“It’s possible this is the Diamondbacks’ last, best chance to get real value for [Zack] Greinke,” Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes in a piece detailing the team’s difficult position this winter. With Greinke still owed $138.5MM through 2021 and taking up an inordinately large piece of Arizona’s payroll, the D’Backs are hard-pressed to to augment a roster that made a surprise run to the NLDS last year. Dealing Greinke may be the better long-term move, though it would hurt the team’s chances of capitalizing on its sudden contender status. Greinke had a down year in 2016 and just turned 34 in October, so it isn’t quite clear if his big 2017 season represented a return to form or perhaps a last hurrah before he begins to decline. The Yankees, Rangers, and Phillies have all checked in on Greinke this winter, so there’s certainly interest if Greinke was made available, though GM Mike Hazen will have a tough needle to thread in finding an acceptable trade match in both salary coverage and MLB-ready talent coming back to Arizona.
Here’s more from around baseball…
- C.J. Cron has been the subject of trade speculation, though if the Angels do try to deal the first baseman, MLB.com’s Maria Guardado doesn’t expect it to happen prior to Spring Training. Los Angeles will want to see if Albert Pujols is a viable option to regularly play first base, as the plan is for Pujols to spend time in the field so Shohei Ohtani can get some DH at-bats. Pujols’ history of foot problems, however, means that Cron (and Luis Valbuena) could be necessary depth pieces for the Halos.
- While the Reds were looking for one-year deals for relievers, they were comfortable enough with Jared Hughes’ track record to sign the righty to a two-year deal, general manager Dick Williams tells Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Williams feels Hughes adds some needed veteran experience to a Reds bullpen that struggled badly in 2017, and the GM didn’t close the door on his team acquiring another veteran reliever before the winter is over.
- The Indians will face a tall order in trying to extend Cody Allen or Andrew Miller before either reliever hits free agency next winter, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes as part of a reader mailbag. Allen is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility, while Miller is finishing up the four-year, $36MM deal he originally signed with the Yankees in December 2014. Given the large contracts that relievers have been landing this offseason, a smaller-payroll team like Cleveland doesn’t seem like a candidate to re-sign either pitcher, nor to spend the big money it would take to get Allen or Miller to forego the open market and ink an extension.
If Miller comes back to the Yankees, hoopooooly cow
I’ve thought about this scenario many many times. Definitely on board with this
I do the same but w Scarlett Johansson.
Yes!
Indians love Fraizer. The framework is there if the indians want to get something back for miller
I believe Miller would go back as a free agent not a trade
I’d think Salazar would be a more likely pitcher to be in a deal for Red Thunder. Lord knows the Indians could use a RH bat and their rotation depth could allow for the return of Clint Frazier.
I got him going to the cubs or astros next season
The Diamondbacks desire to offload Greinke is nuts. Things have fallen right for them – a surprise run last year, and decently positioned to make a wild card run this year. That was pretty much best case scenario when they signed Greinke, yet they still need to dump him. Why did they bother signing him in the first place?
The current front office didn’t.
“The current front office didn’t.”
If you ever read any of the detailed accounts quoting those involved it was Kendrick and Hall behind the deal. If was Kendrick who figured out the structure of the $200M+ deferred payment offer. Stewart was in CA and barely involved. Greinke was ownerships doing, the ones still there.
link to foxsports.com
Greinke’s contract will likely keep them from being competitive past 2018. Pollock and Corbin will be FAs after this season and Goldy is a FA the next year, not to mention the handful of other players who will be able to leave in the next 3 years or so. Any chance of keeping their young core together is diminished with Greinke’s salary. Robbie Ray has emerged as a front end starter and they could use the money saved by trading Greinke to sign someone like Lynn or Cobb. I agree that they may take a hit in 2018 but that may be worth it in the long haul, especially with the competition they’ll likely face in the NL West this year.
That’s what bugs me about signing the deal to begin with – they already knew those guys were coming up to free agency. They already knew the dollars it was likely going to take to retain or find replacement talent. Yet they still signed Greinke, and still want to dump him. It’s dreadfully poor financial planning to suddenly need to free up money for things they already knew were coming, when they committed to Greinkes salary in the first place.
The Greinke signing came when the Diamondbacks were putting the finishing touches on their new tv deal.. He was probably used as a splash and showed the Diamondbacks were committed to winning.. Which, more than likely raised the amount they received in the deal.. I am sure they signed him with full intent on trading him in a couple of years while eating part of his contract.. He was signed by ownership and they are businessmen.. They care about the bottom line more than anything and I am sure that even if they appear to lose money by trading him, they will have made money off the signing elsewhere..
There can not be much else of an argument to be made for locking up 20-25% of their payroll in one player who only affects the outcome of 30-32 games a year.. They were looking for a big splash or else they would have invested in players that fit the payroll of a mid-market team better like Mike Leake who openly stated he wanted to sign with Arizona,who signed for far less money..
Just my 2 cents
Don’t sell yourself short. That’s a solid three or four cents right there.
The D’backs being competitive last year hardly surprised me. As far as Grienke is concerned, if they trade him they might as well go for the total teardown right now instead of waiting until this time next year to do it. I can where they might be in that place in July but not now.
Today, Grienke is coming off a good season and there are teams interested in acquiring him. As he is 34, there is no guarantee that will be the same situation come July. No one may want him then. Moving one player does not make it necessary to tear it all down.
As the old saying goes, “if you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.”
Bottom line, they are arguably competitive with Grienke but probably not without him.
Now that’s a saying I’ve never heard of, I’ve got to admit
The have a solid core of young players to build around.. I think they should do a Yankees type rebuild.. Goldschmidt is exactly the player that the Red Sox are in need of and Hazen surely knows their farm inside and out.. If he were to trade Goldy to them he would be able to land just about every prospect of value they have left.. Greinke could also be traded for salary relief and MLB ready prospects.. Losing those 2 would hurt but the return would set them up nicely to contend in the very near future.. While also freeing up payroll to extend Pollock, Ray and Corbin.. Since the Red Sox don’t have enough prospect capitol alone to land Goldy Hazen could get them to take on the Tomas contract as part of the deal..
Trading Greinke, Goldy (even though he is immensely affordable) and getting out from under Tomas’ contract would free up around $65 million for extensions and to spend next year on the super class of free agents while re-loading their farm.. Jay Groome is the type of game changing pitching prospect that would be perfect for Chase Field..
Good points, but they don’t change my basic argument that if the D’backs traded Grienke now (and especially if they also moved Goldschimdt) they would be effectively cashing in their chips for 2018 before the season even started. The only question is how many years it would take for them to return to competition. Their other option is to roll the dice on 2018 with the current roster and see where they stand in July. Teams on the margins of competitiveness do this all the time, so it should not be a controversial suggestion.
What would the Angels want for Cron?
Hes got 3 arb years left and rather the Padres trade for him to play 1st then sign Hosmer.
I mean what would Cron cost?
Would the Angels be up to swapping Headley (plus half or more of his salary) to serve as a 1st n 3rd depth piece for the year), Cordero, and Thompson?
We already have Myers. FO has said they will only sign a first baseman if it’s Hosmer. We’d gladly trade you Headley tho
Cron for Hand?
Throw in Ohtani and you got it!
Ship probably sailed on a Headley to LAA trade when the Angels signed Cozart.
As for Cron, I’d rather keep Myers at 1B and see if Cordero or any other current Padres LF candidate could generate the same 1 WAR or so that Cron probably would.
@agentx……it will be a big disaster if the Padres give Hosmer a 100+ million dollar contract, forcing Will Meyers to the OF and weakening the team overall……I do not believe anybody else will pay Hosmer anymore than about 60 million since power is easy to come by these days…..
Agree^^^…..but I think Hosmer gets more than $60M……
Myers and he are very similar players, although Myers is younger, has more power & speed…..but Hosmer hits for a better average. Padres don’t need Hosmer.
Myers signed for 6/$83…..Hosmer should get a similar contract, maybe a few bucks more……6/$90M
cron has zero value
@halo….Cron’s value isjust replacement value…..in fact, it is hard to believe that C.J. Cron has a major league job when 1b Chris Carter, who hit 37+ Home runs two of the last 3 years, does not.
I think pujols has been proving you can hit a ton of homers but still have negative value
Just let Headley play first.. He proved he could handle it last year in New York and provided more value with the bat than Cron did.. If you insist on moving Myers off of first just put Headley there for the year.. Naylor should be ready to take over in 2019.. No sense in signing Hosmer or trading for another player when the Padres already have a decent stopgap in house with Headley and a solid prospect like Naylor progressing nicely in the minors..
Headley isn’t the dream player that fans hope for but he will get the job done.. Cron is not an upgrade for him..
I agree. I don’t understand the fear of putting Myers back into OF. He was an average to below average fielder, I get that. But he’s not absolutely worthless in OF
Andrew Miller will be difficult to retain in Cleveland, but I think they figure out a way to keep Cody Allen.
Yankees Bullpen:
Aroldis Chapman
Delvin Betances
Andrew Miller
David Robertson
Tommy Kahnle
Adam Warren
Chasen Shreve
Chad Green
Best in baseball history?
This, although I think you could Shreve swapped out for one of the uber prospects like Abreau
Absolutely!
Warren and Robertson are only signed through 2018.. I could see the Yankees spending the money to bring back Miller but I doubt they will bring back Robertson at anywhere near what he is currently making.. If they were to sign Robertson, Warren and Miller, plus with Betances’ arb raise their bullpen would easily top $75 million. I just don’t see that happening.. Especially with 18 of their top 30 prospects being pitchers and a couple like Acevado, Carroll, Heller, Medina and Perez all throwing over 100mph with movement.. Their farm is going to provide them with a nasty bullpen without having to bring in much outside help.. It’s too bad they lost Lindgren though.. He will be returning at full health with the Braves this year and has shown a wipeout slider almost as effective as Miller’s.. The Yankees tried to maneuver a roster spot and save a few bucks and the Braves pounced on him offering a MLB contract.. Imo the Yankees will regret doing that in a year or two..
Ellsbury + prospects for Greinke (entire contract)
No way the D’backs take worthless Ellsbury and his bad contract. It gives them absolutely nothing for 3 years, the contracts are a wash.
Ellsbury is not worth his contract, but I think people are exaggerating when they say he is worthless.
Exactly… When Ellsbury is healthy and gets everyday at-bats he still provides starter level value.. Is he worth $20 million per season? No, but he is definitely worth $11 million a season.. If the Yankees were not completely stacked in the OF with several MLB ready OF prospects I doubt they would trade him.. He stole 22 bases last year and had an OBP of .348 in 350+ at-bats while still providing solid defense in CF.. If he could only stay healthy he would still be a solid leadoff bat.. Also, I am sure his huge contract was insured by the Yankees so if he was to go down for the year he wouldn’t cost much.. I don’t understand why the Giants are not all over him.. He would fit their offense perfectly and his defense would be a huge upgrade over Span’s last year.. I am sure the Yankees would eat half his salary and also provide a decent prospect or two without much of a return..
Also, If Ellsbury refuses to waive his NTC I think the Yankees should just use his remaining option and send him to the minors.. If his pride makes him reject the assignment then the Yankees are off the hook for his entire contract.. I am sure he would rather play for another team (even a non-contender) than spend the year riding the bus in the minors..
Ellsbury at 3/$30 million and a decent pitching prospect like Tate Perez or Sauer should be enough to entice multiple teams.. Does Ellsbury really want to spend his year hoping to get more than 150 MLB at-bats with the Yankees?
Why are the Yankees off the hook?
Elsbury has more than 5 years of service time
“Any player who has accrued 5 years of Major League service has earned the right to refuse any minor league assignment. If such a player exercises this right, his team must either reinstate the player to the active roster or grant him his unconditional release. If the player is released, the team is on the hook for the remainder of the player’s contract”
Has this changed?
No. The coffin repeats this same thing every week and every week someone tells him it does not work that way. I feel sorry for coffin.
Greinke is owed $138 mil, Ellsbury is owed $68 mil… How exactly is this a wash?
Add Twins to the list of possible destinations for Greinke, and put them at the top of the list. Twins have no one under contract in two years, plenty of payroll space and the need for top of the rotation arms. If the D’backs would take Hughes contract, the difference is only $7.8M per year, so the Twins could go after others. If the Twins go after Darvish or Arrietta, that’s all they can afford. Smart move is to get Greinke and another mid-level arm.
Hughes, and what percentage of the Twins minor league system?
Still can’t believe the hauls that the Yankees got for Chapman and Miller. The FO knows what it’s doing
@Chitown….I have been hating the Yankees all my life of watching MLB and I have to acknowledge that Cash has done a masterful job of putting the Yankees back into contention…..He has literally been comitting highway robbery on some of the excellent deals he has made in the last few years and did the best REBUILD, reset, reload, whatever you want to call it, by not really having to lose several yrs in a row(like Astros/Cubs) to rebuild the farm…Cash is prolly the best GM in MLB, bar none..
I would like to see the Yankees trade Ellsbury & cash to offset his contract to the D-Backs for Greinke.
Would you trade an Ace for a bad contract?
Greinke to the Yankees for Ellsbury, $45M in cash, plus Adams, Acevedo, Sheffield and Abreu.
@Scottaz want to add Frazier too?
Sure, if you’re in.the giving mood!
Lay out a realistic trade scenario. Don’t come with worthless Ellsbury and his bad contract and expect to get an Ace. Show me something realistic. Someone posted above “I can’t believe what a haul the Yankees got.” That’s what an Ace brings in. So, blow me away with an offer for an Ace! Hint, the D’backs want MLB ready pitching, not position players.
It’s not all about just the pitcher capabilities . He comes with a contract and a big one too. Greinke @22 millions is not the same as Greinke @ 31 million. Add that he has a trade bonus of 2 million and that make him more expensive. Look what is already happening to Arizona, they can’t sign anyone because their payroll system too high. They even risk losing other good payers as well.
Stop trolling, kid. Greinke’s contract is an albatross.
At least Greinke has value as a player. Now Ellsbury’s contract is an albatross.
That is one questionable proposal.
Let’s say that Greinke is a 3.5fWAR player today (split the difference between his last 2 years). And let’s use a standard aging curve of -0.5fWAR/season for players in their mid 30’s. Below is his salary / expected value (assuming $9MM per fWAR):
2018: $31MM / 3.5 fWAR / value = $31.5MM
2019: $31.5MM / 3 fWAR / value – $27MM
2020: $32MM / 2.5 fWAR / value – $22.5M
2021: $32MM / 2 fWAR / value – $18M
+ $8MM in signing bonus that is yet to be paid out + $2MM in assignment bonus if traded
Grand total of $136.5MM / 11 fWAR / $99MM in value – call it $40MM underwater to round things off. Before the Diamondbacks get ANYTHING of value they will need to offset their side of the deal with something close to that $40MM.
Meanwhile, Ellsbury is owed $63MM and is maybe worth $25MM (1fWAR/season). That leaves him with something close to a $40MM deficit of value.
On paper, a straight swap seems reasonable in terms of value. That said, I’m sure the Diamondbacks could extract more from a team like the Yankees. This really only helps the Yankees. So either more money or talent would need to back to AZ. Not any of the 4 you have listed but something.
The Diamondbacks would be trading Greinke specifically to get rid of the obligation. Replacing Greinke’s contract with Ellsbury’s make no sense. Greinke is legitimately valuable to a team that can carry the contract, Ellsbury is a $20 mil/year platoon player.
Well then if they are equal in value, the diamondbacks should just keep the better player.
Ender Inciarte, Aaron Blair, and Dansby Swanson to Arizona for Greinke?
Blair is a never was. Dansby is a never will be. Inciarte was an excess OF. D’backs keep both Greinke and Miller
don’t try defending the dbacks i that trade please
Greinke to the Twins for Philip Hughes, plus Stephen Gonsalves, Fernando Romero, Brusdar Graterol, and David Banuelos.
Greinke isnt going to the bronx…he cant handle the pressure everyone knows that…..he will be in seattle…..by wed for two candycanes and most of the contract picked up by seattle……then dbacks sign cobb 4 years 65 million…its sounds goofy but thats whats out there now,,, done wed ….mlb research profs socal….
Did great in LA – plenty of pressure there.
True…..but a different crowd to play in front of. Different pressure.
Crons going to end up being traded for a lottery ticket prospect. Like, a prospect with one above average tool such as power or power arm. He just does not has value and his lack of versatility keeps him off our 25 man roster.
a lottery ticket is about right for cron….he has no value…..you can only hope he becomes a justin smoak but that is going to happen,,,,,a rebuild team might pick him up
And there’s the dilemma we kind of see. If the Dbacks eat the deferred money, he’s more so priced closer to market value going forward. The problem is two fold 1) the Dbacks in theory need flexibility to maneuver in FA and in terms of their own talent. But taking on a bad contract doesn’t really give them that except for say the back end 2) Is anyone willing to take on the backend of that contract. Sure he bounced back, but that backend from an AAV is still an utter disaster. Practically it works for the Dback seeing as they aren’t close to luxury threshold and the real time money is just 24M v the what 33M+ AAV. And this is the gray area in value as this is probably closer to a salary dump or swap than an actual trade for talent. Then you add his partial NTC, which would be interesting to see because we know how he feels about NY and Bos. We also know about his social issues. In general Grienke is just a fascinating guy with a fascinatingly bad AAV contract. He is a very good legitimate pitcher yet if I’m a team acquiring him for playoff implications I know he’s not one that wants to go deep into playoff games and is adverse to going on short rest. It seems like teams would need to get extremely creative for this one. You figure the Dbacks are stuck with the deferred money. I just don’t see significant prospects being obtained to take on 100/4.
You say $100mm/4. It’s more like $140mm/4. All the more absurd. As I proposed below. Betances + Ellsbury for Grienke. Betances is regarded as one of the best relievers in the game despite his late season issues last year with control. I believe this is his last run through arbitration ($4.5mm) and a free agent next year. The DBacks actually get two somewhat useful players in Ellsbury and Betances that fill two clear needs on the team (and the DBacks still need another outfielder and reliever after that too). In total, it’s about $72mm in salary for Ellsbury and Betances. Nearly half that of Grienke and that’s over the next 3 years versus 4. No prospects in the deal. Straight salary swap. Yanks give up a bigger piece in Betances, but with Miller’s free agency looming, they could part with Betances for 18.
Dbacks won’t trade Greinke for Ellsbury. Greinke was still a 5 WAR pitcher last year so no plus Greinke has a partial no trade clause and an anxiety disorder highly doubt he goes to the New York.
That still makes absolutely no sense. From an NY standpoint sure it makes a ton of sense, but not for AZ. Fact remains they are kind of stuck with Grienkes 60/6 deferred money. They had to have know that the deferred money was simply a sunk cost at time of signing. So we’re dealing with real time money and in real time money Grienke is inherently more valuable at 24M v Ells at 20M. Grienke is also younger. So trading for Ellsbury does not help them in the least even in acquiring Betances. If the whole idea is to gain financial flexibility to assist in filling out the roster, and looking into extending Goldy and others how does taking on Ells do that? They would still be in the same situation they are in now just with no young SP to fill in for Grienke, two overpaid below average LF’s, and still no financial flexibility. Honestly the Dbacks like many other teams have no use for 35y/o platoon type CF with his big payday. May I add in a division with expansive OFs. The OF is also a source of strength for the Dbacks and Ells has no value for them. So let’s stop this narrative please. Sure a trade like this is a possibility if and only if the Yanks take on Tomas and Grienke waives his NTC, but it’s not realistic. You’re honestly suggesting a team trading for a TOR arm, who market value at 100/4 isn’t bad, and giving up a horrendous contract and a very questionable late inning mechanical nightmare. So really in this trade you continue to push it doesn’t really fix much for the Dbacks.
Agreed Yankee fans are constantly trying to figure out ways to get rid of Ellsbury not going to happen for a TOR arm.
I’m not sure why you are saying $24mm or $100m.
2018 Contract details by year 35 $31,000,000 $3,000,000 $34,000,000 $34,000,000
2019 Contract details by year 36 $31,500,000 $3,000,000 $34,500,000 $34,500,000
2020 Contract details by year 37 $32,000,000 $3,000,000 $35,000,000 $35,000,000
2021 Contract details by year 38 $32,000,000 $3,000,000 $35,000,000 $35,000,000
It’s pretty simple it’s really not that hard of a concept. 2016-2018 10M a year is deferred, 10.5M in 19, and 11M in 20-21. So in other words the Dbacks are paying Grienke about 100M from 2018-2021. The deferred money in his contract which isn’t being paid out until 2022-2026 was already consider a sunk cost and had to be upon signing. So in simple terms of the 34M owed to Grienke this year 10M is deferred and the actual money they pay him is 24M. AAV for the Dbacks matters not one bit. Actual salary matters a lot. The actual money they will pay Grienke annually: 18:24M, 19:24M,20:24M,21:24M, 2022-2026- 12.5M in deferred money.
These horrendous AAV contracts have become borderline comical. Sign a player for crazy money. Get overly excited. Watch him for a couple years. Then try to dump him. Free agency is all but a joke now for the $100M+ contracts.
Buying more than 3 or 4 free agent years has an extraordinarily poor track record. You’re buying into the second decade of a player’s MLB career after that point. There are always exceptions, but by and large making big commitments beyond that is going to bite you.
The reasoning behind these contracts is hidden in plain sight. Sure they tend to look bad on the back end, but the teams aren’t signing them for the back end, they are signing them for the front end. The teams know the risks, and they also know that winning is rarely cost-effective.
Pretty much $35mm a year is just such an absurd number for any team to absorb, even the Yankees. I just have a hard time seeing any team taking on that contract, especially in a year where hardly any free agents have signed and there is now a clear trend to not want to hand out big money and hamstring your roster going forward.
That said, for the Yanks to make it work, with luxury tax consideration, they need to move salary. Ellsbury actually works quite well in Arizona as he would play somewhat well there and they certainly need a couple outfielders. Ellsbury is probably an $8mm-$10mm a year player right now, like Grienke is probably a $16mm-$18mm pitcher, essentially both worth half their salaries.
Problem is, a swap of both + prospect from the Yanks still doesn’t work. That would be an increase of about $14mm in payroll even after moving Ellsbury and they’re just assuming way too much risk and right up on the payroll limit. Not a fan of including prospects either.
Maybe, just maybe you do an even swap of Ellsbury + Betances for Grienke. Ellsbury and Betances will cost about $25mm-$26mm together. So the Yanks could make that swap and add around $9mm-$10mm with Grienke. I just don’t see any other players to shed at this point to make the numbers work. The Yanks also keep Clint Frazier in this scenario too.
I don’t know though, $35mm a year for a pitcher for the next 4 years is crazy. Having Ellsbury is a far lower risk..
Greinke was a 5 WAR tor pitcher last year he is worth far more then 16-18 million in this market.
I’ve been noticing that teams love to sign big players to big contracts. But then after a couple years, their value goes down or the organization can’t afford the player anymore. I just think when teams sign these big players to big contracts, they really really need to look hard at how the player’s value is going to play out of the ENTIRE contact. Not just a couple years. If you get the player for only a couple years, if he starts declining, no one will want him or his contract will be too much and then they gotta pay 50% or more of their payroll. Pablo Sandoval, Giancarlo Stanton, Edwin Jackson (Cubs contact), bj upton, Matt kemp, rusney Castillo!!! The redsox have him 70+ million before even stepping onto a major league field!! The redsox may be a rich franchise, but they’ve made some stupid decisions. Teams overpay for no reason, when they can get players that are a lot cheaper for near the same value. If you can’t afford a player or are not gonna contend, flip the guy for some prospects and let the other team pay his contract or at least a part of it. Like manny machado. Baltimore needs to flip him. Are they really gonna contend with the Yankees and redsox?? No way. They need to trade him. The saying in moneyball “baseball thinking is medieval” is so true. Just look at all the examples I gave. I must say though, there are times where the contract works out. Max scherzer for example.
If only we could talk Jacoby into the desert…..
I can understand if a team wants to give Bryce Harper and mike trout 300 mil or more, cuz they’re on the up and coming and are still very young and can produce. But don’t give them 10 or more years. Just go with 7 years 300 mil cuz we all don’t know how Harper and trout are gonna age. And same goes with machado
Concerning Miller and Allen…..all the more reason to start grooming Salazar for a closing role.
Greinke to LA Dodgers for Kemp and Urias. Dbacks free up money and get a young pitcher while the Dodgers reunite Kershaw and Greinke.
Kemp gets regifted more than a holiday fruitcake.
Not a chance, Urias isn’t even tradable right now.
Kind of an interesting logic to this. The Dodgers take on a net $10m more for the next two seasons, which is likely doable. The problem is Urias probably won’t have any trade value until he’s proven to have recovered from his shoulder surgery and I doubt the Dodgers would be open to trading him anyway. He isn’t their only promising arm though.
The problem is taking on the net 10M puts them over the threshold. It also doesn’t help the Dbacks one bit in terms of flexibility. It’s just not a trade that works in anything other than theory.
I’m not so sure it does put them over though it would be close if they didn’t, say, trade Grandal (which I think they will). From the D’backs standpoint it gives them flexibility over the immediate horizon, which is what they need more than having it now if they decide to fold their cards before the season starts. Not that I think it will happen. The Dodgers seem committed to doing nothing of real importance this offseason.