The Trumbo Trade: Subtraction by Addition

On December 10, 2013 By

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 …

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Power Hitters and False Perception (pt. 2)

On December 10, 2013 By

*Note: this is a continuation of yesterday’s post. You can take it for what it is, but I’d recommend reading the first half to get the full effect.

Yesterday we examined the two power-hitting outfielders that we know the Diamondbacks have been in on. Both Mark Trumbo and Yoenis Cespedes fit the bill as a “power bat” in …

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Power Hitters and False Perception (pt. 1)

On December 9, 2013 By

*Note: this post will be broken up into two parts. Today we’ll examine the power hitters available to the Diamondbacks in depth and check back later this week to see why the “need” to acquire one of the players below is overstated. 

Here we are again, discussing Kevin Towers’ rumblings and what it means for the Diamondbacks. Last week …

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Roundup: Diamondbacks Shopping at the Winter Meetings

On December 9, 2013 By

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 …

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Diamondbacks More Likely to Sign Masahiro Tanaka Under New Posting System

On December 6, 2013 By

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 …

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So Towers Wants an Ace, Huh?

On December 5, 2013 By

By now, you’ve likely read or heard Kevin Towers’ comments regarding what’s on the Diamondbacks’ shopping list. If you’ve been reading Inside The Zona, you’re probably well aware of what those purported needs are, as we’ve been covering them for a couple of months. In short, Towers feels that the team needs a clear-cut leader of the pitching staff …

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Reaction to Bell Trade, Notes on Hot Stove Developments

On December 4, 2013 By

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 …

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In Genius Move, Arizona Sells David Holmberg to Shed Heath Bell’s Contract

On December 3, 2013 By

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, …

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Decision to Non-Tender Daniel Hudson Understandable, but Not Great

On December 3, 2013 By

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 …

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Roundup: Big Moves by Other Teams Affect D-backs

On December 3, 2013 By

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 …

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Mid-Market Game Plan

On December 2, 2013 By

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed a trend. Analysts have made a habit of highlighting and advocating smart, buy-low moves where teams with low payrolls can extract value at a potentially below-market-value rate. And this should come as no surprise, because who doesn’t like finding a perfectly good sweater or pair jeans for half off? Baseball teams are no …

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Ten Things We’re Thankful For: 2013

On November 28, 2013 By

A lot of things went right for the Diamondbacks and their fans this season, and to celebrate Thanksgiving, we thought we’d pause to share a few of the things we’re thankful for.

Camelback IPA (Jeff Wiser): Aside from my writing here at Inside the Zona, I record the beer drinker’s experience over at BeerGraphs and often blog about stellar …
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D-backs Could Get Lefty Reliever From Kansas City

On November 27, 2013 By

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, …

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Help Wanted: Power Hitting Outfielder

On November 26, 2013 By

Kevin Towers was quoted as saying, multiple times, that he his seeking a corner outfield power bat this offseason. In principle, this is a great idea as Arizona was mostly devoid of corner outfield production at the plate in 2013. But the organization doesn’t have much money to spend and there aren’t many options on the trading block that match …

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Roundup: Offseason Trade Winds

On November 25, 2013 By

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 …

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Diamondbacks Could Have Trade Match With Toronto Blue Jays

On November 22, 2013 By

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 …

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