Notes on Mark Trumbo and David Hess (Davis scratched)

SARASOTA, Fla. - A week remains before Mark Trumbo's target date to make his spring training debut. Whether he's ready for it remains an uncertainty, another reminder given this morning that it's tentative.

"We're trying to work toward that," he said. "I'm not sure if we're going to make it or not, but working hard.

"It's a progression. Some days are better than others. Trying to remain optimistic. Wish I could give you a little firmer idea, but mixing in the at-bats and stuff."

The latest rounds came yesterday on one of the back fields during Jimmy Yacabonis' simulated game. But swinging a bat isn't the most strenuous test for a player coming off a complicated knee surgery in September to repair cartilage.

"We're still working toward some of the more aggressive running stuff," Trumbo said.

The spring clock is ticking toward opening day and Trumbo knows that he has to be cleared soon in order to be included on the roster as the designated hitter. He's hitting and shagging fly balls, but other metaphorical hurdles need to be cleared.

"I'm doing what I can," he said. "Unfortunately, this isn't something you can't just overpower with sheer will. I think that's the mistake that I read with people with similar injuries. It's going to take how long it takes, unfortunately.

"I'm still very optimistic, but if we start backing up too far in the month, the at-bats get a bit limited. So the sooner the better, but we'll do what we can."

David Hess is in the same grind mode while trying to earn a job at the back end of the rotation, his three perfect innings yesterday leaving the exact impression that he's been seeking.

Nine Twins came to the plate in Fort Myers and all of them were retired. Hess struck out three batters while plowing through the lineup and he followed the staff-wide instructions given by manager Brandon Hyde.

"It was a lot of fun out there," he said. "I think Chance (Sisco) did a great job back there, just kind of being on the same page. But really just going at guys. I know that's something Hyder has talked a lot about, just being in attack mode against guys, so that's something that I've really been trying to focus on, is just being aggressive. Not necessarily challenging with fastballs all the time, but pitching smart and then just going right at them.

"So I think just having that mentality out on the mound like you're in control, that really was a big factor in being able to make quality pitches. The results were good yesterday and I think that's something going forward that's going to be the key."

Hess is leaning more on his slider as a second pitch, trusting it to get key outs. He's used it to escape jams, though none developed yesterday.

As a rookie last summer, Hess threw the four-seam fastball 58.6 percent of the time, the slider 24.9 percent, the changeup nine percent and the curveball 7.4 percent as tabulated by brooksbaseball.net.

"I do think it's probably, in my opinion, my best secondary pitch," he said. "It's what I feel most comfortable with and I think that's a pitch that is effective when it's thrown well. And we've been working on that, so that's something I like to rely on a lot.

"I think it is my best secondary pitch, so I'm going to utilize that. But also really trying to get comfortable in utilizing other off-speed pitches as well to keep hitters as off-balance as possible."

Hess posted almost identical lines in his first two spring outings with one run and three hits allowed over two innings. Yesterday gave him a harder push toward the coveted rotation spot, where the competition includes Yacabonis, Yefry Ramirez, Mike Wright and Josh Rogers.

"For me, it's just focusing on not necessarily what's around me, but what's directly in front of me," Hess said. "I think there's obviously a ton of talented guys around here. We've got a lot of guys competing for a couple spots, so we're all kind of pushing each other in a way. I think really understanding what's going on and having fun with the process, because you get to be friends with these guys in the clubhouse and understand that, yeah, you're competing against them from a professionals standpoint, but more than anything you're going out there and wanting the best for the team.

"So I think just really focusing on making good pitches, getting guys out and, hopefully, being as effective as possible with that. Then at the end of the day, you just kind of walk away with whatever happens, saying you put your best foot forward."

Update: Chris Davis has been scratched from today's lineup and Jace Peterson is replacing him at first base. Hyde will offer an explanation when he meets later with the media.