Posts by: Ryan P. Morrison
A couple of significant things have happened since I broke down the 2014 bullpen in early October: we’ve had a few roster changes, and we’re now armed with some 2014 projections (Steamer and Oliver). Reviewing how the bullpen lines up breeds two new questions: whether the D-backs can (or should) enter the season with just Joe Thatcher from the left …
Continue Reading →I heaped praise on Towers for his unusual bad-contract-plus-prospect trade two weeks ago when he moved Heath Bell, and derision on him last week for the Mark Trumbo trade. Although it does make the Trumbo trade look slightly worse, the swap of Matt Davidson for White Sox closer Addison Reed looks very reasonable at first blush. At the …
Continue Reading →GM Kevin Towers indicated shortly after the winter meetings began last week that the D-backs were looking to make two big moves, one involving a corner power hitter, the other an ace pitcher. Derrick Hall later noted that one would come via free agency, and one would come via trade. I’m not sure if that last comment was intended in …
Continue Reading →Very little has changed we broke down the likely 2014 bullpen. There’s still just one spot open for a lefty to join Joe Thatcher, with five righties (J.J. Putz, Josh Collmenter, Brad Ziegler, David Hernandez and Will Harris) locked into spots if they’re healthy. Still, the few changes that have been made point in a very promising — and …
Continue Reading →Before the news of the Trumbo trade broke yesterday, the D-backs camp at the Winter Meetings was working furiously. One note we heard from the organization was that while they planned to add an outfielder and a starting pitcher, one would come via free agency, and one would come in a trade. I’ve heard a few people speculate that the …
Continue Reading →I’m going to have almost as much fun watching Mark Trumbo home runs in 2014-2016 as anyone else. Enjoying what he offers, though, does not mean we won’t suffer through what he doesn’t. And enjoying what he offers does not mean that the three-team swap that brought Trumbo to the desert today was anything but a failure of imagination by …
Continue Reading →With the news that the D-backs made an offer to Carlos Beltran before he signed with the Yankees, it looks like GM Kevin Towers is looking to make some moves at the earliest opportunity. Last week, we saw David Holmberg essentially sold to Cincinnati, freeing up about $6M in payroll with Heath Bell now setting up shop in Tampa …
Continue Reading →A few weeks ago, we learned that GM Kevin Towers had an eye on Masahiro Tanaka. In the words of Nick Piecoro, “Towers didn’t just say his club liked Tanaka, he said the Diamondbacks hoped to be in the mix to sign him.” Just like international signing dollars under the new system, however, posting dollars have a different value …
Continue Reading →Ordinarily, a trade like the one the Rays, Reds and D-backs pulled off yesterday would inspire a lot of media coverage and analysis — it was so unusual, even if no big-time players were involved. Yesterday was something of a baseball transactions apocalypse, however, and so relatively few people have written about it. Of those that have written, many …
Continue Reading →The Heath Bell Experience is over in Arizona. We will never forget.
For the privilege of ridding itself of Heath Bell’s contract for 2014, Arizona has traded away David Holmberg and $500k, receiving minor league LHP Justin Choate from Cincinnati and a player to be named later or cash from Tampa Bay. Bell will head to the Tampa Bay bullpen, …
Continue Reading →The D-backs non-tendered Daniel Hudson before last night’s deadline for arbitration-eligible players. Matt Swartz pegged Hudson’s likely salary at $1.1M for 2014, due in large part to service time (he is barely over three years). As a general caveat for this post, I do note that both the team and Hudson definitely know a lot more about his health …
Continue Reading →We saw a flurry of moves in the past week, particularly last night. Many of these moves affect the Diamondbacks, if only tangentially. The trade of Doug Fister to the Nationals is a prime example. Count me among the many who are really surprised that it only took a package of a good, not great pitching prospect (Robbie Ray), a …
Continue Reading →One of the most compelling trade partners for Arizona that Jeff and I turned up in the last few weeks is Kansas City. They were struggling to fill out their rotation, and their black hole at second base seemed like a pretty good fit for Chris Owings. Add the fact that they could easily trade a lefty reliever or prospects, …
Continue Reading →Of the several transactions across baseball in the last week, few were more disappointing to me than the moves made by St. Louis. In a Friday trade with the Angels, the Cards picked up Peter Bourjos. Over the weekend, the Cards then signed Jhonny Peralta, presumably to fill their giant hole at shortstop (although Peralta could move off …
Continue Reading →Jeff and I researched all 29 other major league clubs for potential trade fits with the D-backs, and several of the possibilities beyond the Cardinals and Cubs seem promising. As trade partners for Arizona go, there might be none better than the Blue Jays.
As noted in the Offseason Plan, for the D-backs to improve, they’ll probably have to …
Continue Reading →The biggest news story in D-backs land in the last week was the outcome of the NL MVP award voting, in which Paul Goldschmidt finished second to winner Andrew McCutchen. To see the breakdown of voting, head to the BBWAA site.
Inside the ‘Zona doesn’t focus on award voting, because frankly I don’t find it that interesting. But …
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 @CjHolmes22: It’s tough. It’s just like me as a player, I’ve been cut and stuff like that. You just know the feeling. You just h… https://t.co/wKZ7pFbcy2, - RT @CjHolmes22: We lost those, and it’s just the unfortunate part of the business. Like I said before, it’s out of our control, and… https://t.co/nlxTaVH0Gv,
- RT @CjHolmes22: #AZCardinals veteran LB Josh Bynes on news of Steve Wilks’ firing: It’s unfortunate. There’s nothing that we can co… https://t.co/xA7BLw0ji7,
RT @sbordow: Wilks’ firing - assuming it’s true - is not a surprise obviously. If Bidwill or Keim planned on him returning they… https://t.co/EUvVn5bfT0, - RT @sbordow: If Wilks is telling his staff he is being fired but hasn’t spoken to Michael Bidwill he either was told latelast ni… https://t.co/X5xHyUKl8o,
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