2014 Off Season Thread

[Matt L]

I wonder what this means. The only internation player I'm aware of is Maeda and Yasmany Tomas.

Tomas is a R/R outfielder, 24 year old.



Obviously we won't be pursuing outfielders, right?...right?

There is also Yoan Moncada from Cuba. He is only 19 and while he can choose the team he plays for, the team he signs with is subject to the bonus pool restrictions. Because the Diamondbacks had the worst record in the league last year, we have the largest bonus pool available.

 

[AZCrazy]

And the first pick in the draft. Who's coming out this year that may make an impact this coming season?

 

[Matt L]

And the first pick in the draft. Who's coming out this year that may make an impact this coming season?

in the amateur draft? i wouldn't count on any rule 5 pick to contribute next year or even in 2016.

 

[unseenaz]

Holy sh**!!!! Dbacks sign Tomas
http://arizonasports.com/?sid=1786605&nid=42

 

[Iceman]

Holy sh**!!!! Dbacks sign Tomas
http://arizonasports.com/?sid=1786605&nid=42

I was so wrong. Cannot believe we signed him. Signs of good things to come for this organization!!

 

[sundevil04]

1.) Pollack
2.) Owings
3.) Goldschmidt
4.) Trumbo
5.) Tomas
6.) Hill
7.) Miggy (maybe)
8.) Didi

I'm starting to like how this lineup could look

 

[BC867]

1.) Pollack
2.) Owings
3.) Goldschmidt
4.) Trumbo
5.) Tomas
6.) Hill
7.) Miggy (maybe)
8.) Didi

I'm starting to like how this lineup could look

With all due respect, I really don't think that is how it is going to look.

That is a lot of RH hitters, especially if Miggy is traded (as you alluded to) or if Didi (who has been a disappointment at-bat) is squeezed out.

Chip Hale has no obligation to stick with a batter who dropped from a .252 average to a pudrid .226 (with a .290 OBP) last season.

 

[FArting]

Major League clubs have until 11pm CT tonight to tender contracts to players for the 2015 season or else arbitration case

Hernandez
Hellickson
Miley
Pennington
Reed
Trumbo

@Nick Piecoro
Dbacks say they have tendered contracts to all six of their arb eligible players: Pennington, Hernandez, Hellickson, Trumbo, Miley, Reed.

 

[Matt L]

Putting together a lineup for this roster is pretty difficult. I really don't know if we actually have a cleanup hitter and the corner outfielders would probably be best in a platoon. A lot is going to depend on how well Tomas performs in spring training but it is always fun to put together a lineup:

1. AJ Pollock (CF)
2. Aaron Hill (2B)
3. Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
4. Mark Trumbo (RF)
5. Miguel Montero (C)
6. Yosmany Tomas (LF)
7. Jake Lamb (3B)
8. Chris Owings (SS)
9. Pitcher

That is a lot of righties in the lineup. I really hope we can trade Trumbo or Aaron Hill but there is not a lot of power hitting left handed bats available. Maybe move Didi Gregorious for Brandon Moss of the A's. Platoon Moss in LF and Tomas in RF. Trade Trumbo for anything....

 

[unseenaz]

Putting together a lineup for this roster is pretty difficult. I really don't know if we actually have a cleanup hitter and the corner outfielders would probably be best in a platoon. A lot is going to depend on how well Tomas performs in spring training but it is always fun to put together a lineup:

1. AJ Pollock (CF)
2. Aaron Hill (2B)
3. Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
4. Mark Trumbo (RF)
5. Miguel Montero (C)
6. Yosmany Tomas (LF)
7. Jake Lamb (3B)
8. Chris Owings (SS)
9. Pitcher

That is a lot of righties in the lineup. I really hope we can trade Trumbo or Aaron Hill but there is not a lot of power hitting left handed bats available. Maybe move Didi Gregorious for Brandon Moss of the A's. Platoon Moss in LF and Tomas in RF. Trade Trumbo for anything....

You've GOT to wonder if the DBacks were in on the Donaldson trade market. It's no secrete the As are weak up the middle, which is where we have much youth. If we weren't, I'm shocked. A young player under club control for several more years.

I think Trumbo has to be moved, to an AL team where he can DH. He's a poor defender in the OF, and he can't pick any bad throw at first.

I want nothing to do with moss, but it's no secrete that we need lefties

 

[Phrazbit]

Its going to make me nauseous if we have to suffer through another year of Trumbo. I hope shipping him off to some dopey club with no concept of advanced stats is priority #1.

 

[unseenaz]

Dbacks trade gregorius to the yanks in a 3 way trade and we get Robbie Ray from the Tigers. Career 4.27 minor league ERA.. 8.16 ERA in 28 innings in the pros

 

[Azlen]

I kind of hope for Didi's sake that he doesn't end up being the starting SS for the Yankees next year. Would not want to be the guy to follow Jeter in that market.

 

[overseascardfan]

Its going to make me nauseous if we have to suffer through another year of Trumbo. I hope shipping him off to some dopey club with no concept of advanced stats is priority #1.

http://www.foxsports.com/arizona/story/diamondbacks-offseason-complete-hardly-120514

Take some Alka-Seltzer because it looks like Trumbo is not available according to Stewart. I guess they are hoping his power numbers outshine his other flaws next year. D'Backs looking to trim payroll is not surprising but it looks like they are after a left handed bat for the 4 spot that can play everyday, how are they going to get that cheap? Why do they need that if they believe in Trumbo? I am starting to wonder if the front office has no clear plan on how to make this team into a contender. They should be willing to throw in large amounts of cash to get rid of Cahill, Ross & Hill so they can at least get better returns in terms of prospects.

Article mentions ARZ may be looking for a corner OF who bats left handed, guess who fits that description, former Sun Devil great, Andre Ethier, whom I am sure LA will more than be happy to get rid of, problem is he has a lot of money left on his deal so unless LA is willing to eat some of the contract it would be a moot point.

 

[BC867]

Article mentions ARZ may be looking for a corner OF who bats left handed, guess who fits that description, former Sun Devil great, Andre Ethier, whom I am sure LA will more than be happy to get rid of, problem is he has a lot of money left on his deal so unless LA is willing to eat some of the contract it would be a moot point.

I have always liked Andre Ethier as a ballplayer, but he is not a cleanup hitter and not good protection for Goldy. He is no better than Miggy was for the cleanup spot.

 

[82CardsGrad]

http://www.foxsports.com/arizona/story/diamondbacks-offseason-complete-hardly-120514

Take some Alka-Seltzer because it looks like Trumbo is not available according to Stewart. I guess they are hoping his power numbers outshine his other flaws next year. D'Backs looking to trim payroll is not surprising but it looks like they are after a left handed bat for the 4 spot that can play everyday, how are they going to get that cheap? Why do they need that if they believe in Trumbo? I am starting to wonder if the front office has no clear plan on how to make this team into a contender. They should be willing to throw in large amounts of cash to get rid of Cahill, Ross & Hill so they can at least get better returns in terms of prospects.

Article mentions ARZ may be looking for a corner OF who bats left handed, guess who fits that description, former Sun Devil great, Andre Ethier, whom I am sure LA will more than be happy to get rid of, problem is he has a lot of money left on his deal so unless LA is willing to eat some of the contract it would be a moot point.

I don't know about Ethier... He's owed $18 million for the next 4 years! And last season, where he only had 85 hits in roughly 400 plate appearances could be the beginning of his downward spiral... If it were me, I'd stay away from him...

 

[overseascardfan]

I have always liked Andre Ethier as a ballplayer, but he is not a cleanup hitter and not good protection for Goldy. He is no better than Miggy was for the cleanup spot.

I'll give you he had a really down year last year, but some of that can be attributed to lack of playing time with Puig, Crawford & Kemp getting a majority of the at bats. Prior to last year he was a legit offensive threat, career .285 hitter. The main 2 issues: money....he is owed a lot of it & he is going to be 33 next year so he ain't no spring chicken.

The real question is how bad does LA want to get rid of him? They could easily throw in a large amount of cash in any deal but will they do it in a deal with division rival ARZ? Not so sure.

I don't know about Ethier... He's owed $18 million for the next 4 years! And last season, where he only had 85 hits in roughly 400 plate appearances could be the beginning of his downward spiral... If it were me, I'd stay away from him...

I whole heartily agree that money is the main issue with Ethier. Only way a deal can be palatable is if LA eats most of his contract...which again I don't think LA would be willing to do to send him to a division rival...any other team outside the division maybe.

One thing to keep an eye on is supposedly LA is in on the Jon Lester chase so in order to offer him a big deal they may want to rid themselves of Ethier's contract to reallocate the money.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Just read that the Dbacks tried to trade Miggy for Ethier...but the deal fell thru!

 

[BC867]

Just read that the Dbacks tried to trade Miggy for Ethier...but the deal fell thru!

Good!

 

[devilalum]

Good!

Except it looks like Stewart made the deal and Kendrick vetoed. The dysfunction continues.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

D-Backs ownership blocks Montero trade to Dodgers

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor.../?hootPostID=7a7db3d3a49461da8a6c83e6747e2fdc

The Diamondbacks worked this week on a deal that would have sent catcher Miguel Montero to the Los Angeles Dodgers only to see the potential trade squashed by ownership, according to a report by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

The collapsed deal would have sent outfielder Andre Ethier and catcher Tim Federowicz to the Diamondbacks.

According to the report, Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick put a stop to the deal, though the exact reasons were not spelled out.

 

[overseascardfan]

I know there are others that will disagree but I think ARZ should have done the deal. LA was willing to cover the difference in salaries and honestly if there was a better offer made for Montero, ARZ would have taken by now. I assume 2 things: ARZ wants a complete dump of Miggy's salary & they must be holding out hope that a team gets desperate (which I really doubt happens).

We may see line-up with Goldy, Montero, Tomas & Trumbo after all unless ARZ trades Miggy for some baseballs & bats to get his contract off the books, if they do that this team has no plan but to clear salary and not get better.

If Stewart signed off on this deal (I wonder if TLR did too) and management really did squash it, maybe La Russa & Stewart are lame duck management. The whole La Russa, Stewart, Watson situation may have brought name recognition but this team looks like it is being run by Kendrick.

 

[BC867]

D-Backs ownership blocks Montero trade to Dodgers

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor.../?hootPostID=7a7db3d3a49461da8a6c83e6747e2fdc
The collapsed deal would have sent outfielder Andre Ethier and catcher Tim Federowicz to the Diamondbacks.

According to the report, Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick put a stop to the deal, though the exact reasons were not spelled out.

I spelled out in the Montero thread why I am glad that we did not trade for Ethier, although I have always appreciated his game.

 

[TJ]

Wow...even Kevin Towers thinks that's a bad trade.

 

[unseenaz]

The MLB Winter Meetings start today in San Diego and last until Thursday. Going to be an exciting week for baseball fans.

Hopefully it's a PRODUCTIVE week for the DBacks in their quest of shedding bad salaries, and aquiring pitching for all levels of the system.