ARZ Offseason Thread

[GatorAZ]

The Diamondbacks have had internal discussions about possibly signing Johnny Cueto, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (Insider subscription required). It’s no secret that Arizona has been targeting pitching this offseason, as they’ve been linked to such names as Shelby Miller, Yovani Gallardo and John Lackey on the trade and free agency fronts. Those pitchers carry a much lower price tag than Cueto would on the open market, however, and it would be surprising to see the mid-market Snakes make a big splurge on the type of nine-figure contract it would take to land Cueto.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/11/nl-west-notes-rockies-cueto-puig-padres.html

 

[Ronin]

Steve Gilbert ‏@SteveGilbertMLB 14s14 seconds ago

Baseball source: #Dbacks will hire Dave Magadan as their hitting coach. Story soon on http://dbacks.com .

 

[BC867]

I think Dave Magadan is a good choice for hitting coach. He was a solid line drive hitter as a batter. And has 13 years experience as a Major League hitting coach right through this past season.

2003-2006 Padres
2007-2012 Red Sox (including their Championship season)
2013-2015 Rangers

For what it's worth, his cousin in Lou Piniella.

Reports have said that the D-backs considered various applicants, but that Assistant Hitting Coach Mark Grace was not one of them. I was glad to hear that. He is too much of a flake to be the man at the top (of the Hitting Coach chain).

 

[Matt L]

Did anyone see the following proposed plan for the Diamondbacks offseason?

http://insidethezona.com/2015/11/zona-2015-2016-offseason-plan/

Yasmany Tomas, Braden Shipley, Brandon Drury, Isan Diaz and Adam Miller to the Athletics for RHP Sonny Gray

I don't know if this would actually get Sonny Gray to head our rotation but I would make this move in a heartbeat. Sonny Gray is an actual number one and is under team control for at least 3 more years. If they do nothing else, the rotation would have Gray, Corbin, Robbie Ray and then a mix of Anderson, Bradley, De La Rosa, Blair would be a solid rotation that would put us in the mix for a wild card spot.

I like the rest of the ideas in the article but I just don't see the front office okaying that kind of payroll.

 

[outcent13]

I cant see the Athletics taking Tomas in that deal but I would do that with the only hesitation being Isan Diaz. Hes probably two years away but I think he will be a superstar by age 22/23.

I also like the idea of trading Hill for Phillips....in this ballpark Phillips might have a big bounce back year hitting in front of Goldy and behind Pollock. The top 6 or 7 batters in that lineup would be ridiculous(7 if Ahmed improves at the plate).

 

[sundevil04]

That's a TON of good young talent to give up even for an ace. I'd rather see us spend money than prospects.

Adding a Johnny Cueto in FA to a rotation of ...

2.) Corbin
3.) Ray
4.) Bradley
5.) Shipley/Blair/Godley/Anderson/Chacin

is something I'm more than comfortable with. a 1/2 of Cueto/Corbin can go head to head with just about any team out there.

 

[overseascardfan]

Did anyone see the following proposed plan for the Diamondbacks offseason?

http://insidethezona.com/2015/11/zona-2015-2016-offseason-plan/



I don't know if this would actually get Sonny Gray to head our rotation but I would make this move in a heartbeat. Sonny Gray is an actual number one and is under team control for at least 3 more years. If they do nothing else, the rotation would have Gray, Corbin, Robbie Ray and then a mix of Anderson, Bradley, De La Rosa, Blair would be a solid rotation that would put us in the mix for a wild card spot.

I like the rest of the ideas in the article but I just don't see the front office okaying that kind of payroll.

I cant see the Athletics taking Tomas in that deal but I would do that with the only hesitation being Isan Diaz. Hes probably two years away but I think he will be a superstar by age 22/23.

I also like the idea of trading Hill for Phillips....in this ballpark Phillips might have a big bounce back year hitting in front of Goldy and behind Pollock. The top 6 or 7 batters in that lineup would be ridiculous(7 if Ahmed improves at the plate).

Gray is an ideal trade candidate and the package mentioned makes sense but I agree with Outcent13 that Diaz would be hard to give up as he has an amazing year and looks to be an eventual stud at the SS position. As far as the argument that ARZ may not be willing to spend big on an Ace, they will eventually have to pay Gray if he continues to develop into an Ace and in 3 years the price is going to be more than they would spend on an Ace this year. Thing is the proposal is a speculated package and OAK has already said Gray isn't going anywhere.

That's a TON of good young talent to give up even for an ace. I'd rather see us spend money than prospects.

Adding a Johnny Cueto in FA to a rotation of ...

2.) Corbin
3.) Ray
4.) Bradley
5.) Shipley/Blair/Godley/Anderson/Chacin

is something I'm more than comfortable with. a 1/2 of Cueto/Corbin can go head to head with just about any team out there.

I think everyone, myself included would love to see ARZ spend money to bring in an Ace but the competition for Cueto & Price is going to be fierce as they are the only Aces that are not tied to draft pick compensation. Cueto has some questions as to whether he is an Ace due to he poor second half only to rebound in the playoffs and WS performances. I'd like to see ARZ land Maeda as he looks like he could have a Matsuzaka/Tanaka/Darvish type impact in the majors.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

I'd like to see ARZ land Maeda as he looks like he could have a Matsuzaka/Tanaka/Darvish type impact in the majors.

Always on the DL?

 

[overseascardfan]

Always on the DL?

But top of the rotation SP's when healthy.

 

[BC867]

But top of the rotation SP's when healthy.

But isn't an ace starter who is on the DL, let's say, 1/4 of the time only 3/4 of an ace starter?

 

[overseascardfan]

But isn't an ace starter who is on the DL, let's say, 1/4 of the time only 3/4 of an ace starter?

3/4 of an ace is 3/4 more of an Ace than we have right now.

Guys, injuries happen....maybe Maeda stays healthier than his Japanese predecessors. David Price has been one of the most durable Aces in baseball but whose to say he doesn't go down next year after signing a huge contract.

 

[BC867]

3/4 of an ace is 3/4 more of an Ace than we have right now.

Guys, injuries happen....maybe Maeda stays healthier than his Japanese predecessors. David Price has been one of the most durable Aces in baseball but whose to say he doesn't go down next year after signing a huge contract.

I wish I could find that convincing, but 'who's to say' is so vague. A player with a history of missing time is certainly a greater risk than one with a clean slate.

And '3/4 of an ace is more of an ace than we have right now' would be worth a risk in 2-through-5, but committing to an ace and seeing him miss time (as in the past) would be more disappointing and costly.

We already have 2-through-5 starters. Bringing in a number 1 with a bad history would reflect on the lack of foresight of the Front Office. And cause more empty seats. In not just one out of five games.

 

[Phrazbit]

Thinking a guy will get hurt because a couple other dudes from his nation have gotten hurt is nonsensical. Its like saying because Strasberg, Harvey and Bundy were all viewed as top pitching prospects and they all had to get Tommy John surgery that you should assume any guy who ends up as the league's top pitching prospect is going to get injured.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Thinking a guy will get hurt because a couple other dudes from his nation have gotten hurt is nonsensical. Its like saying because Strasberg, Harvey and Bundy were all viewed as top pitching prospects and they all had to get Tommy John surgery that you should assume any guy who ends up as the league's top pitching prospect is going to get injured.

I didn't say that nor mean to imply that. It just happened to be the one major thing that those three selected players have in common beyond being products of the NPB. Putting Matsuzaka who was mostly a disaster in the same sentence as Darvish made no sense to me.

 

[overseascardfan]

I didn't say that nor mean to imply that. It just happened to be the one major thing that those three selected players have in common beyond being products of the NPB. Putting Matsuzaka who was mostly a disaster in the same sentence as Darvish made no sense to me.

I don't know what you are talking about, but Dice K's second year in the MLB he was living up to the hype with an 18-3 record and 2.90 ERA. The next year his string of injuries began which derailed his career. It's not like the dude was healthy and just plain sucked. As I said, injuries happen and can derail ANYONE'S career. My point was Maeda could make an immediate impact in the MLB barring injuries. You mentioned and highlighted that they were always on the DL, well yeah again injuries ruin careers, duh.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Boston paid an insanely high price tag for that one good season, $103 Million once all said and done. Its telling that you neglected to mention what Matsuzaka did the rest of his entire career (when he was actually healthy enough to pitch). It takes a little more than one season out of eight to be a "top of the rotation" pitcher. Of course there's no guarantee that Maeda will or won't get hurt like the three you mention, just like there's no guarantee that he will be as good as any of them either. That's part of the point, the guys that come over via the posting system have little meaningful track records to go off of (and the small sample size of those who came before using this system isn't exactly promising) yet teams are still willing to write high eight and nine figure checks. The risks are immense for a team like the Diamondbacks who can't bury their financial mistakes and that can't simply be ignored.

 

[overseascardfan]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/11/diamondbacks-met-with-johnny-cuetos-agent.html

Looks like Cueto is waiting for Price or Greinke to set the market before accepting any offer.

 

[GatorAZ]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/11/diamondbacks-met-with-johnny-cuetos-agent.html

Woooooooooow

 

[sundevil04]

Good news that we're willing to go up to at least 20M/year vs the 15 - 18M we had been hearing.

 

[overseascardfan]

Yeah, I wouldn't expect him to take less than Zimmerman. I see him going for at least $23M a year.

 

[Matt L]

I like that they are being aggressive and making an offer. Let's see if Cueto gives Stewart a chance match an offer from another club.

 

[Ronin]

Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick 1m1 minute ago

#Dbacks are more likely to pursue Kenta Maeda or try to make a trade than chase Leake, Kazmir or Samardzija, sources say.

 

[overseascardfan]

Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick 1m1 minute ago

I would have thought based on speculation that Kazmir would be a bargain compared to the other SP's on the market. If Cueto is looking for $140 - $160M, if ARZ wants to pay around $20M they could offer a 7 year deal but that would mean paying $20M for a 36 year old Cueto but at that point he may be a bargain the way SP salaries are skyrocketing every year.

Maeda may make sense depending on the price tag but ARZ is going to have to cough up some dough no matter what if they want to be a playoff team let alone a championship contender, they can't sit on the money as salaries are going to increase every year to the point that there will be no more reasonable contracts. The only alternative is to really nail on draft picks and trade them before they hit free agency.

 

[sundevil04]

Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick 1m1 minute ago

Any thoughts on who the trade targets would be?

 

[overseascardfan]

Any thoughts on who the trade targets would be?

Plenty of names being thrown around.

Names made public: Shelby Miller, Sonny Gray (fat chance), Danny Salazar

Guys who can be available IMO: Julio Teheran, Carlos Carrasco, Jose Fernandez