Posts by: Ryan P. Morrison
When Wade Miley was traded, a curious pattern emerged: in just a year’s time, the pitching staff has moved away from being ground ball oriented to being highly fly ball oriented. As things stand, extreme fly ball pitchers Josh Collmenter and Jeremy Hellickson are in line to head the staff, with middle of the road guys Allen Webster and Rubby …
Continue Reading →It was not so long ago that the D-backs were making significant moves so frequently that we were fighting off worthy topics with sticks. In the last days of December, we get to return to doing what we do best: analyzing to death on-field performance and the finest minutiae the transactions list has to offer.
Matt Swartz and MLBTradeRumors projected …
Continue Reading →Happy holidays! Jeff and I are both out of pocket for much of this week, and our coverage may be a little abbreviated. From us to you, though: stay safe and have a wonderful time.
Last week, I took a look at the Diamondbacks’ top trade assets from a “surplus value” perspective, which isn’t perfect. Ceiling can be more or …
Continue Reading →Earlier this month, Jonah Keri of Grantland rolled out his MLB Trade Value rankings (part 1, part 2), which is a tremendous read, and even better than last year’s list. Only one D-backs contract made the list, although if you’re going to have just one player among the top 50, it’s nice to have number 3. One …
Continue Reading →If you’ve never given our podcast (The Pool Shot) a try, now would be a really good time — Jeff and I worked our way through both major trades last week, and had a ton of fun doing it. We also hit the Oscar Hernandez acquisition through the Rule 5 draft, catching in general, and the potential weakness of having …
Continue Reading →An offseason of unusual activity in the sport has been fueled by a significant number of teams that had a regime change in the front office, and the D-backs are no exception. What originally looked like an offseason of tweaks now looks like something quite different — but what is it, really? Remember, Chief Baseball Officer expressed confidence exactly one …
Continue Reading →What was under-acknowledged before last summer’s Brandon McCarthy trade became one of baseball’s worst-kept secrets after McCarthy dominated in New York: be it rigid pitching plans, hot air, dry baseballs, or something different, Phoenix and/or the team that plays there have had as bad an effect on pitchers as has Denver and the Rockies. The D-backs’ desire and ultimate decision …
Continue Reading →Toward the end of Episode 8 of The Pool Shot, Jeff and I talked through some sixteen left-handed “middle of the order” bats, guys who had hit a decent number of home runs against right-handed pitchers in 2014 and who could conceivably (in my mind) be available. We left out a few first basemen who couldn’t play elsewhere, but otherwise …
Continue Reading →Report: Didi Gregorius will join the Yankees in a three-team deal that sends Shane Greene to Detroit and Robbie Ray and Domingo Leyba to Arizona. We had heard that teams had more interest in Gregorius than in the D-backs’ other three major league shortstops, but I had taken that to mean that they liked Gregorius more as a value proposition. …
Continue Reading →We hope you had a great Thanksgiving! It would be weird if you didn’t — anyone who follows the Diamondbacks got a chance to bask in the afterglow of the Yasmany Tomas news from the day before. We gorged ourselves on the Tomas signing in Episode 7 of The Pool Shot, and at this point, we still don’t know the …
Continue Reading →Pinch yourself if you want to, but you’re not dreaming. Yasmany Tomas and the D-backs have agreed to terms: six years, $68.5 million, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. Long rumored as a suitor but never viewed as a front-runner, the D-backs have shown that they’re serious about improving, pushing aside some of their depth to make room for someone …
Continue Reading →You don’t have to look hard at the D-backs roster to find examples of how contract extensions for young players can pay enormous dividends. Paul Goldschmidt‘s pact is one of the most valuable in the majors, and Josh Collmenter also blossomed after signing a very team-friendly deal. The good thing about not offering a young player an extension is …
Continue Reading →At what point did you realize during the 2014 season that that you had been watching a train wreck? The D-backs’ first few weeks of games were so bad that it essentially killed the season. We knew that, but nothing put an exclamation point on it quite like when Mike Bolsinger was installed in the rotation.
Bolsinger was coming off …
Continue Reading →In the international signing period that started July 2, 2013, the Cubs and Rangers earned the CBA’s top penalty for exceeding their bonus pools, becoming ineligible to sign anyone during the 2014-2015 (current) bonus periods. This year, it’s been the turn of the Red Sox, Rays, Angels, and Yankees. The Yankees, in particular, have taken huge advantage of their one-year …
Continue Reading →When Kevin Towers was “removed” in September, I doubt many people thought the D-backs would make the first significant trade of the offseason. I know I didn’t — but that’s arguably what new GM Dave Stewart and the front-office-by-committee pulled off on Friday night, trading #7 prospect Andrew Velazquez and #8 prospect Justin Williams for Jeremy Hellickson.
Jeff wrote …
Continue Reading →@ryanpmorrison
Best part of Peralta’s 108 mph fliner over the fence, IMHO: that he got that much leverage despite scooping it out… https://t.co/ivBrl76adF, 
RT @OutfieldGrass24: If you're bored of watching Patrick Corbin get dudes out, you can check out my latest for @TheAthleticAZ. https://t.co/k1DymgY7zO, - Of course, they may have overtaken the league lead for outs on the bases just now, also...
But in 2017, Arizona ha… https://t.co/38MBrr2D4b,
- Prior to the games today, there had only been 5 steals of 3rd this season (and no CS) in the National League. The… https://t.co/gVVL84vPQ5,
- RT @OutfieldGrass24: Patrick Corbin has a WPA of .318 and it's only the fifth inning.,
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RT @MLBPipeline: Correction:
Oldest players on the #Top100Prospects list:
#Astros' Josh James, 25 (3/08/1993)
#Dbacks' Jon Duplanti… https://t.co/IpgOEtfUrh, - Diamondbacks MiLB affiliate the Missoula Osprey will transition away from the "Osprey" in 2020. Fans can vote for a… https://t.co/czwu2A1T3Q,
- Old Friend Alert https://t.co/vZFngGVaFF,
- Winning defensive MVP of the NFL Pro Bowl is something that should not actually be possible,
- Bill Swancutt (2005 draft, Lions) and Alex Brink (2008 draft, Texans). Swancutt was a DE and TE that I had to cover… https://t.co/7PvKgIVkD3,
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