Diamondbacks' Aaron Hill will start season on bench

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale confirmed that second baseman Aaron Hill will begin the season on the bench.

Nick Ahmed will start the season at shortstop, while Chris Owings will feature at second base. 

"For me, performance," Hale said to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert about why Hill will start the upcoming campaign as a reserve. "I think we're ready to move on and move to a younger group."

The Diamondbacks' manager was particularly roused by Ahmed's hitting ability. 

"I had never seen Nick play in person," Hale said. "The defense was as impressive as I was told, and the offense was a lot better than I was told it was going to be. Now, we put the third deck on and we start a season, we'll see."

Hill told Gilbert that he wouldn't be opposed to being traded, but handled the demotion pretty well. 

"I'm a professional," Hill said. "I'm a baseball player. I'll fully embrace that [backup] role when I feel that I'm there. But the way I feel right now, I feel like I have something left in there. Obviously, it's not the ideal situation, but that's what it is. It doesn't affect me or my relationship with these guys. They're unbelievable, the young guys that are playing. I hope everything goes great for them."

Arizona will host the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants to begin the season.