Currently viewing the tag: "Didi Gregorius"

The Diamondbacks have been active actors on the open market when it comes to making transactions over the last several years. They’ve signed their share of players and made more than their share of trades, one might argue. Free agent signings are expensive, and there’s been plenty of recent data across baseball (including right on Arizona’s roster) that teams are …

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Trades are the best. Sure, it’s cool when your team inks a superstar, but trades offer so much more complexity than most contracts can offer that they provide a boatload more intrigue. And intrigue is something that always good, but trades aren’t, mostly because one of the two parties usually “wins” the trade in the end by obtaining more value …

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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 …

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By now you’ve heard all about the Diamondbacks trading Didi Gregorius. There were some silly “Jeter replacement” comments made, and maybe we have our old friend Kevin Towers to thank for that, but the important part here is that the D-backs have cleared a spot in the crowded middle infield and added two worthwhile prospects. Neither Robbie Ray or …

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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 …

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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. …

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As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the Diamondbacks recently signed Cuban slugger Yasmany Tomas. That was big news. Then the Athletics traded All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays. That was arguably bigger news, and surely more surprising news. Early in the offseason, the A’s had stated that Donaldson wouldn’t be moved; and then he got moved. The …

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We all know the story from last year: after the Derek Jeter comparison, Didi Gregorius took the National League by storm, only to see his batting average drop each consecutive month for the rest of the season. But lost with his .182 batting average in September was this: he was actually an above-average hitter. It was just 40 plate appearances …

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The Diamondbacks have too many infielders. Still. This logjam has been well-documented, but there have been no moves to relieve the pressure. Depth isn’t a bad thing, per se, but when the team has glaring needs, there’s no reason to be building a large reserve of infielders. Because first base is spoken for, there are three infield spots …

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Building a major league roster is a lot like building a sandcastle while the tide is coming in. Focus on some positions to the detriment of others, and you’ll never complete it adequately. Take too little care in order to complete it sooner, and you’ll never win the contest. One must be methodical and effective — and also realistic about …

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The Diamondbacks have turned things around to a degree as of late, but it’s always worth keeping an eye on the future of the franchise. With the struggles of the team, there’s been a bit of a vacuum effect leading to a series of promotions. When Mike Bolsinger was sent down, Chase Anderson and Evan Marshall were called up. This …

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So, while we debated what to do at shortstop all winter and everyone had their say, the Diamondbacks chose Chris Owings as the man in the end. With the losses, poor pitching and occasional #TRUMBOMB, it seems as if we haven’t really discussed how the rookie shortstop has adjusted to full time big league life. The short answer: fairly well.…

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If you were with us last fall, you likely caught a few of these features and they’re back for the 2014 season. It’s never too early to look to the future, especially when you’re winning percentage is where it is for the Diamondbacks. So we’ll be checking in on the D’backs minor leagues all throughout the season, highlight the recent …

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There haven’t been a lot of position battles for the Diamondbacks this spring. Even after Patrick Corbin went down, there still didn’t seem to be a vacuum left over. After all, the team has plenty of rotation depth. We can ask how much Cody Ross plays in the outfield but it looks like we already know the answer: sparingly. …

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A Three-Headed Shortstop?

On January 16, 2014 By

The common narrative around the “battle” at shortstop is that the Diamondbacks are going to let Didi Gregorius and Chris Owings fight it out to decide the starter. There’s one problem here, however, and that’s the fact that both of these guys profile to be pretty similar as solid, but not outstanding, shortstops. Yes, Didi plays outstanding defense and …

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*Previous entries: Steamer Projections Primer | 2014 Rotation | 2014 Outfield | 2014 Bullpen

While the 2013 Diamondbacks outfield had some great defensive performances, the infield led the way offensively. #MVPaul did most of that damage as he became one of baseballs true young stars. Aaron Hill was very good when healthy and Martin Prado, despite some down months, …

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