The ball skids across the grass and shortstop Nick Ahmed, long legs and all, glides toward it. It is a spring morning. There are no base runners. Ahmed gobbles it up and flings it across the diamond. He looks like his old self. He feels like it, too.
“I feel like I’ve got that spring back in my step that I kind of lost,” Ahmed said.
Six months removed from major hip surgery, Ahmed’s recovery could be a significant storyline for the Diamondbacks this season.
When healthy, he has been a difference-making defender and a limited offensive contributor.