The Diamondbacks went into the offseason marketing a surplus of left-handed hitting outfielders. After a few months of rumors, they pulled off their anticipated massive swap, landing one of the sport’s best catching prospects in the process. That was the biggest move, though the Snakes also supplemented their position player mix and made a trio of additions to the relief corps as they push for legitimate playoff contention.
Major League Signings
- LHP Andrew Chafin: One year, $6.25MM (including buyout of 2024 club option)
- RHP Scott McGough: Two years, $6.25MM (including buyout of 2025 mutual option)
- 3B Evan Longoria: One year, $4MM
- RHP Zach Davies: One year, $4MM (including buyout of 2024 mutual option)
- RHP Miguel Castro: One year, $3.25MM (deal includes vesting/player option for 2024)
Option Decisions
- Team declined $4MM option on RHP Ian Kennedy in favor of $250K buyout
Trades and Claims
- Claimed RHP Tyler Zuber off waivers from Royals (later outrighted to Triple-A)
- Claimed RHP Cole Sulser off waivers from Marlins
- Acquired RHP Carlos Vargas from Guardians for minor league RHP Ross Carver
- Acquired DH Kyle Lewis from Mariners for LF Cooper Hummel
- Claimed C Ali Sánchez off waivers from Pirates (later outrighted to Triple-A)
- Acquired SS Diego Castillo from Pirates for minor league RHP Scott Randall
- Acquired C Gabriel Moreno and LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. from Blue Jays for RF Daulton Varsho
Notable Minor League Signings
- Austin Adams, Jesse Biddle, Austin Brice, Sam Clay, Phillip Evans, Ryan Hendrix, Jeurys Familia, Jandel Gustave, Jake Hager, P.J. Higgins, Zach McAllister, Yairo Muñoz, Eric Yardley
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Varsho, Caleb Smith, Jordan Luplow, Kennedy, Hummel, Sergio Alcántara, Sean Poppen, Taylor Widener, Stone Garrett, Keynan Middleton, Edwin Uceta, Reyes Moronta, Tyler Holton, Yonny Hernández, J.B. Bukauskas
The past few seasons haven’t gone well for the Diamondbacks. Arizona limped to last-place finishes in 2020-21, followed by a fourth-place showing last year. They partially compensated with a run of what appear to be strong draft classes. They never intended to enter a rebuild but the past few seasons have essentially functioned as such.
Over the final few months of last season, the young talent the organization had built in the pipeline began to translate to improved MLB results. Arizona was a roughly league average team in the second half, still shy of contention but quite a bit better than their previous few seasons. General manager Mike Hazen and his front office headed into the offseason with more clarity about the team’s strengths and weaknesses.
No spot on the roster was a more obvious plus than the outfield. Arizona had seen Daulton Varsho emerge as a productive regular. Top prospect Corbin Carroll debuted in late August and hit the ground running against MLB pitching. Jake McCarthy posted an impressive .283/.342/.427 showing in 99 games during his first extended big league action. Alek Thomas didn’t have the same level of success, though he’s highly regarded by prospect evaluators for his contact skills and center field defense.
Hazen indicated the team would field offers on that outfield glut, with four interesting and controllable left-handed bats who could appeal to other teams. Adding right-handed balance to the lineup and potentially upgrading over Carson Kelly at catcher were highlighted as priorities, while the front office implied they’d scour numerous avenues to upgrade a bullpen that was again among the league’s worst.
By and large, Arizona eventually checked off every item on that to-do list. The most straightforward path to achieving their position player ends would be to bring in a right-handed catcher with plus offensive upside. Arizona was unsurprisingly connected to Sean Murphy before the A’s sent him to Atlanta. While they missed out on Murphy, the Snakes eventually pulled off their catching addition in that long-awaited trade of an outfielder.
Varsho was the player who ended up the odd man out. A Gold Glove caliber defender who hit 27 home runs in 2022, he was one of the most appealing targets on this offseason’s trade market considering his four remaining seasons of arbitration control. The outfield-needy Blue Jays always looked like a strong on-paper fit considering their surplus of right-handed hitting catchers. Toronto had seemed likely to move one of Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk or top prospect Gabriel Moreno for some time, and things finally coalesced just before Christmas.
The D-Backs sent Varsho to Toronto for Moreno and corner outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Controllable for six seasons, Moreno is one of the game’s top young catching talents. He hit .315/.386/.420 with a meager 16.9% strikeout rate in 267 Triple-A plate appearances at age 22 last season. That earned him a brief MLB look, in which he posted a .319/.356/.377 line with only eight strikeouts in 73 trips to the dish.
There’s some question about how much power impact Moreno will make, but he’s an elite contact hitter with no concerns about his ability to stick behind the plate. Even if he only hits 10 home runs annually, his high batting averages and on-base numbers should make him one of the game’s best offensive catchers. He’ll push Kelly into a reserve role.
While Moreno was the key piece of the deal on Arizona’s end, they somewhat backfilled the outfield subtraction with Gurriel’s inclusion. While he’s certainly a downgrade from Varsho — particularly on defense — Gurriel is a low-variance everyday player. He’s coming off a .291/.343/.400 showing in 121 games. He only connected on five home runs during his final season in Toronto but has twice reached the 20-homer plateau in his career.
Gurriel offers above-average contact skills and typically shows decent power. He rarely walks and is limited to the corner outfield or DH after an early-career experiment in the infield didn’t pan out. While he’s a flawed player, Gurriel can hit and adds another right-handed presence to the lineup. He’s headed into the final season of his contract and will be a free agent at year’s end, meaning he’d be a straightforward trade candidate if the D-Backs aren’t contending midseason.
He’s not the only right-handed hitting outfielder the Snakes brought in via trade. Before the Varsho swap, Arizona rolled the dice on 2020 AL Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis. It was a one-for-one deal that sent catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel to Seattle. Lewis has had a disastrous past couple seasons, with persistent right knee issues keeping him to just 54 combined games since the start of 2021. A former first-round pick and top prospect, Lewis hit .262/.364/.437 for Seattle during the shortened season. His health has been a question mark since he tore his ACL in a home plate collision within months of being drafted. Still, Lewis remains just 27 years old and won’t be counted upon for everyday work in the Arizona outfield.
Gurriel and Lewis provide matchup options in right field and at DH. Left field belongs to Carroll, who is a consensus top three prospect. Arizona has already looked into the possibility of extending him beyond his allotted six seasons of control in what could be one of the club’s more interesting storylines this spring. Thomas and McCarthy can each play center field, with the latter assured of regular run somewhere after his quality debut campaign.
The D-Backs added another righty-swinging designated hitter option via free agency. 15-year MLB veteran Evan Longoria signed a $4MM deal to split time between third base and DH. He’s obviously no longer the star he was at his peak, but Longoria has continued to hit at an above-average level into his late-30s. Injuries have cost him almost half the last two seasons. He’s best suited for a part-time or platoon role at this stage of his career and that’s likely to be the capacity in which he operates.
Left-handed hitting Josh Rojas should get the lion’s share of at-bats at the hot corner. Rojas is a good hitter with some defensive flexibility but isn’t a great gloveman anywhere. He’s an adequate if below-average third baseman, and his contact and baserunning skills make him a solid player overall.
He’ll presumably be playing alongside Nick Ahmed on most days. A two-time Gold Glove winner, Ahmed is still one of the sport’s preeminent defensive infielders. He’s never contributed much offensively and lost virtually all of 2022 to shoulder surgery. Arizona at least monitored the market for shortstop upgrades — including a loose link to Xander Bogaerts that always felt like a long shot — but ultimately completed the offseason without an addition there. Ahmed will be back and should take the job from Geraldo Perdomo, who didn’t perform well over a long look with Ahmed out last season. Still just 23, Perdomo could be in line for more time at Triple-A.
The other side of the second base bag is clearly defined. Ketel Marte will be back at the keystone. Christian Walker had a massive second half performance to seize hold of first base. Arizona brought in Diego Castillo in a minor trade with Pittsburgh to add some insurance in the middle infield. He figures to start the season in a utility role or in the minors.
Arizona took a volume approach to address their other offseason priority: the bullpen. They eschewed the top of the free agent market and brought in half of what figures to be their Opening Day group via lower-cost means. They started by claiming Cole Sulser off waivers from the Marlins, taking a buy-low flier on a pitcher who’d found success with Baltimore in 2021 before a disappointing year in South Florida.
That was followed by a series of value plays in free agency. Veteran righty Miguel Castro inked a one-year, $3.75MM guarantee with a ’24 vesting/player option. He’s a generally stable middle relief option, a pitcher who typically works to an ERA around 4.00 with solid strikeout and grounder rates but wobbly control. A couple weeks later, Arizona took a more unexpected dice roll on 33-year-old Scott McGough. The right-hander has just six MLB appearances — all of which came with the 2015 Marlins — and has spent the last four years in Japan. He posted a 2.94 ERA in 232 2/3 innings over four seasons with NPB’s Yakult Swallows and evidently impressed Arizona evaluators along the way.
McGough proved to be the organization’s only multi-year free agent signee of the offseason. His two-year, $6.25MM pact is still a relatively low-risk move, though it’s tough to project whether he can take on high-leverage innings in Torey Lovullo’s bullpen until seeing him against big league competition for the first time in almost a decade.
There shouldn’t be any such questions regarding Arizona’s final bullpen addition. Old friend Andrew Chafin looked like one of the top left-handed relief arms on the free agent market. He opted out of the final $6.5MM on his contract with the Tigers and seemed likely to find a strong multi-year pact after a second straight excellent season. For whatever reason, that apparently never materialized. Chafin lingered alongside a handful of other quality southpaws deep into the offseason until Arizona swooped in with a $6.25MM guarantee. The D-Backs also secured a 2024 option on what looks like a strong deal for the club, one that reinstalls a familiar face into key late-inning work.
Chafin, Castro, Sulser and McGough are presumably all going to open the season in the MLB bullpen. They’ll join left-hander Joe Mantiply, who had a breakout 2022 showing. Righty Kevin Ginkel presumably has a middle innings job secured after a quietly strong finish to the ’22 season. Mark Melancon is headed into the second season of a two-year free agent deal that didn’t pan out as hoped in year one. He’s no longer assured of the closer’s role; Lovullo has already indicated he could take a committee approach to the ninth inning early in the season (link via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). Still, Melancon will presumably be on the roster in some capacity as the team looks for a bounceback from the four-time All-Star.
That only leaves a spot or two in the early going for depth types like Kyle Nelson, Corbin Martin, trade acquisition Carlos Vargas or non-roster Spring Training invitees like Jeurys Familia, Austin Brice, Austin Adams, Jandel Gustave, Ryan Hendrix and Sam Clay. There’ll obviously be some attrition in that group — injuries, workload management or underperformance will necessitate changes to the bullpen mix throughout the coming months — but the organization has stockpiled a little more relief depth than they’ve had in prior seasons.
The D-Backs didn’t need to do as much to build out the starting staff. Zac Gallen is a legitimate #1 starter. There’s no indication the sides have discussed an extension. It wouldn’t be surprising if the front office gauged his interest in signing beyond his remaining three years of arbitration control at some point. Merrill Kelly is a solid mid-rotation type behind him, even if his lack of swing-and-miss stuff could make it difficult to sustain a 3.37 ERA. There’s not a ton of certainty behind that duo, though the Snakes have a handful of options who could fill out the back of the staff. Zach Davies had a fine if unexciting season at the back of the rotation last year. He’s back after re-signing on a modest $4MM free agent deal and will hold one of the season-opening rotation spots.
Madison Bumgarner had similar production as Davies last season, albeit at a much higher price point. His five-year, $85MM free agent contract has been a major disappointment. Bumgarner has been a durable source of innings but hasn’t come close to reestablishing himself as the top-of-the-rotation starter he was throughout his time in San Francisco. In October, Hazen implied that Bumgarner’s veteran status would get him another shot in the rotation but indicated the club could eventually go in another direction as performance dictates.
Whether that happens might depend as much on Arizona’s younger pitchers than on Bumgarner himself. Righties Ryne Nelson and Drey Jameson look set to battle for the fifth spot this spring after each debuted late last season. Brandon Pfaadt has yet to reach the majors but is arguably more highly-regarded by evaluators than either Nelson or Jameson are. He pitched very well over ten Triple-A starts to close out last season and could be on the radar for a big league call early in the upcoming campaign. Tommy Henry and former high draft choices Blake Walston and Slade Cecconi headline the depth options behind that group.
There’s room for the club to still look into a veteran on a minor league deal to add some stability to the upper levels. Clearly, the main organizational hope is that higher-upside hurlers like Nelson and Pfaadt will perform well enough in the early going to cement themselves in the rotation. Should they do so, that could lead the organization to consider bumping Bumgarner or Davies from the group. Early on, however, Arizona figures to retain as much depth as they can given the inherent risk in counting on any pitching prospect to assume a large role on a team with playoff aspirations.
Whether the Diamondbacks have legitimate reason to hope for a postseason spot is debatable. The pitching staff, while improved, still looks a little light relative to those of most contenders. The club has question marks on the left side of the infield, particularly at shortstop. They’re in a gauntlet of a division, one where the ever-competitive Dodgers and ultra aggressive Padres will be projected 1-2 in some order by most observers. Arizona looks to have clearly pulled away from Colorado at the bottom of the division. It remains to be seen whether they can both leapfrog the Giants and hang in the Wild Card mix for a full season.
Even if a playoff berth looks like a long shot, there’s more reason for immediate optimism than has existed in some time. The core of the next competitive Arizona team is beginning to take shape, and the farm system should remain among the league’s best even after Moreno and Carroll graduate. Top prospects like Jordan Lawlar and Druw Jones are still a few seasons out, but it’s easy for the organization and its fans to dream about them eventually joining Moreno, Carroll, Marte and perhaps a young pitcher or two in comprising a group that can annually battle the behemoths at the top of the division.
In conjunction with the D-Backs’ Offseason In Review, Anthony Franco held a team-specific chat on March 2. Click here to view the transcript.
How would you grade the D-Backs offseason? (poll link for app users)
Although they’re not favorites they definitely have a shot at a wild card. Not that far of a stretch. Could be really good in 2024.
Still crazy that Longo couldn’t get more than Zach Davies. This team should be fun to watch though. Them and my Cubs in the NLCS..put $5 on that on DK..I am manifesting it now.
Solid 80 win team
Good write up! The only “complaint” I’d have is that R5 protections are a part of the offseason evaluation, and the DBacks protected:
-RHRP Justin Martinez (touches 102 mph at 21)
-SS Blaze Alexander (80-grade arm with a real SS fit and 55 raw power)
-OF Dominic Fletcher (played plus defense at every OF spot; brother of Dominic, and has better tools than him all around)
-OF Jorge Barrosa (played at every OF spot; 60 FV contact bat with a decent batting eye)
They’re unlikely to sniff contention unless they have multiple break outs (which you can’t count on from prospects in general, let alone early career), but they’ll definitely be fun to watch.
Dominic Fletcher has a brother named Dominic? Were they on Newhart?
Meant to type David, you got me there lol
Some, if not all, of those guys are still way off and are far from MLB ready.
The only one of those names I listed that hasn’t reached AAA is Barrosa, and he had 500+ PA of above average offense at AA at 21 years old. He’s likely starting the season in AAA as well.
I’m not saying that they’re going to be in the running for an Opening Day spot (barring multiple injuries in every case except Blaze), but they are going to be relatively high on the depth chart, even if only by virtue of being on the 40-man.
Highheat: I had the DBacks as having a “B” for their offseason. Out of curiosity, what did you rate them as a DBacks fan who’s intimately familiar with the team needs?
Also a B (although I lean toward B+ if we’re doing ranges); glad you view the offseason objectively as well.
The DBacks start getting advantages once injuries start happening across the league.
Yeah, and despite injuries I still think they have a really good shot at the WC. Taking injuries into account they have a good opportunity to close the gap on several teams.
I really like them as my {sneaky good} team this year. I’ll be pulling for them anyway because Nick Ahmed. I really hope he has a tremendous year and recovers well from his injury. I’ve also always thought highly of Carson Kelly. I think he’s more talented than what his final stat lines reflect.
Good luck. LA SD are beast right now. LA has farm to sustain. Time to trade or extend Kelly. Same for Gallen next year. I don’t see them being in wild card picture. They hit the lottery with Jones and Lawlar. Need to develop a couple stud arms. They have a few suspects. Future looks good.
If everything goes perfectly they can challenge SF for 3rd place.
Is it possible to taste if a coffee is decaf?
Bullpen: They didn’t really address the bullpen this offseason, with the exception of Chafin. 0/1
Third Base: Not much has changed in this situation.. I don’t mind the signing of Longoria as it gives them the veteran experience, so they somewhat filled this need. 0.5/2.
Pitching: The team didn’t really improve the rotation from last year, so they’re hoping that Davies and Bumgarner come back to having decent years. 1./3
Right-Handed Batter: They definitely filled this issue. They could not hit left-handed pitchers last year and needed some RHB in the lineup. 2/4
Offense: Offense is not amazing looking, but I think they will have better than expected results, given that they made some adjustments to getting RHBs into their lineup. Are they going to get the most runs in the league? No, but I think they’ll have a much stronger offense and given that they aren’t playing the Padres and Dodgers for 19 games each this season, it should help. 3/5
Rating: C
Zac Gallen will be a top 5 finisher for the NLCY. I think he can win it all.. Coming from a Dodgers fan.
My fantasy team is pleased to hear this!
Love Gallen. Most underrated SP in the game. If he’s healthy I wouldn’t bet against him finishing top 5 at worst.
I wonder if anyone would be interested in trading for Bumgarner if Arizona helped pay some of his salary. Seems like he’s still a decent back end starter for a team fighting for a postseason spot. I think Arizona has a good chance at the postseason themselves, but it seems like they now have better starting rotation options
Playoff contenders want under 4 era. If injuries hit and they eat enough $ maybe. He has a no trade and likes it out there.
YourDream
Yes, MadBum has a no-trade…but only to 5 teams, so he definitely qualifies as a mid-season trade candidate to a contender in need of veteran pitching . And, he has big name value and a legendary Post-Season reputation.
Texas is my off-season winner, just because of Bochy. Bochy will be allowed to manage and deploy the personnel properly and realistically, his way. One thing the dbacks have not done the last few years and it shows in ways quantifiable and not . Now that said our personnel right now, no one knows what to expect. We have had hodge podge line ups, the last few years and I don’t see that changing this year. Last year they tried playing get em over and get em in, with the wrong structure, generally that’s on the field manager, wokeism doesn’t work when it comes to winning, and not understanding the player personnel along with it, even if it’s inferior. line up this year lead off Marte then Carroll, Walker, Longoria, McCarthy, Gurriel, Rojas Kelley/Moreno, Ahmed. Keep Rojas hidden and out of the structure and be the secret weapon.
Most versatile bat I left off accidentally is Smith. Future 3 hitter. And his playing time will work itself out. Team needs another rh or switch, Reynolds, heck I’d trade everyone for Bregman. gallen for Bregman.
Pfaadt, ace material lock in at #2, Nelson easy #3 Jameson #4
D-Backs need to play them this year and drop the dead weight, Melancon Bummy etc. no reason to wait, no playoffs this year oh and make sure Moreno is catching newbies now.
75 win team could win 85 with newbies tossin
denny
I agree that Pfaadt, Nelson and Jameson, from a talent standpoint, lineup behind Gallen and in front of Kelly, Bumgarner and Davies. I also agree that they need to get the lion share of starts this year to facilitate their development. However, I also think it’s beneficial to start the season with the veterans and work these young guys in as the season progresses, as the best way to maximize the Dback’s chances of getting to 82-90 wins and a WildCard slot in 2023.
On the Daulton Varsho trade:
The Dback’s priorities for a return on that trade were: 1) a RH OF with some power; 2) a RH 3b with some power; 3) a young but established, controllable Starting Pitcher; or 4) a Closer.
GM Mike Hazen specifically stated that the Dbacks would Not trade Varsho for Prospects. And obviously, the Dbacks wouldn’t trade Varsho for their other two needs: a backup Catcher and Middle Relievers.
But the Dbacks had both the luxury of 4 young, stud left handed hitting OF and the problem that these young studs were vulnerable to left handed pitching at this point in their careers. In fact, the whole lineup against left handed pitching needed to be completely rebuilt. So, in a sense they were forced to trade one of these 4 young studs. Varsho had the most trade value after the untouchable Corbin Carroll.
So the trade to the Blue Jays for Moreno and Gurriel was, at best, the Dbacks 4th best trade option. And from the Dback’s perspective was more accurately a trade for Gurriel, with Moreno thrown in, since Moreno was essentially a Prospect.
Moreno showed being capable at every level of Minors and his brief stint in MLB. He is viewed with more regard than just a typical unproven prospect.
Scott
This trade was for Moreno, he is a top five prospect in baseball who will be the starting catcher in 2024.
I cannot say you are right or wrong about the snakes original priorities but sometimes you have an opportunity to make a deal that is so good that you adjust your priorities.
Varsho was very good, this was a clear win-win deal.
Manny
I understand what you wrote and agree with you that from a “value” standpoint, the Dbacks would never have made this trade without Moreno as the return.
My point is that from a “need” standpoint, the Dbacks had at least 4 greater needs than catcher, so without a RH OF with some power (Gurriel) they wouldn’t have made this deal either.
Consider this. Why did it take so long for the Dbacks and Blue Jays to make this trade? Fans knew the Blue Jays wanted to trade from their catcher depth for an impact LH OF. But Dbacks fans knew the Dbacks were looking for something else, i.e. one of their top 4 priorities. So the Dbacks were discussing trades with other teams that might net them an attractive package that would fill at least 2 of their needs. Those other trade possibilities were more attractive to the Dbacks, but when nothing finalized from a “value” standpoint, they ultimately came back to the Blue Jays and settled for the best package they could get.
Guerriel has reverse splits for the last 3 years and is worsening every year against LHP.
He actually hits RHP extremely well., I was not sure why they wanted Guerriel as he is also a defensive liability. Lewis is an unknown. Canzone and Fletcher are both LHH. Robinson has legal issues. Thus, the Dbacks are really hoping that Carroll and Thomas can hit LHP, as McCarthy is the only one that can.
My suspicion is Guerriel is likely the DH against RHP, especially if Pavin Smith cannot hit.
Hey Xero! I think getting Gurriel Jr. is more about what they think he can do with Dave McKay and the potential for power to return the further he is from the hand injury.
If he’s even average defensively, the bat should make him close to a QO candidate (and thus a trade piece)
C+ or B-. Went B with the Varsho trade doing the heavy lifting.
I gave them a B. They kept Carroll and Lawlar, future all-stars. They did not sell low on Alek Thomas. They traded good value in Varsho for a very good return in Moreno and a bonus rental of Gurriel. While I see Arizona missing the playoffs in 2023, this team could be better than the high salary Dodgers and higher salary Padres by 2025. Key questions – will they extend Gallen, will Pfaadt join Gallen as an ace in 2024, can they afford one more ace starter in a year or two, how will Walker and Marte do in the next couple years, if they even keep Walker. Is McCarthy for real?
I gave them an A in context. So, they didn’t go shopping at the top of the market and bring in All Stars in their prime. That was never the plan and in the long run they will probably be glad they stayed out of the current, crazy free agent market. They did however, address most of their needs with affordable, projectable solutions. Sure, everyone would like another starting pitcher. But there are only so many available and they have young options and an excellent pitching coach to help them along. I was very impressed with this team, their style of play, and the apparent direction of the front office last season. I stand by that assessment now. I know they have an uphill battle in tough division, but I expect them to have a nice season.
A fringe player I would like to see the Dbacks take a look at this year is catcher Dominic Miroglio. He led their AAA team to the Pacific Coast League Championship, while handling all those young pitchers. A glove first guy, he appears to hit both righties and lefties, and has a little bit more power than Moreno. I have never been sold on Kelly, and could see a nice future tandem of Moreno and Miroglio moving forward.
I like Miroglio too; only problem is that he doesn’t have a particularly good arm.
Herrera is still interesting as well. Moreno is the only game changer among the group, but they have a playable C staff.
Pfaadt got off to a great ST start last week, and fans are hoping that he emerges as a Top of the Rotation arm in 2023.
With all the young guys pushing their way to the majors, I’m hoping MadBum, Nick Ahmed, Carson Kelly and Zack Davies get off to great starts and become valuable mid-season trade chips!
I don’t think any of the Dback’s young starting pitchers will “lose” the competition for the Opening Day 5th rotation slot. I think one of Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson, Drey Jameson and Tommy Henry will “win” the opening day slot, but at least 3 of them will end the season in the rotation.
I think service manipulation will be in full effect for all of them. Piepot somehow retained his rookie status despite starting 7 games, and playing in 9 for example.
I think Hazen will make full use of the 5 times he can return a player to Reno for all of them.
Unless Henry totally sucks, I think he gets 1st ‘dibs’ especially since he is a LHP. Gilbert will not likely be the guy, and Caleb Smith is gone.
I also don’t think they will give up on Corbin Martin. My prediction is that he will be the long middle relief guy, and possibly as spot starter when they have bullpen games, I think injuries have delayed/hindered his development, and if he embraces the bullpen, it might be what is needed to ‘fix’ him.
I think the rookies get playing time if there are injuries or the Dbacks are really sucking, and they decide to move away from Davies and MadBum.
Xero
highheat pointed out in a post 2 or 3 weeks ago that the Dbacks already started what you call “service manipulation” with Corbin Carroll’s late season call up in 2022 and his subsequent eligibility for rookie status in 2023.
But the old concept of service manipulation for control and financial reasons, has now been replaced by service manipulation for eligibility for rookie awards, by the new CBA. Gaining extra draft picks if a rookie wins top awards is a powerful incentive, and the Dbacks are uniquely situated to have their prospects via for these awards over the next several years, including this year with Corbin Carroll, 2024 with Jordan Lawler and 2025 with Dru Jones.
Absolutely agree, that the new CBA was supposed to do that.
I think the manipulations will continue with players not on the top 100 lists. For example, Jake McCarthy has exactly 0.170 service time. It made no sense the second time he was sent down, but looking at the ‘clock’, the Dbacks now get to control him for an extra year (6 more years).
Same would apply to Nelson, Jameson, and anyone else not on the top 100 list. I think Pfaadt probably gets the Piepot treatment, and will retain his rookie eligibility for 2024 most likely by design.
Agree on the old manipulation still taking place. The team “lucked” into extra seasons of team control for Rojas and Smith due to roster status at time of their injuries.
Perdomo and Rivera didn’t clear 1 year of service time by much, so they may not even accrue full seasons this year pending the play time break down (and who gets optioned when to take advantage of matchups).
Beer, Frias, Herrera, McCarthy, and Thomas all stayed under 1 year of service time.
Henry and Kennedy both narrowly expended their Rookie Eligibility, while Carroll, Jameson, and Nelson all maintained theirs.
That’s the shenanigans that we have taking place currently, before we add: Alexander, Barrosa, Castillo, Fletcher, Martinez, Pfaadt, and Vargas to the mix (and Lawlar and Robinson as well).
Those options are going to be huge to make sure everybody is getting play time; I doubt there will be too much room for complaint if the Active roster composition is frequently altered to take advantage of how strings of games line up.
The next wave of prospects will fill in any weaknesses discovered in the 2023 team. One or two in this group might even fast forward to a role on the 2023 team.
They include OF Dru Jones, SP Blake Walston, SS Jordan Lawler, SS Blaze Alexander, SP Slade Cecconi, 3b Deyvision De Los Santos, RP Justin Martinez, OF Dominic Fletcher, OF/1b Dominic Calzone. Did I miss anybody? With the possible exception of Jones, they are all legitimate candidates for the 2024 team.
The Near Future is very bright in AZ!
It might be a little early to be counting on Jones establishing himself (particularly with the large number of OFs that have been deserving of MLB looks piling up at the upper levels), but I agree with all of those names and would add OF Jorge Barrosa and RHRP Carlos Vargas.
I still consider RHRP Luis Frias an interesting guy if he can tighten up his release points; he averages 6.5 ft on every pitch, but it looks like he’s inconsistent horizontally on every pitch type. His Slider has qualities that indicate it could be effective in platoon situations (so he might be able to drop to two pitches).
He’s best suited working on things in AAA to start the season, though (like all of the other names).