Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Sunday that the competition for the closing role between Hirano, Archie Bradley and Brad Boxberger (arm) and remains "wide open," Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

After a successful run as the closer for the Orix Buffaloes of the Japanese Pacific League, Hirano joined the Diamondbacks on a two-year, $6 million pact in December with the expectation that he would fill a back-end role in the bullpen in 2018. Though he struggled in his first two outings of Cactus League play, allowing three runs in two innings, Hirano found a groove Sunday against the Cubs, retiring the side while displaying a sharp split-finger fastball. Lovullo raved about Hirano's outing afterward, but the 33-year-old will likely need to replicate that performance a few more times during exhibition play to bolster his case for claiming the closing gig over Bradley and Boxberger, both of whom are established, high-quality bullpen arms at the MLB level.