I know the question wasn't directed at me, but I posted on here during the season when Chicago was having their fire sale: Get Nate Schierholtz. He rakes at Chase Field and murders right handed pitching. He could probably be had for diddly-squat. He hit .583 at Chase Field.
Granted, it's a small sample size but again, he could probably be acquired for almost nothing.
Next, I go all in for David Price. Anything outside of Bradley. Get it done.
Price, Corbin and Miley vs. Kershaw, Greinke and Ryu. I'll take my chances with that.
Pull off a trade for the Twins closer (which I said last season...they need infield help) or go after the FA former A's closer.
Forget these big name guys like Choo and Trumbo. There are players very similar that would demand alot less.
Jesus, I sound like Billy Beane all of a sudden.
Sorry, I do not agree with your suggestions.
To begin with, I am not sure why you are are using Nate Schierholtz's 2013 stats. He is a career .242/.254/.455 at Chase (66 at bats) which is of course no where near enough data to get a true picture of his worth. We do know he is a career .265/.314/.425 hitter who is a pretty solid defender. He would be a good addition as a 4th outfielder, but I don't think I would slot him in over Pollack, Eaton, or Parra.
As for closers, they are a dime a dozen. Just look at the last 4 teams left standing this year. All of them had closers who didn't start in that position at the beginning of the year. To spend a ton of money on a 'proven closer' is a waste of money.
Price isn't worth the cost in terms of prospects or money. We would only have him for 2 years before he leaves as a free agent which would be a huge waste of Archie Bradley.
Here is what I would do...
I would fire Kevin Towers immediately before he has a chance to make any more trades that damage the franchise, but since we know that isn't going to happen let's move on.
First off, make up their mind on what type of team they want. Towers talks about how he likes contact hitters who don't strikeout yet is going after Mark Trumbo who is one of the worst guys at getting on base. Little experiment:
Player A- .250/.299/.469 who averages a strikeout every 3.69 at bats
Player B- .233/.329/.464 who averages a strikeout every 2.67 at bats
Player C- .275/.356/.473 who averages a strikeout every 3.76 at bats
Player D- .264/.337/.474 who averages a strikeout every 4.00 at bats
Who would you want?
Second, I would stop trading young, cost controllable talent for older veterans. If you want to be able to sign some of these big named free agents, you need a few guys making the league minimum.
Do you think Jarrod Parker ($495,000), Ryan Cook ($505,000), Trevor Bauer ($1.1 mil) and Bryan Shaw ($501,000) could help with our rotation and bullpen?
We cannot outspend the Dodgers, but we can be smarter than them. The contracts they are handing out are going to bite them in the ass. This type of spending is unsustainable. We can't go and spend $6+ million on a 7th inning.
For this offseason, I would stay the course and make no major moves.
For the rotation I would start with Corbin, Miley, Delgado, McCarthy, and Cahill. I would try to find someone to take Cahill even if it means getting little in return and slot Skaggs in the 5th slot with Bradley waiting in the wings until late May when his service clock has been delayed long enough. At some point in the next few years we are going to need to extend Corbin, Miley, and Parra (though I'd be open to trading him). Let Skaggs and Bradley pitch in the rotation to see what we have in them.
If we want to aquire a new starting pitcher, the new posting system could help us get Masahiro Tanaka. He would only cost money instead of prospects or draft picks which is where we need to be looking. With the new system, Tanaka could be had for close to $50 million less than he would have under the old system. It is highly unlikely we get him, but he would be the ideal guy to go after. The only other pitchers I would go after would be guys like Josh Johnson or Matt Garza who may be looking for short contract in order to rebuild their value for a bigger payday next year.
On the infield I would once again go with guys we have. The obvious guys in Montero, Goldschmidt, and Hill will start and I'd put Owings and Davidson on the left side of the infield to start the season. I would then look to deal Didi for whatever the best offer is. It doesn't matter if the best offer is a pitcher instead of an outfielder, get the best player back we can. We would then resign Eric Chavez and have him and Cliff Pennington to be our backup infielders.
For the outfield, I have no issues entering the season with a trio of Eaton, Pollack, Parra (left to right). Obviously we could use an upgrade, but it isn't worth one of our top prospects to get one. The big question is Cody Ross, whom I wouldn't count on bringing any value to the team this year. If he does, great, but we can't count on that. I would go after a guy like Franklin Gutierrez who can provide great defense with a little pop and speed off the bench. Like the pitchers I suggested, Gutierrez is someone who may be looking to rebuild value so we could get him on the cheap for a one year deal.
As for the bullpen, I wouldn't sign any of these guys like Fernando Rodney who want to get paid. Go out and sign any failed starter who can throw 96+ and get them to camp and see who can throw out of the pen. To have 1/4 of your payroll set to the bullpen is insane.
With the way the current CBA is set up, the Diamondbacks should never sign a free agent who receives a qualifying offer unless their first round pick is protected. A team like the Diamondbacks needs to value their prospects more than they currently do. Cost controlled pitchers are the most valuable thing in the sport right now and the Diamondbacks have been giving them away recently.
Here are the players I listed:
Mark Trumbo
Mark Reynolds
Justin Upton
Adam Laroche
