If things went differently, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson could have found himself on the pages of Pro Football Rumors rather than MLBTR. Gibson was a standout wide receiver at Michigan State in 1977 and in an effort to increase his leverage with the NFL, he returned to the baseball diamond for the first time since high school, writes Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic. When the Tigers drafted Gibson with the 12th pick in the 1978 draft, they allowed him to finish out his senior season but made him give up on the NFL. Here's more out of the NL West..
- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly says that newly-acquired starter Paul Maholm knows he might wind up pitching in relief if Josh Beckett is healthy and named the fifth starter, tweets Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
- Diamondbacks newcomer Bronson Arroyo might not give Arizona the kind of production they were hoping to get out of a rotation addition this winter, but he should give them plenty of innings, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- Randall Delgado is out-of-options, but the Diamondbacks won't let him get away, tweets Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona. The D'Backs want to keep all of their assets so if he's not in the starting five, they'll slot him in the bullpen.
I can understand concern about Arroyo because of his age and diminishing velocity, but he’s still been a very productive starter the last few years. At the contract he signed he can even decline a bit and still be worth his salary. He’s been one of the most underrated starters for 10 years.
He doesn’t do one thing particularly well, but more times than not he gives his team a chance. I agree, underrated.
But he is still a great pitcher despite his velocity
Great is a stretch, but he I think that he’ll still be useful despite his age/velocity.
Arizona doesn’t need him to be an ace.
I think that’s the things some people tend to forget. Arroyo is an innings eater. He’s the guy who you can depend on to give your team 6-7 innings per start and keep you in the game. He’s no ace but he plays his role quite well.
I hope that Maholm can land that #5 spot.
It will be tough with Fife, Beckett and Billingsly. Does he have a shot? Yes. Will he? Probably not. Not with a 15M salary on Beckett. Unless Beckett falls apart completely in Spring Training, no way hes not the 5th starter, unless they find a trade partner if hes strong in the spring.
Billingsley won’t be ready until late May at the absolute earliest, and Fife will almost certainly be in AAA unless there is some disaster. Neither of those two will be competition for Maholm. It is between Maholm and Beckett, and the lack of news surrounding Beckett’s health is probably not a good sign for him. Usually at this stage we’d be hearing reports about how he “hasn’t felt this great in years” and so forth.
If you buy the theory that they are starting money instead of pitchers. Not sure why anyone would make that argument.
He most likely will be fife might get a shot but he hurt too much, bill is out till May or June and Beckett health is a huge question. So right now it maholm spot to lose
How does Maholm take a below market contract with a team where he is not even guaranteed a job as a starter?. Surely there are teams who need pitching more than the Dodgers who could have matched or exceeded 1.5 million. Right?
Unless Beckett can show he healthy and out pitch maholm. It’s maholm spot to lose
Perhaps a preference for a WS chance. With their team and their division, hard to imagine them not putting themselves in good position this post season.
Delgado could be a really good 7th inning or setup man. I hope he switches to throwing his 4 seamer more, he’s 94-97 mph with it compared to his 91-93 2 seamer. I don’t see him getting a ton of innings in the pen though with Reed, Putz, Ziegler, Hernandez, Collmenter, and Harris being more proven RH relievers.
is that two seamer the one the dodgers teed off on in a game late last year? if so, he should stick with it. but really, I like him. looking forward to this year
Probably