Owings back with D-Backs seeking success on mound, at plate
Teams called Micah Owings this off-season to see if he wanted to compete for a job as a starting pitcher. Other clubs viewed him as a relief candidate and a potential bat off the bench.
There was even one team, he said, that asked if he would consider converting full-time to being a position player.
But Owings wasn't ready to walk away from pitching.
"I continue to be asked that and I consider it a compliment," said Owings, who returned to the organization that drafted him by agreeing this week to a minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks.
"I don't feel like I'm ready for that. I feel like I've got a lot left in the tank pitching-wise and that's what got me to where I'm at, what got me to the big leagues."
But his bat might help him remain in the big leagues.
The Diamondbacks believe Owings has the potential to be a valuable and versatile player, particularly on a National League roster. Along with having him compete for a long-relief job out of their bullpen, they plan to get him at-bats in spring training by playing him at first base.
Owings has shown he can more than hold his own at the plate. A player who approached the national home-run record while in high school and was a valuable slugger in college at Georgia Tech and Tulane, he won a Silver Slugger award in 2007 by posting perhaps the best offensive season by a pitcher in baseball's modern era.
Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson can rattle off the stats off the top of his head: A .333 average with 20 hits in 60 at-bats, seven doubles, four homers.
"He's got a great bat," Gibson said. "(He has power) and he's a pretty good hitter, too.
"If he can help us, he's going to be a part of our plans."
Owings was solid on the mound that year, too, particularly for a No. 5 starter, posting a 4.30 ERA in 152 2/3 innings in 2007.
The following year, there was talk of Owings playing first base in spring training, an idea that eventually was scotched so he could focus on pitching. But he now seems more open to the idea.
"Now, working out of the bullpen, they can get a little more creative with it," Owings said, who could become the majors' first two-way player since Milwaukee's Brooks Kieschnick in 2003-04. "I'm not saying I don't want to start again at some point, but at this point in my career, I'm 28, and I definitely want to pursue doing both a little bit more. The club is willing to do that and see where it goes."
After he was shipped to Cincinnati as part of the Adam Dunn trade in 2008, Owings couldn't replicate the success he had as a rookie with the Diamondbacks and was granted free agency after last season. He's hoping he can get back to those levels while helping the Diamondbacks return to contention.
"It's a lot more fun when you're competing and in contention for the playoffs," he said. "That's where my focus always is."
To make room on the roster for right-hander Armando Galarraga, the Diamondbacks designated right-hander Rafael Rodriguez for assignment.
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