It’s been a rough few years for the Diamondbacks. After making the playoffs in 2017 and then posting respectable records above .500 in the two following seasons, the last three campaigns have seen their fortunes sink. They finished last in the National League West in 2020 and 2021, then surpassed the Rockies last year for a fourth place finish. During that time, the Dodgers, Giants and Padres have all had strong seasons, making the efforts of the D-Backs feel particularly hopeless. In 2021, they finished 52-110 and 55 games out in the division.
2022 was a step in the right direction, though, and there are some exciting ingredients in place. The position player mix seems to have a lot of good momentum behind it. Even after dealing Daulton Varsho to the Blue Jays, the outfield should feature a crop of exciting youngsters, headlined by Corbin Carroll but with Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy also in the mix. On the infield, Ketel Marte is capable of MVP-level production when healthy and at his best. Christian Walker is underrated at first base while shortstop Jordan Lawlar and catcher Gabriel Moreno are considered some of the best prospects in the league.
However, the pitching staff is a bit more precarious at the moment. In 2022, the position players posted a cumulative tally of 19.8 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, good enough for 15th place in the majors. But the pitchers posted a total of 7.7 fWAR, ranking them 27th. If the team is to re-emerge and start contending again, they will need to get better results from the mound. There were some potentially encouraging developments in their rotation in 2022, but still some uncertainty going forward into 2023.
It’s possible that the club will make further additions via free agency but it’s also possible that they’re done. The club’s payroll is now at $113MM, per the calculations of Roster Resource. They’ve been as high as $132MM in the past, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but they were at just $91MM last year. That means they’ve already boosted the budget by more than $20MM. For now, let’s take a look at the in-house options, starting with the four veterans.
Gallen, 27, seemed to emerge as an ace in 2019 and 2020, making 27 starts with a 2.78 ERA. He had a swoon in 2021, dealing with various injuries and his ERA jumped to 4.30, but he was back in form last year. In 2022, he made 31 starts and logged 184 innings with a 2.54 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate. He finished fifth in the voting for the National League Cy Young award and can be controlled via arbitration for three more seasons.
Kelly, 34, parlayed a strong run in the KBO into a two-year deal with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2019 season. That deal also came with a pair of club options. Kelly pitched well enough that they triggered both options and then gave him an extension that runs through 2024 with a club option for 2025. Through four seasons with Arizona so far, he has a 3.96 ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 43% ground ball rate. He’s certainly a notch below Gallen, but he’s a solid mid-rotation option for the club.
After spending over a decade with the Giants, Bumgarner came to the D-Backs prior to the 2020 season on a five-year, $85MM deal. Unfortunately, his results immediately took a nosedive after the uniform switch. He had a 3.13 career ERA in his time with the Giants but has posted a 4.98 mark in his three seasons as a Snake. His walk rate is still better than average but his strikeouts have vanished. He punched out 23.9% of opponents on his previous team but it’s been just a 17.7% rate for Arizona. Now 33 years old, it’s hard to expect a sudden bounceback, though the Diamondbacks might give him a chance to try since he still has two years and $37MM left on his deal. That gives him negative trade value at this point and it would be a lot of cash to eat for a Diamondbacks team that’s never been a top spender. However, his salary goes from $23MM this year to $14MM in 2024, which could make some kind of transaction more plausible if he can find better results in 2023.
Davies, 30 in February, pitched for the D-Backs in 2022. He didn’t blow anyone away but he was passable enough. He made 27 starts with a 4.09 ERA. His 17.9% strikeout rate was a few ticks below average but his 9.1% walk rate and 42.9% ground ball rate were both right around league average. He used his five-pitch mix to keep hitters from doing damage, as his hard hit rate was in the 76th percentile among qualified pitchers and his average exit velocity was in the 75th. The club agreed to a new one-year deal with him yesterday, bringing him back to hopefully provide some steady production while they evaluate their younger pitchers.
If those four pitchers are healthy and throwing well, there will be one spot remaining for a younger pitcher. Nelson will certainly be in that mix to secure the final job. He was selected by Arizona in the second round of the 2019 draft and has been considered one of the club’s better prospects since then. He even cracked Baseball America’s top 100 list of all prospects in the league going into 2022. Last year saw him spend most of his time with the Triple-A Reno Aces, who play in the Pacific Coast League. He made 26 starts for that club with a 5.43 ERA in what is a notoriously hitter-friendly environment. His 21.6% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate were solid enough for him to get a major league debut in September. He made three starts in the big leagues with a 1.47 ERA, striking out 23.2% of batters faced while walking 8.7% of them. That’s a very small sample size but an encouraging one nonetheless. He’ll turn 25 in February and still has a full slate of options. He could certainly be sent back to Triple-A but an extended audition at the big leagues could be warranted as well.
Jameson and Nelson have a very similar trajectory to this point. Jameson was also selected in the 2019 draft, just ahead of Nelson by being selected between the first and second rounds, with the pick the club received for AJ Pollock signing with the Dodgers. Jameson began 2022 in Double-A but posted a 2.41 ERA in four starts and got quickly moved up to Triple-A. With the Aces, he posted a 6.95 ERA in 114 innings in that pitcher-hostile environment. However, his rate stats were decent, striking out 21.2% of hitters, walking 8.2% of them and getting grounders on 48.6% of balls in play. He also got called up to the big leagues in September, just like Nelson, making four starts with a 1.48 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 56.1% ground ball rate. Just like Nelson, he’ll be 25 years old this season and has a full slate of options. The two seem likely to be battling each other for the final rotation spot with one likely to be optioned, but they could also both be in the mix as soon as an injury pops up.
Just like Nelson and Jameson, Henry was also nabbed in the 2019 draft. He was selected in competitive balance round B, between the second and third rounds. He posted stronger Triple-A results than the other two last year, with a 3.74 ERA over 21 starts. However, his first taste of the big leagues didn’t go as smooth as he made nine starts with a 5.36 ERA, striking out just 17.6% of hitters while walking 10.2% of them. He’s also 25 and provides a third competitor in the battle for the last rotation job, but it’s possible he’s a bit behind Nelson and Jameson based on his weaker debut. He still has a full slate of options and could be in line for more work in the minors, ready to make the jump again when needed and ready.
Pfaadt, 24, began 2022 in Double-A, making 19 starts and logging 105 1/3 innings there. His 4.53 ERA might not look special, but he posted that number despite striking out 32.2% of batters faced and walking just 4.3% of them. A .370 batting average on balls in play surely inflated that ERA to a level higher than he deserved, though 17.9% of his fly balls turning into home runs may have contributed as well. The D-Backs seemed to be willing to look past that ERA, bumping him to Triple-A in August. Pfaadt took very well to the move, despite the strong offensive environment. He tossed 61 2/3 innings over 10 starts for the Aces with a 2.63 ERA, 30.6% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. Based on that strong finish, he has surged up prospect rankings. He currently has the #83 slot at Baseball America, is #90 at MLB Pipeline, but FanGraphs is especially bullish and considers him the 25th best prospect in the league. He’s not yet on the club’s 40-man roster since he was only drafted in 2020 and isn’t Rule 5 eligible until this coming December, but he seems destined to make a big league debut well before then.
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When combined, there are some strong elements here for the D-Backs. Gallen gives them an ace and Kelly a solid piece for the middle of the rotation. Davies isn’t terribly exciting but is fine as a backend piece. Bumgarner’s contract is underwater at this point, but he could also be a solid backend guy if he puts the past three years behind him. Those four combined don’t give the club an especially strong rotation, but the four guys behind them give the overall group plenty of upside. If one or two of the young guys have a breakout in 2023, then the rotation picture starts to look much better.
The position player core in Arizona is heavily future-focused, with Carroll, Thomas, Marte, Moreno, Lawlar and others starting to develop into a strong core that could allow the club to continually improve over the coming seasons. With the rotation, the path forward could be very similar. Prospects aren’t sure things, especially when it comes to pitchers, but the Diamondbacks need to hit on young players if they’re not going to spend like the Dodgers, Padres and Giants. For now, there are signs of hope in the desert and the upcoming season will be a fascinating one to watch.
Bumgarner needs to go or to the pen. Davies is quietly a good pitcher. Having gallen Kelly and soon to be stud pfaadt will be great. Jameson is another one who will do well. This has nothing to do with Nelson and all the other prospects behind him. Dbacks will be a great team by next year.
Bumgarner should have never been signed to that contract.
Can’t argue that.
Gallen, Kelly, Davies, Nelson, Jameson. Send Madbum to the bullpen. That’s a solid rotation with lots of room for growth
The only thing I would do is replace Pfaadt with Jameson and actually throw him in as a closer
Can’t say that I’d agree on Drey to the bullpen. He has two FBs and three other offerings that he mixes up fairly well (and had surprisingly good control as well); whereas, Ryne also has three auxiliary offerings, but he was throwing his 4S almost 70% of the time.
Nelson would be more of a BP fit, but all of them should stick at SP until they prove that they can’t. Fortunately, that time hasn’t come yet.
I realize that this site is player / salary driven.
But when you discuss pitchers – and particularly a teams staff – there has to be consideration given to who heads up their coaching area.
In the DBacks case it’s Brent Strom. He has a few assistants working with him as well…both in the major and minor league areas. He built the Astros pitching departments, and made nice strides in his first year with the DBacks. Their pitchers will be the beneficiaries of his tutelage and the systems the DBacks put in place.
Is there a back story behind the departure of Strom?
Never mind…
climbingtalshill.com/2021/11/12/astros-4-thoughts-…
si.com/.amp/mlb/2022/05/09/diamondbacks-pitching-b…
They also have Dave McKay as the 1B coach and OF coordinator; he’s a defensive guru. That might be part of the reason they were comfortable with taking Gurriel Jr.
Maybe Hazen feels that McKay can help Lourdes smooth out his defense a bit, or two other CFs in the field can at least compensate (that’s entirely speculation, though).
Bumgarner for president
MadBum for Speaker of the House
I could see them easily finishing second in the west behind the Padres.
sure would be nice to have Gallen in a Cardinal’s uniform again.
And Alcantara lol
Mad Bum would tear the place down before he’d go to the pen but that’s where he belongs at this point. Really bad signing but they were desperate after losing 110 games. Still, they should’ve passed.
Bumgarner is an old Pfaadt.
I remember Giants fans bragging about the farm system Farhan was building for years. The Diamondbacks actually went and built a quality farm system that looks miles ahead of the current giants system.
If SF developed more than Logan Webb the last few years, they wouldn’t need to sign a bunch of free agents.
Should’ve sold Rodon last deadline for a near MLB prospect package. SF gets an early draft pick but it’ll be 3-6 years before they make an impact. Everyone knew they had no shot of competing with LA and SD last year. They should’ve restocked the barren farm system. Now they’ve likely been passed by Arizona
I’m optimistic about all that’s been written here, but…
THE most glaring weakness of the 2022 Dbacks was their bullpen, especially the Closer. Only 4 from that ‘22 squad are back this year, and 1 of them only because of his contract. Brent Strom needs to work miracles with the rebuilt pen this year or else all the optimism about the rest of this young team will get sucked out of it by the All-Star break.
McGough had 69 saves the past two seasons in the KBO so hopefully that helps the ‘pen
Rsox
The bullpen was SO TERRIBLE last year and 50% needs to be replaced. That’s huge. It’s not like we need one or two pieces to make it a strong unit. And bullpens are so volatile from year to year, I’m not confident that any of the 4 holdovers from last year won’t regress.
So, with that gloomy outlook, I don’t think what Hazen has done to rebuild the bullpen this off-season is nearly enough. Yes, McGough may have been the best move Hazen made, but McGough hasn’t proven anything yet.
I strongly believe the Dbacks should convert at least one of the 4 young starters to the bullpen in 2023. We need all hands on deck this year to prevent the bullpen from dragging this team down.
Personally, I think Jameson has the bulldog, Closer mentality to thrive in that role. If Hazen isn’t willing to get an established Closer via trade, then Jameson is the best internal option.
The D’backs have picked up a few interesting bullpen arms this winter. McGough, Miguel Castro, Cole Sulser and there are still plenty of options they could still pluck out of free agency
Rsox
I agree with your choice of adjectives, there are some “interesting” arms. And I also know Hazen switched to targeting power arms this off-season. So, I agree he has tried to solve the problem within his budget constraints. Plus, the Dbacks have Strom working his magic with pitchers. Those are the positives, but none of them are actual on field results, they are all hypothetical or theoretical.
I like all those hypotheticals/theoreticals, but I’m reminded that last year the Dbacks had hypothetically and theoretically “solved” their Closer problem with signing Melancon and Kennedy. But last year’s solution was worse than the previous year’s problem! Hope springs eternal, but reality sucked last year.
Last year, we were all distracted from the bullpen problem by watching our young position players and starters make their debuts. We lowered expectations in order to give these young guys developmental time. This is going to be further developmental time for them, but there is a chance they could shock the baseball world. They’ve shown glimpses last year of their potential. I fear they will actually grow into that potential this year, but the bullpen will be so bad again that the team will flounder at the same level of wins as last year. That would be a total waste and possibly the bullpens ineptitude could rub off on the young guys. That’s why I’m concerned that Hazen hasn’t done enough with rebuilding the bullpen this year.
I’m generally on board with what you’re saying, but Jameson to CP I can’t get on board with; the DBacks won’t be giving 25 starts to the likes of Castellanos, Gilbert, Keuchel, Martin, Smith, Weaver, and K. Nelson (as an opener), and Henry likely only sees 9 GS if there’s some poor fortune with injuries. That’s 8 of the 14 SP the DBacks used last season, so the rotation is likely to be better by virtue of those guys not getting 34 GS. Bumgarner was not good by any stretch of the imagination, but the other 5 guys (Gallen, Kelly, Davies, Jameson, and R. Nelson) were more than serviceable.
Mantiply, Ginkel, and K. Nelson locked up their bullpen spots with results and the Castro, McGough, and Sulser acquisitions give some swing-and-miss to help with the bullpen floor. Vargas and Martinez give some high upside stuff (Holton and Bukauskas may be able to get by as middle relief), and the only ones in the bullpen that can’t be optioned are: Castro, McGough, Melancon, and Martin (and the latter two are viable DFA candidates if they don’t show any improvement); so there’s available flexibility throughout the course of the season.
It’s not a particularly impressive group without a present Closer (registered trademark), but if we can respectably get to the deadline with what we have in-house, dealing for a legitimate CP and pushing everyone one rung down the depth chart would actually make it a threatening group.
The D’backs are not going to pay Bumgarner $37 million over the next two years for mop-up duty. If he shows he has anything left in the tank he might be tradeable mid-season (assuming Arizona eats a large chunk of salary)
They took the bat out of Bumgarner’s hands and took a little piece of his heart – he’s now collecting paychecks until his contract is up and will likely retire – but healthy, he should be in the rotation.
highheat
Thanks, and I’m generally on board with what you are saying.
I think we all agree that some of these off-season acquisitions will succeed and some will fail? I hope Lovullo will have a very short leash, and get the failures off the team quickly. But that could mean the Dbacks may run through a higher number of bullpen arms in 2023 than normal? In the event that happens, I think the Dbacks still need more arms for the bullpen, and I think they need to look internally. What’s left on the Free Agent scene and the upcoming Waiver Wire options are going to be so high risk/low probability of success options, that I think the internal options are better candidates. And I think that means one or more of the young starters. I’m not saying they convert permanently to the bullpen, but I am saying I think they are needed there in 2023.
I agree that some acquisitions are bound to fail, but out of: Gallen, Kelly, Jameson, Davies, Bumgarner, R. Nelson, Henry, Pfaadt, Cecconi, and Walston (as long as the last two aren’t called up before the trade deadline) we should be able to cobble together a respectable rotation, as long as both Gallen/Kelly don’t go down. Even then, we might be surprised by how they perform.
Out of: Mantiply, Ginkel, K. Nelson, Castro, McGough, Sulser, Vargas, Melancon, Martinez, Holton, Bukauskas, Martin, and Frias (plus Workman and Stumpo, along with a bevy of MiLB FAs competing out of ST), there should be a reasonable approximation of an MLB average bullpen (these signings were unlike Melancon/Kennedy in that the vast majority of the guys coming in are on the upswing of their careers, and even the majority of the MiLB FAs are moderately young).
The ability to get guys that are underperforming off of your roster without exposing them to other teams is incredibly underrated (especially with the looming potential of Bumgarner being unceremoniously shoved in the bullpen), and it’s something that we haven’t seen in a while on DBacks teams (some years we even had 5-6 guys in the bullpen that were out of options). That flexibility has been the hallmark of this DBacks offseason; there’s a solid foundation in place with decent depth options everywhere (with a lot of upside at some of those positions), with no longterm commitments or prospect deals, along with dwindling contracts, and high quality prospects on the way.
The world is Hazen’s oyster right now; he doesn’t NEED to make anymore deals or rush prospects (more about preserving service time for longterm financial stability than protecting guys) and there are a good amount of resources in place for when he does feel that need (many of which are actually desirable trade pieces).
highheat
On Pfaadt…he’s only had 10 starts at AAA Reno. Last year, Henry, Nelson and Jameson weren’t brought up until they had 20+ starts at AAA. If that procedure holds for Pfaadt, he won’t be available until the All-Star break either. I know he pitched plenty of total innings last year between AA and AAA, but the AAA innings thing gives me pause for counting on him early in the season, especially now that the Dbacks resigned Davies. What do you think about Pfaadt’s ETA for the majors?
Nobody but Hazen knows for certain when Pfaadt gets the call-up; I wouldn’t be surprised (or upset) if he makes the Opening Day roster with a dominant ST, and I wouldn’t be surprised (or upset) if there’s enough SP health that he’s kept down until he’s guaranteed to not exhaust his rookie eligibility (in which case, he would definitely be a frontrunner for RotY in ’24 and the team would have an extra year of control over him in his prime).
There are already 7 SP on the 40-man ahead of him (technically 8 if you have faith in Martin as a spot SP; I don’t), so there’s not really a rush to start burning his service time or make a corresponding 40-man move before it’s completely necessary.
He absolutely only had 10 GS at AAA, but the PCL was even more offensively friendly last season than it has been historically; in spite of that, he had a 2.63 ERA, 30.6 K%, and 5.8 BB% while averaging 6 IP per GS (in only his second professional season, after being drafted as a RP at a D2 school). That’s kind of ridiculous.
That being said, the Davies signing suggests that Hazen would prefer to preserve his service time or that Bumgarner is at the edge of the plank. Who knows which.
As for Jameson, he was drafted after spending most of his college career as a RP; coupled with his relatively slight stature and high effort delivery there will likely always be questions about whether he can stick in a rotation; that being said, he’s shown the durability, the stuff, the depth of arsenal, and more than enough strikes to flourish as a SP. My counter argument to concerns about his durability is “he do be kinda thicc doe” (you can quote me on that). Plus a fun little throwaway line about him last season; he beat Carroll in a foot race. What reason does anyone have to lie about that? The dude is athletic af. I’m fairly high on him (to be fair so are prospect outlets; a 50 FV as a SP is a mid-rotation SP), because he showed command in MLB enough to run a better than average BB%. Part of that is a willingness to lean on his Sinker to get a BIP when behind in the count, but I have very high hopes for him and Strom over a full season.
The entirely hypothetical, (semi-)entirely outlandish longterm best case scenario for the DBacks is see if at least one of Carroll/Jameson/Nelson can finish top 2 in RotY (preferably two) while preserving Pfaadt’s rookie status for ’24, so they can have legitimate shots at 1-3 of the next 4 compensation picks (and those sweet, sweet slot values for extra draft capital). Is it reasonable to expect any of that to happen? Definitely not, but you can’t count on lucking into opportunities like that (and the roster is already constructed in such a way that that’s a plausible reality, if an unlikely one).
highheat
Last year, the Dbacks used 14 different starting pitchers, 10 of them were.exclusively starters. So that’s the approximate need for starting pitchers. You listed 7 starters, plus3 more for the 2nd half of the season.
Last year, the Dbacks used 25 different relievers, including 2 position players, you listed 14 plus a “bevy” of unnamed others.
Dbacks might have enough quality starting pitchers, but I don’t think there are enough quality relievers in the organizational depth category.
If we’re going with 10 primary SPs, after the givens of: Gallen, Kelly, Jameson, Davies, Bumgarner, Nelson, and Henry that appeared both seasons, we’re left comparing the groups of Pfaadt/Cecconi/Walston to Castellanos/Gilbert/Keuchel.
The main reason they even had to cycle through the latter group (with additional spot starts) so much was because they were completely ineffective; that’s much less of a concern with the former group based on stuff and pedigree alone. And they don’t NEED to be kept down until the middle of the season, it’s just preferred that it happen that way for development reps and service time manipulation.
Let’s go over some of the names among those 25 relievers: Weaver, Uceta, Fry, Wendelken, Poppen, Castellanos, Frias, Kennedy, Melancon, Gilbert, Martin, Middleton, Widener, Peacock, Devenski, Moronta, Ramirez, Smith, and (the husk of Oliver) Perez. There’s 19 of the 25 names. How many of those names would you expect on a competitive MLB roster and how many legitimately have the stuff to project some upside? They only had to go with 25 names because so many of them absolutely imploded (which, you can’t be entirely surprised, because almost nobody among those names could miss bats).
Mantiply, Ginkel, K. Nelson, Castro, McGough, Sulser, Melancon, Martin, Vargas, Martinez, Holton, and Bukauskas are already a better group even if smaller, because the majority of them actually have the stuff necessary to miss bats (and are a year further into development).
That’s 12 names right there (which covers for 4 injuries or roster drops), and I listed most of the others because they’re already at AAA but hanging off of the 40-man. Having somebody that you’re familiar with ready to assume a 40-man spot in the event of a 60-day IL placement is much better than racing to acquire a replacement (and they’d only make an appearance if half of the entire bullpen was garbage/injured anyway). The MiLB FAs are inconsequential, but they do pan out regularly enough to be worth a gamble for depth (not suggesting that there will be any hits this season).
The resources are in place to deal for relief help at the deadline if the struggles are too rough, but at least the bullpen isn’t loaded down with soft tossers anymore (and it’s much more feasible to eat Melancon’s contract and there are no other options for Martin; both literally and figuratively). There’s also still the possibility that Bumgarner can get relegated to the bullpen, which would require optioning one of the arms.
There are clear areas for subtraction with more quality depth in place, and pushing everyone one spot down by getting a legit CP at the deadline leaves you with two of Mantiply/Castro/Ginkel/McGough as the Setup guys, and a stable full of middle relievers with much better than average stuff. That’s not a league worst bullpen, which is all I’m asking for in a season where the Postseason is one bridge too far.
On those relievers from 2022, they virtually all turned out to be bums, but I was personally intrigued by a few of them before the season began.
I was willing to see if Melancon and Kennedy could team up to share the Closer role with a “hot hand” closes approach based on the sheer number of saves they accumulated from the previous season..
And I was minorly intrigued by Poppen, Frias, Devenski and Middleton before the season began. Then majorly disappointed as the season progressed.
I was totally against the idea of giving Smith, Ramirez, Wendleken, etc. another season.
This year, I’m good with giving Mantiply, K. Nelson, Ginkel and even Melancon another try. And I’m minorly intrigued by McGough, Vargas, Castro, Martinez and even Bukauskas. I know only that they and the others are more high velo strikeout guys than last year’s bunch in general.
But I’m concerned we again start out with high hopes and end up looking back on a season of potential that never panned out. I’m virtually positive that about half of these new names will flame out. And I’m biting my fingernails over the concept of McGough translating his success overseas to MLB.
I was intrigued as well, but mostly because most of their profiles were predicated on soft contact with respectable control and very little swing-and-miss; so they were heavily reliant on the defense (which looked good on paper to start the year).
When Ahmed went down and Perdomo struggled in the early going (along with Rojas struggling at 3B and Ketel giving us his best Robo Cop impression) that really hampered the viability of EVERYBODY’s profiles. The garbage fire we witnessed was the horrific result of that.
Fortunately, Walker, Thomas, and Carroll (and Varsho) emerged triumphantly from that pile of ashes (like Walmart-brand Phoenixes) as elite defensive options. You can’t convince me that them fielding hot-shots all day everyday didn’t contribute to that defensive excellence (only half joking).
Even Perdomo started to look respectable at SS toward the end of the season (it wouldn’t hurt to have him and Ahmed on the field at the same time, either).
The new approach this offseason was go almost strictly for swing-and-miss, and if they happen to get soft contact along with it that’s great (the defense should have a much better than average shot at making plays on hard contact from almost every position, and the defensive dropoff from one option to the next doesn’t start getting egregious until you get to option 3-4; ironically, it actually improves if/when Ketel goes down). As long as they get those swings-and-misses with some regularity it’s okay to let the defense pick them up, but they’re not completely leaning on that good defense (except for Davies, but he is that good defense too; let the man eat).
All things considered and if all else fails, one more year of Strom with a full offseason of his direction (and more time for his coaching philosophy to permeate through the Minor League development team) certainly can’t hurt.
It should be a question of how bad they want to win. If they want to win the rotation should be
Gallen, Kelly, Nelson, Pfaadt, Davies. Idc about Bumgarners contract it’s about winning not about bad decisions in the past. Throw Jameson as closer. Reminds me of Greg holland on the royals. Idk about the bullpen, people are fighting for their job. Whoever plays best in ST gets it end of story.
highheat and scottaz, you guys should have a D-backs podcast. You both know the D-backs well and express your opinions articulatly. A MLBTR D-backs article is not complete until you two weigh in… thanks.
You give me too much credit 😉 I appreciate that you enjoy the commentary (sometimes I think that I’m too long-winded; every time I think that I don’t care lol). I also appreciate your insight as well; I know that I have biases, so it’s nice to hear takes from reasonable third parties.
There’s quite a bit of DBacks nuggets to be delved into if you’re willing to do a little digging. Hazen doesn’t exactly make it easy, though lol.
I can’t remember any instances where he outright lied or reversed course on any of his statements, but he’s VERY deliberate in his word choice. It’s like everything he does is to give himself more options. I admire what he’s been able to accomplish though, and I stand by my assertion the his contention plan was affected heavily by the Pandemic (we’re counting on a bunch of guys drafted in the ’18-19 drafts, and even one from the ’20 draft; they’re obviously very talented, but I have to wonder where would they have been without the lost development year?).
Thanks for the compliment. I think highheat is knowledgeable enough to do a Podcast, but he needs a better partner than me.
I really do appreciate the compliments, but I’m more of a third mic in real life lol. I think a podcast would take some of the joy out of it.
I’m just frequently lurking around here because I’m a big fan of playing games “to the letter of the law”; contracts are implicitly and entirely “rules as written”, so it’s a logical fit lol.
Especially since the new CBA incentivized getting as many RotY candidates as possible with no significant deterant to clever management of debut timelines; some would call that service time manipulation, to which I say, “Don’t hate the player”.
It’s been around for a while, and there have been many opportunities to address it through Collective Bargaining, but the players have been content to focus on the high-end of players while mostly overlooking guys just coming into the league; I’m not going to designate some moral obligation upon one party that’s not specifically addressed in writing, especially not in a business decision.
Wait… am I not a good person? jk Sorry about the rant, unrelated, but what’s your opinion of Pavin Smith?