Posts by: Ryan P. Morrison

A New Diamondbacks Model for Building a Bullpen

On November 15, 2013 By

When Kevin Towers traded for Heath Bell, no one was under any illusions that he would be worth his $10M per year salary in 2013 and 2014, even if there was hope that his 2012 was just a down year.  With Miami paying $4M per year, it’s probably fair to say that Towers hoped Bell would be worth $6M per …

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What a Gerardo Parra Extension Might Look Like

On November 13, 2013 By

In last week’s 2014 payroll analysis, I used a $4.5M figure for Parra’s 2014 salary, a working number that might work either as an arbitration award or as year one of an extension.  The truth is that this figure could be more than a million lower or quite a bit higher, given the number of unique issues his arbitration …

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Roundup: A Plan for the Offseason is Coming

On November 11, 2013 By

With the World Series behind us and the impending deadline for players to accept qualifying offers, the offseason is officially underway.  Jeff and I have been hard at work on an offseason plan for the Diamondbacks, complete with recommendations for trades, signings and roster construction.  Check back next week for the full plan.

Do you have an idea for a …

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D-backs Have Little Room to Maneuver for 2014 Payroll

On November 6, 2013 By

We know from Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the 2014 payroll could top the $100 million mark for 2014, but as Piecoro also explained, a jump in payroll of $10-15 million would get largely eaten up by increased salaries for players already on the team.  Consequently, GM Kevin Towers may need to subtract if he adds on …

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Roundup: Gerardo Parra and One of the Finest Defensive Seasons on Record

On November 4, 2013 By

With the World Series over (and former D-backs Stephen Drew and Craig Breslow picking up rings), the major news for D-backs Nation in the last week was the Gold Glove wins for Paul Goldschmidt and Gerardo Parra.  Patrick Corbin was also among the finalists, but didn’t pick up an award.

The other bit of news is the departure (on …

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Goldschmidt Brings Home Gold Glove — How Good Was His Season, Defensively?

On October 30, 2013 By

With the announcements that RF Gerardo Parra and 1B Paul Goldschmidt have taken home Gold Gloves for their 2013 play, I thought I might put those achievements in context.  The next post will be Parra, whose achievement is interesting because of how extremely good he was this year, in several components of what makes a good right fielder a good …

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Roundup: Goldy Wins NL Hank Aaron Award, Matt Williams Finds Greener Pastures

On October 28, 2013 By

The Hank Aaron Award goes to the most outstanding offensive performer in each league, every year.  “Outstanding offensive performer.”

Sounds a lot like Paul Goldschmidt, doesn’t it?

Apparently, Major League Baseball agrees.  Bud Selig announced the winners of the award yesterday before Game 4 of the World Series, conferring the award on Goldy in the NL and Miguel Cabrera in …

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Could David Price Land in the Desert?

On October 23, 2013 By

At ESPN, Dan Szymborski officially kicked off the trade speculation season with a piece on possible fits for David Price, setting the blogosphere aflame with responses to each package floated by Dan.

I pretty much agree with everything that AZ Snake Pit’s Jim McLennan wrote, so feel free to go check that out now, if you haven’t already …

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Roundup: D-backs Cut Ties With Coaches

On October 21, 2013 By

After firing pitching coach Charles Nagy and first-year first base coach Steve Sax, the D-backs will also now look for a hitting coach, after Don Baylor left to work with the Angels.  That’s a lot of turnover for a staff retaining its manager, especially if Matt Williams leaves for a post with the Nationals.

Nick Piecoro reported …

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Where There’s a Wil: What Will Arizona Do at Catcher Next Season?

On October 16, 2013 By

In the recent roster breakdown series, I didn’t discuss the catcher position, in part because there’s little doubt about who will start next year.  There’s every reason to expect that Miguel Montero will return to form next year, and even if he didn’t, he’s unlikely to be so bad that the team would think about punting his significant contract …

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Roundup: Welcome to the Offseason

On October 7, 2013 By

A week after the .500 end to the Arizona season, the MLB Division Series are in full swing.  Consequently, there isn’t too much to report on what’s been written on the D-backs in the last week.

We will still be publishing regularly in the offseason, although we may draw back a bit from 5 posts a week.  Check out the …

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Roster Breakdown: 2014 Bullpen

On October 4, 2013 By

Like most teams, Arizona is likely to have more turnover in the bullpen than in any other portion of the roster. The much-maligned relief crew actually came on pretty strong in the second half of the season, but we can expect Kevin Towers to make some changes — even if that’s just because there are more candidates on the current …

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Roster Breakdown: 2014 Rotation

On October 2, 2013 By

As a staff, Diamondbacks pitchers ranked 21st among 30 teams in WAR (11.0) and 17th in ERA (3.92).  D-backs starters came in 22nd in WAR (8.8) and 19th in ERA (4.13).  As with most teams, the sample was big enough that there was a pretty close match between ERA and FIP (4.15).

If the expected major league starters are healthy …

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Roundup: The Longest Season

On September 30, 2013 By

There were two themes to this season, and both were on display through the D-backs’ last week of games.  A 2-5 week brought the truly average D-backs to a truly average .500 record (and to a 16th place finish in the ESPN Power Rankings), and a couple of extra-inning games were thrown in for good measure.

The extra innings …

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Roster Breakdown: 2014 Infield

On September 27, 2013 By

Just like the outfield, the D-backs infield will have a lot of moving parts in 2014.  Paul Goldschmidt will start as many times as he’s able at first base, but no other position is likely to be manned by the same player 150 or more times next year.

The other clear starter in the infield, of course, is Aaron …

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Roster Breakdown: 2014 Outfield

On September 25, 2013 By

We can be pretty darned sure that Tony Campana won’t be a full time center fielder for the D-backs next year.  Beyond that, there isn’t a whole lot we can bank on.

Just before Cody Ross got injured, I wrote how the time share in the Arizona outfield was working.  Jason Kubel had been edged out, leaving most of …

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