- J.J. Hoover is looking like a good bet to break camp with the Diamondbacks, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Hoover signed a minor league deal with the D’Backs in January that will pay him a $900K base salary if he cracks the big league roster, which seems like a distinct possibility given the righty’s solid spring numbers and Arizona’s wide-open bullpen competition. Hoover posted solid numbers out of Cincinnati’s bullpen from 2012-15 before taking over as the Reds closer and suffering a disastrous 2016 season.
Diamondbacks Rumors
Diamondbacks Notes: Bradley, Miller
- Miller, who endured a nightmarish, well-publicized 2016 with the Diamondbacks, continued to flash high velocity Wednesday, according to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. Miller’s four-seam fastball sat between 93 mph and 96 mph (and touched 97 mph), and “the industry is intrigued” by the improved stuff he has shown this spring, relays Castrovince. D-backs manager Torey Lovullo thinks the righty is “ready to do some special things this year,” while Miller says he’s “just trying to have a positive outlook on everything” and not dwell on last season.
Rays, Yankees Interested In Nick Ahmed
The Rays and Yankees have joined the Padres in showing some trade interest in Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed, The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reports. The D’Backs had begun listening to offers for the defensive star thanks to a surplus of other middle infield options, with San Diego already linked due to manager Andy Green’s familiarity with Ahmed in his old job as Arizona’s third base coach.
It makes sense that both AL East rivals would be checking in on Ahmed given how Tampa and New York have both suffered injury setbacks at shortstop. The Rays are still uncertain as to when Matt Duffy will be able to begin full baseball activities in the wake of his extended recovery from Achilles tendon in his left heel last September. The Yankees, meanwhile, will be without Didi Gregorius until the end of April as the shortstop recovers from a shoulder strain.
At first glance, the Yankees would seem to have the lesser need for Ahmed since they already have several other middle infield options (Ronald Torreyes, Ruben Tejada, Donovan Solano, Pete Kozma, Tyler Wade or even second baseman Starlin Castro) on hand, plus they have a rough idea about when Gregorius will be back on the field. Tampa Bay’s timeline for Duffy is much more uncertain, and the Rays were already operating under something of a strained middle infield in the wake of trading Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers.
Tim Beckham is slated to take over at short in Duffy’s absence, leaving the Rays short a right-handed platoon option for second baseman Brad Miller, who struggles against lefties. Daniel Robertson and the switch-hitting Nick Franklin are the other viable middle infield options on the 40-man roster, as it is rather unlikely that top prospect Willy Adames will get an early promotion to the big leagues.
Ahmed hasn’t shown much at the plate (a .597 OPS over 842 career plate appearances) in his brief career and he carries some notable injury history in the form of season-ending hip surgery from last August. On the plus side, he is controllable through the 2020 season, and potentially through 2021 spending on how much more service time he accumulates this season — he has already clocked two years and 54 days of service time in his career. Ahmed has also shown himself to be a superb defender at short, with +34 Defensive Runs Saved and a 14.3 UZR/150 over 1920 career innings at the position.
In another item from Piecoro, he also reports that the Diamondbacks are listening to offers on right-hander Enrique Burgos. The 26-year-old has a fastball that averages just shy of 96mph and he owns an impressive 10.8 K/9 over 68 1/3 career innings in the majors, though Burgos has managed only a 5.27 ERA thanks to control issues (an even 5.00 BB/9). Piecoro figures that the D’Backs are trying to move Burgos in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Gregor Blanco, Tom Wilhelmsen, or another player who could win an Opening Day job.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/20/17
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Royals released lefty Jonathan Sanchez, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. Sanchez, 34, struggled badly in camp as he tried once more to make it back to the majors. Once an established starter, Sanchez hasn’t appeared in the bigs since 2013, when he failed to recover from a disastrous 2012 campaign. He also has not played in affiliated ball in either of the past two seasons, though he did go to camp with the Reds last year.
- The Diamondbacks released former first-round draft pick Stryker Trahan, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Taken 26th overall in 2012 as a catcher, he had shifted more recently to the outfield. Though he’s still just 22 years of age, though, the bat never showed much life after promising work at the Rookie ball level. While he hit 19 home runs in 2014, Trahan managed only a .283 OBP and hasn’t turned it around since. Last year, he slashed just .201/.256/.322 combined over 258 plate appearances at the Class A and High-A levels.
Josh Thole May Miss Season Due To Torn Hamstring
- Josh Thole suffered a “significant” hamstring tear that Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo expects will sideline the catcher for the season, Lovullo told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Thole is getting a second opinion on the injury and surgery is a possibility. The veteran catcher was in Arizona’s camp on a minor league deal battling for the backup role, though signs pointed to Thole starting the year at Triple-A.
Diamondbacks Willing To Listen To Offers For Nick Ahmed
10:00am: Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that the Padres have had past interest in Ahmed and points out that San Diego manager Andy Green knows Ahmed well from his time as the Diamondbacks’ third base coach.
9:44am: The Diamondbacks’ offseason infield additions (Ketel Marte and Daniel Descalso) and the spring emergence of Ildemaro Vargas (who is currently on the 40-man roster) have created a willingness to listen to offers on defensive standout Nick Ahmed, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. According to Piecoro, Chris Owings has the inside track on the Opening Day shortstop gig right now, further prompting the team to explore options with its infield depth.
[Related: Arizona Diamondbacks Depth Chart]
The 27-year-old Ahmed does have a pair of minor league options remaining, so there’s no urgency for Arizona to move him prior to the end of Spring Training. Ahmed underwent season-ending hip surgery last August but has looked healthy this spring, per Piecoro. Thus far, Ahmed has appeared in 13 games and is tied for the most at-bats of any player in Diamondbacks camp. He’s hitting just .250/.263/.389 in that small sample, though spring stats are always best taken with a grain of salt, and Ahmed’s value is derived from his glove as opposed to his bat, anyhow.
In parts of three big league campaigns, Ahmed is just a .221/.268/.329 hitter over the life of 842 plate appearances. While that level of offensive output is hardly appetizing, Ahmed also grades out as one of the game’s truly elite defenders, however. Ahmed has logged 1920 innings at shortstop in his Major League career and has posted outstanding totals of +34 Defensive Runs Saved and +20 in Ultimate Zone Rating. That premium glovework could make him appealing as a bench option, at the very least, to other NL clubs that lack the Diamondbacks’ considerable depth at shortstop.
If the D-backs are to find a taker in a trade for Ahmed, a bench role on another club seems the likeliest outcome for him, from my vantage point. That, however, has more to do with the fact that there simply aren’t many teams looking for starting shortstops than it does with Ahmed’s overall ability. The Padres are known to be looking for shortstop help and have reportedly inquired on both Jose Iglesias and Zack Cozart this winter, making them one speculative club that could look to Ahmed as a candidate for more regular playing time. Of course, there’s also the matter of dealing with a division rival, which can often complicate matters. San Diego currently has Luis Sardinas and non-roster invitee Erick Aybar as its top two shortstop options in camp, so there’s certainly room for Ahmed to join the fray and compete for playing time.
Ahmed has not yet reached arbitration eligibility in his still-young career, so he’d be eminently affordable for the upcoming 2017 campaign. He’ll be a virtual lock for arbitration next offseason so long as he spends at least 86 days in the Majors in 2017, though his limited offensive contributions should keep his price tag down even if he does reach arb. Ahmed can be controlled through at least the 2020 season, so he could be a cost-effective depth option for any club looking to bolster its infield defense in both the short and long term. Given his defensive prowess at short, it stands to reason that Ahmed would be well-equipped to handle both second base and third base as well.
Yasmany Tomas Diagnosed With Strained Oblique
March 16: Piecoro tweets that Tomas is still four to six days away from being reevaluated. At this juncture, the team is still hopeful that he can be ready for Opening Day, Piecoro adds.
March 15: Diamondbacks outfielder Yasmany Tomas has been diagnosed with a strained oblique after an MRI, manager Torey Lovullo tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). The 26-year-old has already missed about a week with what had been described as lower back tightness.
In the immediate aftermath of the issue arising, the new Arizona skipper had suggested it was viewed as “a little bit of aggravation” that would require only “a few days down.” Clearly, though, Tomas didn’t bounce back quite as hoped, leading to the closer look and the new diagnosis.
It’s obviously not possible to know much about the anticipated timeline for return based upon the mere presence of an oblique strain. Even if the severity were apparent, the road back is entirely dependent upon how fast healing occurs and whether the player can avoid aggravation of the injury while regaining strength and working back toward baseball readiness.
Oblique troubles can pose big problems for ballplayers, to be sure, though it’d be unwise to assume at this time that Tomas will be hampered in 2017. He was also off to an 0-for-17 start at the plate this spring, though the bat isn’t much in question after he slashed a robust .272/.313/.508 last year.
For the D-Backs, there could be some interest in an outside addition if Tomas isn’t ready for Opening Day. The club has several veteran corner outfield options in camp, led by David Peralta and also including catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann as well as minor-league free agents Jeremy Hazelbaker, Gregor Blanco, and Oswaldo Arcia. But all of those players hit from the left side; if Tomas is expected to miss anything length of time, then, a righty hitting fourth outfielder might well make a good deal of sense. There are a few free agents left who could hold appeal, or Arizona could wait to see how Tomas progresses and what players shake loose from rival organizations.
Latest On Zack Greinke
Diamondbacks righty Zack Greinke again showed less-than-ideal velocity in his latest spring outing, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. The veteran hurler did push over 90 at times, but fell back to the 86 to 88 mph range later in his start. Still, pitching coach Mike Butcher said Greinke is “right where he needs to be at this point,” suggesting that the heat could still build over camp. As Piecoro explains, there’s plenty more to Greinke’s game than velocity, though clearly more is generally better. Last year, Greinke averaged 91.3 mph with his four-seamer and 90.7 with his two-seam fastball, both of which were career lows, but only by a half of a mile per hour or so.
Gregor Blanco Happy To Be With D'Backs
- Gregor Blanco received interest from the Orioles and Tigers this winter, but the outfielder tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he chose to sign a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in part because of their running game and aggressive style of play. Detroit’s connection to Blanco was previously reported, and while this is the first time the O’s have been linked to Blanco this winter, he makes sense as a target given how Baltimore searched the market for left-handed hitting, versatile outfielders for much of the offseason.
Jerry Dipoto Reflects On Diamondbacks Tenure
Former Diamondbacks executive and interim general manager Jerry Dipoto (now the GM of the Mariners) tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the biggest regrets of his tenure in Arizona are missed opportunities in the draft. “The (mistakes) that really gnaw at me and I still wake up thinking about are the ones in the draft,” says Dipoto. “Where you had a scout or multiple scouts in the room telling you, ‘This is the guy.’ You know, ‘We should take Chris Sale.’ We should have.” Of course, the D-backs were hardly alone in passing on Sale, who fell to 13th in the first round of the 2010 draft. Still, the D-backs’ selection of Texas A&M righty Barret Loux, who ultimately didn’t even sign due to medical reasons, stings Dipoto as a misstep to this day. Dipoto adds that he hopes he’s grown as an executive from his ealier days, when he’d “run renegade on a group” of scouts or let his voice “overwhelm the opinion of the group.”
