is starting at third base for the Diamondbacks tonight against Angels righty , pushing to the bench. Its only Alexanders third start at the hot corner, but thatll be a more frequent occurrence. Manager Torey Lovullo told the Arizona beat that Alexander was going to pick up increased playing time at third base ( ). Lovullo stopped short of calling it a benching for Surez but he acknowledged tonight is day number one of a little bit of a change in how playing time is split. Im very curious about Blaze, Lovullo said. Offensively, hes been playing at a very high level. The defense has been improving rapidly. I just felt like it was time to give him a few more opportunities, a few more reps. Alexander has been in the lineup for 38 of Arizonas 67 games. He picked up 16 starts at shortstop, eight games at second base and got 12 nods as the designated hitter along with his pair of third base starts. The D-Backs reinstated from the injured list last night. He resumes his role as the everyday shortstop, while is locked in at second base. serves as the designated hitter against right-handed pitching. That leaves third Alec Kritta Jersey base as the only spot for Alexander to get reps, unle s the D-Backs wanted to use him on the short side of a platoon with Pederson at DH. Alexander, 25, has managed decent numbers in his debut campaign. He carries a .279/.345/.403 line over 142 plate appearances. Alexanders batted ball metrics arent aligned with his bottom line output. Hes putting the ball on the ground half the time he puts it in play, and a .371 average on balls in play has masked a 26.1% strikeout rate. Alexander has had a stark platoon divide. Hes hitting .217/.280/.290 over 75 plate appearances against right-handed pitching; he has mashed southpaws to the tune of a .350/.418/.533 slash in 67 trips. While Alexander has played fairly well, the D-Backs wouldnt have gotten him more third base reps if not for Surezs disappointing year. Hes hitting .197/.263/.312 acro s 262 plate appearances. Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote over the weekend that the D-Backs were open to on Surez, though itd be difficult to offload much of his $12MM salary. Nightengale suggested that Arizona would curtail Surezs playing time if he sticks on the roster, and it indeed seems thatll come to pa s. The D-Backs sent backup catcher and hard-throwing reliever , who has spent the season in Triple-A, to Seattle for Surez last November. The biggest appeal for the Ms was offloading the final year of Surezs contract. Arizona also owes him a $2MM buyout on a $15MM club option thatll very likely be declined next offseason. T.J. Hockenson Jersey