in tip-top shape.”“You’re as young as you feel,” Black said. “With Ian, he’s running as well as he’s run the last number of years so physically he’s fine. He’s moving well and the range factor I think will be just fine.”NOTES: The Rockies play the Arizona Diamondbacks in Monterrey, Mexico, on Saturday and Sunday. “The international part of MLB is growing,” Black said, noting there have been games in Japan Dustin McGowan Jersey , Australia and London. “I don’t know what the future holds but I’m thinking we’ll see more of this and someday maybe a team in Mexico.” The Rockies have yet to announce the travel squad but did say Blackmon, Cuevas and Tyler Anderson were among the players who will make the trip. PHOENIX (AP) — For the first time in years, the Arizona Diamondbacks begin spring training without Paul Goldschmidt as the quiet, powerful anchor of the team.A.J. Pollock and Patrick Corbin won’t be there, either.Times are changing for the Diamondbacks, who have significant holes to fill, to say the least.“I feel like it’s going to be a unique experience for all of us, myself included,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “He (Goldschmidt) has been there every day I’ve been manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, but it’s probably going to take a minute or two to absorb that he’s not going to be walking through that door.”Still, the Diamondbacks aren’t calling it a rebuilding year.“We have some new parts and we know that,” Lovullo said. “And as much as it hurt to let some of these guys go elsewhere, it’s the nature of the game. What it’ll mean is that we need to be a little bit better and a little bit sharper, and we love that challenge. Players are going to have to step up, and the front office and myself are going to have to get a little sharper in every area.”Here are some things to consider when the Diamondbacks begin spring workouts at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale:NEW LOOK:The plan is for Jake Lamb to move from third base to first. Lamb http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , coming off surgery on his left shoulder, is a powerful slugger against right-handed pitching but has struggled against lefties. Arizona also wants to shift Ketel Marte from second base to center field to replace A.J. Pollock, who went to the Dodgers. The second baseman, presumably, would be free agent signee Wilmer Flores, who also can spell Lamb at first.It’s a significant transition for Marte, who played shortstop until his shift to second, where he was more than adequate defensively.There also are a couple of openings in the rotation with the departure of Corbin, Arizona’s best pitcher for much of last season, and Clay Buchholz.The bullpen was a big disappointment last season. Arizona is counting on Greg Holland, another free agent acquisition, to help in the late innings. The closer role is open, but Archie Bradley is the early leader there.ROOKIES TO WATCH: There are no rookies who figure to battle for significant roles for Arizona, but catcher Carson Kelly doesn’t have much playing time over three years with the St. Louis Cardinals.Kelly, who came in the trade that sent Goldschmidt to St. Louis Adeiny Hechavarria Jersey , could be the everyday catcher for Arizona, with Alex Avila and John Ryan Murphy filling in behind him.Arizona has vastly improved its farm system the past couple of years, with young players such as shortstop Jazz Chisolm and pitchers Jon Duplantier and Taylor Widener rated among the top 100 minor league players in the country.THEY’RE SET: The left side of the ball club is an obvious strength, with Gold Glove shortstop Nick Ahmed and solid third baseman Eduardo Escobar, who signed a three-year, $21 million contract to stay with the Diamondbacks, who acquired him in a July trade with Minnesota.Ahmed improved his offense last year, batting .234 with 33 doubles and 70 RBIs, while Escobar hit .272 with a career-best 23 homers and 84 RBIs in his combined time with the Diamondbacks and Twins.And in left field is David Peralta, who in his best major league season batted .293 with 30 homers and 87 RBIs. His batting average and RBIs led the team.THEY’RE NOT: There are many question marks on the team and pitching probably is the biggest.Zack Greinke returns at age 35 after going 15-11 with a 3.21 ERA. Lefty Robbie Ray finished strong after a bumpy season and is being counted on to help replace Corbin. Zack Godley (15-11, 4.74 ERA) holds the third spot but the other two positions are open with no outstanding prospects.The bullpen seems solid at the back end, with Bradley, Abbott and Yoshihisa Hirano. Lefties Andrew Chafin and T.J. McFarland return but the overall quality of that group remains to be seen.Somewhere there has to be someone to help replace the big offensive numbers that Goldschmidt routinely produced.ON DECK: The Diamondbacks’ first spring training game is Feb. 23 against Colorado, the team that shares Salt River Fields with Arizona. Arizona opens its regular season March 28 at the Dodgers.