The Diamondbacks signed Joc Pederson late last month and plan to use him as their primary designated hitter, but the Snakes remain on the lookout for a right-handed bat to pair with Pederson, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Among the names they’re considering are Randal Grichuk, Adam Duvall and Tommy Pham, he adds.
Beyond Pederson at designated hitter, Arizona also has lefties in center field (Alek Thomas) and in right field (Corbin Carroll). The team’s re-signing of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a three-year pact helped to balance out an all-lefty outfield mix, but in the event that Gurriel misses any time, the top option to replace him would be lefty-swinging Jake McCarthy. As such, there’s reason to have interest in a right-handed outfield bat beyond simply wanting a platoon partner for Pederson.
The mere possibility of Pederson and Pham on the same roster will prompt boundless quips about fantasy football, but the two would form a rather natural platoon in Arizona’s DH slot. Pederson has made a career of slugging against right-handed pitching (.242/.344/.490) but carries a bleak .209/.293/.329 slash against lefties — including a .186/.327/.279 output with the Giants in 2023. Pham, meanwhile, is a .271/.381/.453 hitter against southpaws.
Pham, 36 next month, hit .262/.332/.435 against lefties in 2023 — a season split between the Mets and the D-backs. It’s not the first time this winter that Arizona has been linked to a reunion with Pham, and their ongoing interest suggests that beyond giving the Snakes a useful right-handed bat, he was a good fit in the team’s clubhouse. Defensively, Pham is primarily a left fielder at this stage of his career. He did log 45 frames in center last season, but he hasn’t played the position even semi-regularly since 2018.
Duvall, who turned 35 in September, has generally even splits in his career: .232/.301/.469 against lefties and .232/.287/.473 against righties. He strikes out a bit more and walks a bit less against right-handers but doesn’t overwhelmingly favor pitchers of either handedness. That might make him a suboptimal platoon partner for Pederson, but it does give him some more utility of the D-backs incur injuries in their outfield and/or at designated hitter, with Pederson.
Duvall graded out as an elite corner outfield defender earlier in his career, but metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have viewed him as more of an average outfielder as he progresses into his mid-30s. The Red Sox did give Duvall a career-high 478 innings in center field last season, though the results weren’t what the team had hoped (-5 DRS, -4 OAA).
At 32 years old, Grichuk offers a younger version of a comparable skill set. He’s a career .267/.315/.507 hitter against left-handed pitching and has experience at all three outfield positions. Though he drew strong grades for his center field defense earlier in his career, defensive metrics have increasingly panned his work there. Grichuk is still a capable corner outfielder with average speed and above-average arm strength, and last year’s massive .328/.388/.607 slash against southpaws is particularly appealing for a team specifically looking for help against lefties.
The Diamondbacks currently project for a $142MM payroll, per Roster Resource, which would top their prior franchise record by nearly $11MM. That apparently won’t stop general manager Mike Hazen and his staff from pursuing further upgrades in free agency. None of Pham, Grichuk or Duvall will break the bank — all could likely be had on one-year contracts — but every dollar spent on payroll at this point pushes the D-backs further into uncharted territory.
If they want a right handed bench bat, talk to the White Sox about Eloy. I think he could be had cheaply if they would pay his full salary.
I doubt he’d come all that cheaply. He’s still young, on a reasonable contract, and despite the down year last season, still has a high ceiling (at least with the bat). The Sox might hang onto him and hope that he rebounds in 2024 rather than sell low on him.
Besides, it seems that Pederson is going to be the DH against righties. I think they’re looking for more of a cheap platoon partner for him. They’re not going to waste Eloy’s bat by only playing him a couple times per week, considering what it would cost to get him.
“if they would pay his full salary.” This is Jerry Reinsdorf we’re talking about. They rarely eat money in deals.
I meant if the DBacks would pay Eloy, they could have him without giving up much (or for close to free), I believe. Eloy is pretty weak for a 13M salary. No position, constantly hurt. He wouldn’t get 13M on a 1 year deal on the open market, that’s for sure. Not now. Plus next year he has a 3M buyout. So a team would be making a 16M commitment for a guy who has never posted a WAR above 1.7 in a season. I doubt any team would take him for free if they had to pay him that, personally.
I hope he has a good year, he seems like a decent guy with a lot of bad luck. He has looked like a beast of a hitter at times, but always for pretty brief stints. But not so much recently.
No team wants to pay that kind of money for a bench bat.
I wanted to believe in both Eloy and Moncada. But his #s over 120 games(which was a healthy season in relation to him), his #s were rather ok to kinda good for a pretty much bat only guy.
Eloy is going into age 27 and Moncada age 29. It’s time to reevaluate these fuss ceilings. They clearly bolstered false hype with inflated juiced balls stats in 2019. Now I do thong Eloy especially has some value, but I think it’s much lower than many want to admit.
I’m certain neither will be on the roster beyond this season
Robbie Grossman would be a good signing to platoon with Joc.
Grossman seems pretty washed up to me. I feel like Duvall may be the best fit. Right handed power bat to compliment Pederson, Carroll and Thomas. Can still play a somewhat passable CF if needed. Should come pretty cheap.
I’d imagine the dbacks wouldn’t need CF help unless Thomas, Carroll and McCarthy all went down. Considering all three played there last season. Anyone they get would only see time in LF most likely.
Not sure how well Johnny can hit at his age.
If I am the Chisox I keep Eloy, Luis Robert probably the whole year.
. . . M A Y B E listen to offers on them and Cease at All Star Break.. Benintendini looks like another ?ionable contract; you don’t expect power from him but contact maybe 65 RBIs and above average defense. the Pale Sox have a lot of tough decisions to make. They don’t necessarily need a complete rebuild BUT pretty close IMO
CUBs look much better and still ready to pounce on an impactful FA e.g. Belli, Chapman apparently “still monitoring” ARGH
Pham and Joc in the same clubhouse would be interesting.
They’d be Pham-ily.
Joc-ularity, I know.
It would certainly be entertaining which is probably why Pham isn’t coming back. Arizona doesn’t need that kind of drama in the clubhouse. They just got rid Madison Bumgarner last season, no need to bring that back.
When I read, “Among the names they’re considering are …. Tommy Pham,” all I could think was “PLEASE let it be Pham.”
A Pham and Joc platoon would be positively wild.
My choice would be Grichuk.
Agreed, I would pick Grichuk of those three. They can’t have enough depth, even hoping that Lawler takes a big step forward.
Grichuk seems like a good fit for a bench role/platoon DH situation. Like it was mentioned in the article, he can play some outfield and hits lefties quite well.
I say make a deal with the Angels for Brandon Drury he can DH, 1B, 2B, 3b and the outfield. Angels looking for a bullpen arm or two.
Kike Hernandez. He can be used all over the diamond and give the regular fielders an occasional game at DH when Pederson is not playing.
Randal Is Younger & A Better Outfielder Than Duvall & Pham Plus Hes A Better Fit
wonder if they would trade in division with the giants. If they get Chapman then Davis could be moved and is a decent RH bat. since it is a necessary trade for the giants to clear roster space it may not take much to get him.
The signing of Joc probably closes the door on Pham. Grichuck makes the most sense; decent pop and can play all three OF spots
Jake McCarthy’s spidey senses just started tingling.
I vote for none of the above. Play the young prospects instead. Kristian Robinson may be just the right handed power bat the Dbacks need off the bench, and he can play all 3 OF positions better than any of those veterans.
Do you think Robinson is ready for MLB pitching in 2024? Only 5 games at AA last year, it’s a shame that he missed so much time but kinda did it to himself.
While I hope that younger players emerge, they need more veteran depth.
He’s not ready.
Agreed, I’m not fully convinced that Robinson will live up to the potential he once had
DBacks are a hard team not to root for. The mention of their still somewjat needed RH bat still makes Pederson signing confusing. Guy has so so power not much for consistent contact, no speed, and not very good defense. With a RH bat obviously complementing their lineup a bit more just seems like such a bad fit at the price they paid. Duvall just seemed clearly the better fit. Should ve been him signed and then fill out the bench spot with best fit.
“Meanwhile” needs to be at the start of the sentence, NOT the middle.