Diamondbacks Seek To Pursue New Ballpark
Chase Field opened in 1998, the year of the Diamondbacks’ inception, and has long drawn praise from the baseball community. But if the D-backs have it their way, it may not be their home for much longer, as Craig Harris of the Arizona Republic reports.
In a letter to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, President and CEO Derrick Hall argued that there is no reasonable recourse for the club but to “pursue other stadium options.” The problem, from the club’s perspective, is that the Maricopa County Stadium District — the board-controlled entity that owns the park — has failed to honor its alleged obligation to account for upwards of $187MM in maintenance and repair costs through 2027.
Hall puts it in even more dramatic terms in a statement released by the club today. “This spiral is insurmountable,” he said, apparently referring to the lack of funding for capital improvements, “and will result in a Chase Field that will no longer be a state-of-the-art facility as our agreement requires and may, in fact, become unsuitable for continued use. We cannot risk being put in that position.”
Even if that funding was available, however, the D-Backs say it wouldn’t make sense to use it towards the current, 18-year-old ballpark. Therefore, the team concludes in its letter, a new facility is necessary. While the organization says it strongly prefers to build in Phoenix, it also warns that it willing to “go elsewhere” to find an arrangement to its liking.
Of course, the contract at issue does not permit the team to pursue alternative stadium sites until 2024. While contending that the stadium district has ceded that right by breaching the contract, the club also requests authorization to explore alternatives — a request that has already been denied — under threat of pursuing court action.
Clearly, these maneuvers have set up a political and legal battle over the future home of the franchise. As Harris notes, the city’s hockey and basketball teams are also angling for new public commitments relating to their facilities, so there’s a broader picture at play here.
The Diamondbacks recently locked up a big new TV contract, ultimately dedicating over $200MM of that expected revenue flow to Zack Greinke. But new taxpayer-funded stadiums have long been another popular — yet highly controversial — means of boosting teams’ bottom lines yet further. The Braves’ shocking move out of downtown Atlanta provides a recent model, as Turner Field opened two years before Chase; the D-Backs’ letter calls that decision “economically efficient and responsible.”
Connor Byrne co-authored this post.
Joe Garagiola Passes Away
Joe Garagiola passed away this morning, the Diamondbacks have announced. He was 90. He is survived by his wife, three children (including Joe Garagiola Jr., the former D-backs GM) and eight grandchildren. There will be a funeral in St. Louis, and a memorial service in Arizona.
Garagiola grew up in St. Louis as a close friend of Yogi Berra, and both players made their big-league debuts as catchers in 1946 (when Garagiola played in the World Series as a rookie with the Cardinals). Garagiola played for parts of nine seasons in the big leagues, catching for the Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs and Giants before playing his last season in the big leagues in 1954. He batted .257/.354/.385 for his career.
Garagiola then went into broadcasting, first working for the Cardinals and then for NBC, where he worked alongside Vin Scully. He also served as a co-host on The Today Show, a guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and as the host of a variety of game shows. After leaving NBC following the 1988 season, he broadcast for the Angels in 1990 before serving 15 years as a part-time broadcaster with the D-Backs. He received the Ford C. Frick award from the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 1991.
“Joe was so special to everyone at the D-backs and had an aura about him that you could feel the moment you met him,” says Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall. “Those of us who were lucky enough to know him personally were profoundly aware that the lovable personality that fans saw on TV was only surpassed by who he was in person and the way he treated everyone around him.”
Offseason In Review: Arizona Diamondbacks
You can find all the published entries in our Offseason in Review series here.
The D-backs had perhaps the most surprising, aggressive offseason of any club in baseball in an effort to make a run at the NL West crown.
Major League Signings
- Zack Greinke, RHP: Six years, $206.5MM
- Tyler Clippard, RHP: Two years, $12.25MM
- Total Spend: $218.75MM
Notable Minor League Signings
- Brett Hayes, Kyle Drabek, Joaquin Arias, Wesley Wright, Sam LeCure, Rickie Weeks, Matt Capps, Scott Rice, Tim Stauffer, Jason Bourgeois
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RHP Shelby Miller and LHP Gabe Speier from Braves in exchange for CF Ender Inciarte, SS Dansby Swanson and RHP Aaron Blair
- Acquired SS Jean Segura, RHP Tyler Wagner and $4MM from Brewers in exchange for 2B Aaron Hill, RHP Chase Anderson and SS/2B Isan Diaz
- Acquired C/OF Chris Herrmann from Twins in exchange for 1B/OF Daniel Palka
- Acquired RHP Sam McWilliams from Phillies in exchange for RHP Jeremy Hellickson
- Acquired RHP Cody Hall from Giants in exchange for cash considerations
Extensions
- A.J. Pollock, CF: Two years, $10.25MM
Notable Losses
- Ender Inciarte, Chase Anderson, Jeremy Hellickson, Oliver Perez, David Hernandez, Aaron Hill, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Allen Webster, Jhoulys Chacin
Needs Addressed
Entering the offseason, the rotation was known to be Arizona’s greatest need, but for financial reasons, the expectation was more that the D-backs would pursue second-tier arms like Kenta Maeda and Mike Leake than the names at the very top of the market. That, of course, changed in a matter of about 12 hours, which is reportedly the length of time it took the D-backs to sign Zack Greinke to a staggering six-year, $206.5MM contract after owner Ken Kendrick called his front office and gave the green light.
Unlike Greinke’s previous deal, this new contract doesn’t contain an opt-out. While a few million dollars of that sum is deferred, the Diamondbacks are paying Greinke more than $31MM annually, and the actual $34.4MM annual value of the deal (before deferrals) is the largest in Major League history. That represents a huge percentage of the spending capacity of an organization that has only once topped $100MM in Opening Day payroll. The Diamondbacks are betting that Greinke will not only age well, but continue to produce at an elite level — one near the collective 2.30 ERA that he posted over the life of his three years with the division-rival Dodgers. At the very least, they’re counting on him to perform over the life of the next three years, which is the amount of time for which the club controls standout center fielder A.J. Pollock and the team’s other blockbuster offseason addition: right-hander Shelby Miller.
In order to acquire three years of Miller, the D-backs parted with 2015 breakout Ender Inciarte, 2015 No. 1 overall draft pick Dansby Swanson and top prospect Aaron Blair. The price paid was astounding to most, and I’ll look at the Miller deal in full later in this review, but there’s little doubt that the D-backs have overwhelmingly improved upon the collection of starters with which they entered the 2015 season. Greinke, Miller and a full season of the excellent and underrated Patrick Corbin (who missed half of the ’15 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery) give the club one of the more impressive rotation trios in the big leagues.
Joining that group will be right-hander Rubby De La Rosa and left-hander Robbie Ray. While De La Rosa hasn’t yet cemented himself as a high-quality big league starter, he proved durable last season by racking up 188 1/3 innings and carries further upside. (If nothing else, his velocity and dominance over right-handers suggests that he could be converted to a successful reliever if he continues posting upper-4.00 ERAs.) Ray, acquired in the three-team deal that sent Didi Gregorius to the Yankees, somewhat quietly delivered a strong season, posting a 3.52 ERA and solid peripheral stats in 127 1/3 innings. Although they traded a near-MLB-ready arm in Blair, the D-backs still have Archie Bradley and Braden Shipley on the cusp of the Major Leagues, so there’s depth beyond the starting five should a need arise.
The Diamondbacks have also long been connected to bullpen help — most notably, Aroldis Chapman — but they instead brought in the highly durable Tyler Clippard on a two-year deal late in the offseason. Clippard has been baseball’s iron man in the pen. Dating back to the 2009 season, his 524 1/3 lead all big league relievers, and it’s not even close. Luke Gregerson ranks second on that list but is 44 1/3 innings behind; essentially, Clippard has thrown two-thirds of a season’s worth of innings more than any other reliever since establishing himself in 2009.
There are varying ways to interpret that durability, of course. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd and I discussed the deal this offseason on our podcast, with Jeff viewing the deal as a solid value and a sensible move given the organization’s other acquisitions. I’m more skeptical, particularly in light of last year’s results. While Clippard delivered an excellent 2.92 ERA in his age-30 season, his strikeout rate, walk rate, swinging-strike rate and velocity all trended in the wrong direction, and he posted a 21.2 percent ground-ball rate. If the innings have begun to catch up to Clippard and/or he posts a fly-ball rate near 60 percent at the homer-friendly Chase Field, the return on Arizona’s investment could be marginal. The D-backs were already burned once by acquiring an extreme fly-ball reliever in Addison Reed, and Clippard is an even more pronounced fly-ball arm. If, on the other hand, last year was an anomaly and Clippard pitches more like his 2010-14 self, the Diamondbacks will have deepened their ‘pen at a very reasonable price.
Continued analysis after the break …
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/20/16
Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The White Sox acquired right-hander Brandon Sinnery from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports (via Twitter). Sinnery will report to the Sox minor league camp. The righty went undrafted out of the University of Michigan but signed with the D’Backs in 2013 after a season of independent ball. Sinnery has a 4.09 ERA, 2.77 K/BB rate and 5.9 K/9 in 477 1/3 innings, starting 78 of his 80 career games in Arizona’s system.
Quick Hits: Chacin, Morneau, Wright, Fowler, Cardinals
Jhoulys Chacin has pitched well for the Braves in his Spring Training outings and, perhaps most importantly for the righty, his troublesome shoulder is feeling good. “When I signed, my mindset was just to come to Spring Training as strong as I could be and to just pitch the only way I know how to pitch….I just want to go through all of this year and the rest of my career with my shoulder strong,” Chacin tells MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. It would be a nice bargain for Atlanta if Chacin returned to the form he showed when he was a healthy and productive member of the Rockies staff, as Chacin is only signed to a minor league deal. Here’s some more from around baseball…
- “Nothing has materialized” for Justin Morneau this offseason, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes, though the veteran first baseman isn’t announcing his retirement. Morneau said in November that he was adamant about continuing his career after working to come back from concussion and neck issues, though those same injuries limited him to just 49 games in 2015. Health questions notwithstanding, Morneau did hit .316/.363/.487 with 20 homers in 732 PA over the last two seasons and he won the NL batting title in 2014, so it’s rather surprising that his market has been almost entirely quiet. The Indians were the only club known to have interest and they went with Mike Napoli instead due to Napoli’s right-handed bat. Morneau is the last member of MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents still looking for a new team.
- Also from Cafardo, he notes that Red Sox right-hander Steven Wright is out of options and “a few teams are watching Wright’s camp with great anticipation.” Wright, a knuckleballer, could still make Boston’s big league roster as a reliever or possibly as the team’s fifth starter if Eduardo Rodriguez is not healthy to start the year.
- Dexter Fowler spoke to Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com about the surprising turn of events that saw the outfielder re-sign with the Cubs. Despite media reports that had Fowler all but officially signed with the Orioles, Fowler said he and Baltimore “never really were close” to an agreement. “They wanted me to pay them what they said the draft choice I was costing them was valued at. They wanted me to pay them for the pick. So we said, OK, then give me an opt-out after one year, and they said that’s something they won’t do,” Fowler said. Casey Close, Fowler’s agent, also commented on the situation last month and had some harsh words for both the Orioles and the media.
- Also from Gammons, he notes that it isn’t the Cardinals‘ style to make rash moves, so the club is likely to be cautious in gauging their response to Jhonny Peralta‘s injury absence. St. Louis was linked to Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed earlier today, though Gammons thinks Arizona wouldn’t settle for anything less than a top minor leaguer like righty Luke Weaver (ranked by Baseball America as the Cards’ fourth-best prospect).
- Matthew Bowman is “more likely than not” to make the Cardinals‘ Opening Day roster as a reliever, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com writes. Bowman was plucked off of the Mets’ roster in December’s Rule 5 draft. The 24-year-old has pitched mostly as a starter in his minor league career and it would be somewhat of a surprise to see him pass several veteran options to lock down a bullpen job. As a Rule 5 pick, of course, Bowman has to stay on the St. Louis 25-man roster all season or else be offered back to the Mets.
Cardinals Considering Nick Ahmed
The Cardinals will be without shortstop Jhonny Peralta for up to three months and they are exploring options to help replace him at shortstop. One player that the organization is considering is Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.
Cafardo cautions that the Cardinals are “just starting” their search process for shortstops, but Ahmed is, at the very least, on the list of potential trade targets for St. Louis. As it stands, the Cardinals’ internal candidates to fill in at short are Jedd Gyorko, Aledmys Diaz, and Greg Garcia. For different reasons, none of those three players are ideal for the role. Gyorko was ID’d by some as the main candidate to fill-in for Peralta early on, but he has limited experience at the shortstop position.
It’s not hard to imagine the Diamondbacks parting with the defensively-gifted Ahmed for the right price. The D’Backs could start Chris Owings at second base and Jean Segura at shortstop, making Ahmed somewhat expendable. On Sunday morning, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that one Diamondbacks official indicated that he would be comfortable seeing Ahmed relegated to a utility role or made into a trade candidate.
Peralta’s timetable on his left thumb injury could theoretically line him up for a return in early June, but Mark Saxon of ESPN reported that his return would more likely be around the All-Star break in July. Last week, MLBTR’s Steve Adams ran down possible replacements the Cardinals could bring in for the injured Peralta. Steve listed Ahmed as a trade possibility, along with D’Backs teammate Chris Owings and several other interesting names.
Rosenthal On Blue Jays, Bautista, D’Backs, Ahmed
Now with the Angels, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if shortstop Andrelton Simmons can develop into a better hitter. Simmons is working hard on the offensive side of his game, but he is also appreciative of the fact that the Halos value him highly for what he does in the field.
“It feels great, man. It helps you build that confidence,” Simmons said. “I don’t have to go up there and be that big-name hitter. I just have to play my part — hit-and-run, bunt the guy over. That might take a little pressure off me and make it easier. I’m still trying to be a better hitter. Everybody is. You try to pick up from guys like Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. Hopefully by the end of the year, I learn a lot from them.”
Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Rosenthal’s column:
- A major league source tells Rosenthal that the Blue Jays might only be open to giving Jose Bautista a deal similar to what Yoenis Cespedes signed with the Mets this offseason. Last week, it was reported that the 35-year-old is seeking at least five years on a new deal that would pay him upwards of $30MM per year on average. Cespedes, meanwhile, re-upped with the Mets this winter on a three-year, $75MM pact with an opt-out. Clearly, there is a significant gap for the two sides to bridge, though Joey Bats indicated in February that he was not interested in negotiating after naming his asking price. Bautista earned his sixth-straight All-Star nod in 2015 as he slashed .250/.377/.536 with 40 homers.
- “At least one Diamondbacks official” believes that the team should use Jean Segura at short and Chris Owings at second base, relegating Nick Ahmed to either a utility role or perhaps making him a trade candidate. Ahmed, 26 on Tuesday, slashed just .226/.275/.359 with nine homers in 459 plate appearances last season, though much of his value comes from his defense. In 2015, Ahmed had a strong 16.1 UZR/150 rating.
- The Padres’ next move might be to trade a catcher, Rosenthal writes. San Diego has three capable catchers in Derek Norris, Austin Hedges, and Christian Bethancourt, and there isn’t really room for all three players to make the roster. Of course, a trade isn’t mandatory either, as Hedges could be demoted. Bethancourt, on the other hand, is out of options. In December, the Padres were said to be shopping Norris and Hedges. In February, the team was still said to be having conversations involving Norris, though nothing came of those discussions.
NL West Notes: Upton, Wood, Pederson, Dodgers, D-Backs
Padres outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. says he’s “tired of trying to live up to other people’s expectations” and intends to “work hard” and “have fun” in San Diego, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. As Sanders writes, the elder Upton brother has long been looked upon to deliver results befitting his talent, draft status, and contracts, and he’s obviously endured some rough years along the way. But he’s still only 31 years old and turned things around last year, posting a .259/.327/.429 slash in 228 plate appearances while profiling as a solid defender in center. While the $31.9MM left on his contract over the next two years, which the Friars took on in the Craig Kimbrel swap, still looks rather expensive, it’s certainly possible that Upton will continue that momentum and function as a valuable member of the roster.
Here are a few more notes from the NL West:
- Dodgers lefty Alex Wood missed his scheduled start today after experiencing forearm tightness, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports. As things stand, though, the team is “optimistic” that the current issue is a minor one, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links), and Wood himself says the soreness is “extremely mild.” Acquired last summer, Wood figures to be an important component of the club’s rotation depth as it deals with the extended absences of pitchers such as Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson, as well as the continued uncertainty surrounding Hyun-jin Ryu. It’s certainly too soon to know whether there’s cause for real concern regarding Wood, but he’s always been a player who has faced questions about his durability due to his unorthodox delivery and prior Tommy John surgery. Indeed, the statistical research of MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum suggested that Wood is at a heightened risk of a TJ procedure this year, as he checked in at 72% above the league average risk. While that shouldn’t be read to indicate that Wood is particularly likely to require a UCL replacement in the coming season, it does perhaps point towards cautious handling, and the club seems to be proceeding accordingly.
- The Dodgers intend to utilize Joc Pederson as the team’s regular center fielder, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports. While the team is giving an extended look to Trayce Thompson this spring, skipper Dave Roberts explains that the much-hyped Pederson “looks good, much more comfortable at the plate” now than he did down the stretch and remains “a plus defender in center field.”
- J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group examines the Dodgers‘ extensive recent history on the Cuban market in an interesting piece. The demand for Cuban talent jumped with Yasiel Puig‘s success, Hoornstra explains, but has begun to stabilize — in player assessment, if not overall spending levels — as more and more players from the island have made their way north. While Los Angeles has continued to invest in Cuban ballplayers, GM Farhan Zaidi also explains that the organization has done more to “create a stronger assimilation program” to help ensure they’ll succeed. “I think you sort of gain information from not just players you’ve signed from that market in the past, but who other teams have signed, what kind of players have succeeded. Why they’ve succeeded,” says Zaidi. “Not just their inherent talent level, but were they given the support system that I think these guys need to succeed?”
- Speaking at the SABR analytics conference, Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall explained the reasoning behind the organization’s decision to part with young talent in recent months, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Arizona was prepared to deal with some criticism, and acknowledges that it hurt to give up some strong prospects to build for the present. He explained that the D-Backs will always focus on “building from within,” but nevertheless felt the time was right “to somewhat abandon that with a couple of moves that we made so that we can create that flexibility because we think we can win now.” That doesn’t mean the team will always operated that way going forward, though, he stressed. “It is a unique model and it’s not something we’re going to practice forever,” says Hall. “It’s not going to define us. We’re not always going to look that way.”
NL West Notes: D-Backs, Padres, Inciarte, Lincecum, Blash, Reyes
Diamondbacks executives Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that their winter wasn’t just about near-term contention. The club has also picked up some younger assets since the front office turned over, and was careful to protect its most prized younger assets — Jake Lamb, Brandon Drury, Archie Bradley — who La Russa deemed “too dear” to be dealt. That being said, there’s no question that the haul given up for Shelby Miller — along with other decisions to give up controllable talent to free up money and add other pieces — was about maximizing the club’s chances now, with several key players in their primes and Zack Greinke joining the fold. As Stewart puts it, “you trade the unknown for the known.”
- Interestingly, Stewart added that the Padres had “big interest” in center fielder Ender Inciarte before he was shipped to Atlanta in the Miller deal. But San Diego wasn’t willing to deal away Tyson Ross or Andrew Cashner to get him, according to the D-Backs GM. That’s certainly a bit surprising to hear in regard to Cashner, who — despite his established ceiling — is coming off of an uninspiring 2015 season and is destined for free agency after the season.
- The Padres have been “very active” in pursuing free agent righty Tim Lincecum, agent Rick Thurman said in an appearance on The Mighty 1090 (via Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Teams are waiting for the former Cy Young winner to put on a showcase, which Thurman now says will take place within the next two weeks. He explains that Lincecum preferred to work his way back to form on his own before signing, with the plan being to “build[] up his arm strength so that when he actually goes and does a showcase he’s going to be game-ready.”
- Meanwhile, Lin has an interesting piece on Padres hopeful Jabari Blash, who says he’s come a long way since he was a laid back teenager in his native U.S. Virgin Islands. The towering 26-year-old is still raw, of course, which is why he was available in the Rule 5 draft. San Diego will give him every opportunity to make good on his talent and earn a spot this spring, writes Lin.
- Commissioner Rob Manfred says that he’ll be prepared to move quickly on disciplining Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes once his legal proceedings are completed, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. Manfred explained that he doesn’t rush a decision, only to learn something new thereafter. “My expectation is, once that process plays out, we’ll be in position to act quickly,” he said. “We’ll have access to all the facts.”
NL West Notes: Dodgers, Greinke, Rosales, Gray, Samardzija
Dodgers lefty Hyun-jin Ryu is being given some extra rest after feeling discomfort in his surgically repaired left shoulder, writes MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. Neither Ryu nor manager Dave Roberts would characterize the discomfort as a setback, with Ryu saying he didn’t feel significant pain, and Roberts adding that the discomfort is a normal part of the recovery process from this type of surgery. Nevertheless, the status of Ryu’s shoulder will be something the Dodgers monitor closely this spring in his first season back from surgery to repair a torn labrum. Ryu was recently said to be about two weeks behind the rest of the Dodgers’ starters (Twitter link via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times), and that was prior to today’s news.
More on the Dodgers and their division…
- Gurnick tweets that lefty Brett Anderson is also dealing with an ailment, as his Friday start is uncertain after he tweaked his back throwing live batting practice yesterday. Anderson underwent some tests today to determine the nature of the potential injury, and as Gurnick notes, he does have a history of back troubles, having undergone surgery in 2014.
- Sticking with the mildly macabre Dodgers injury theme, righty Josh Ravin will be out for eight to 12 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured left forearm that he injured earlier this week in a car crash, McCullough tweets. As was noted at the time of the injury, Ravin was perhaps an unlikely candidate to make the club out of Spring Training, but the injury of course removes any doubt.
- Diamondbacks scouting director Deric Ladnier told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that ace Zack Greinke joined him and other D-backs scouts in south Florida earlier this winter to watch some amateur games as the club scouted in preparation for the June draft. “I’m not saying he’s going to help us make decisions because he’s not, but I do like listening to him because he brings a different perspective,” said Ladnier. “Shame on me if I don’t.” Greinke’s interest in scouting is nothing new, Piecoro writes. In fact, Ladnier, who was the Royals’ scouting director when Greinke was drafted, invited Greinke into the Royals’ draft meetings on a number of occasions. Piecoro notes that Greinke also attended some scouting meetings with the Brewers and Dodgers. “He follows it diligently,” said Ladnier. “It’s something he loves to do. I have no problem with him coming in and peeking his head in.” Greinke clearly has plenty of innings left in his arm, but I doubt he’d have difficulty finding a team interested in adding him as a special assignment scout following his playing days.
- Infielder Adam Rosales, who is with the Padres on a minor league deal/non-roster invite to Spring Training this season, spoke to MLB.com’s Corey Brock about the transaction whirlwind in which he was involved back in 2014. In a span of 13 days, Rosales was designated for assignment three times and claimed off waivers three times — each by either the Rangers or Athletics. Rosales called the sequence “challenging,” but eventually found some levity in his plight. “You just have to see some humor in it … and take it in stride and appreciate the opportunities you have,” he explained. GM A.J. Preller, who was an assistant GM with the Rangers at the time of that ordeal, spoke highly of Rosales’ versatility and clubhouse presence, explaining some of the reasoning behind his signing of Rosales this winter.
- Rockies prospect Jon Gray debuted his new curveball in his first spring outing today, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, and was pleased with the outcome. Gray says he was surprised by the number he threw (seven), thinking he’d throw three or four over his two-inning affair. Gray spoke to Saunders about his aim to develop two different curves — one to throw for strikes and one to bounce in front of the plate as an out pitch — as he seeks to deliver on the promise that made him the No. 3 pick in the 2013 draft.
- Giants GM Bobby Evans talked with MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby about his pursuit of Jeff Samardzia this offseason. “The benefit of Posey, the benefit of Dave Righetti and [bullpen coach] Mark Gardner, the benefit of AT&T Park and the benefit of a support cast where he’s not expected to be the No. 1 or No. 2 guy, all those elements combined to allow us to make the investment,” said Evans of the five-year, $90MM deal he used to reel in Shark (terrible pun intended — my apologies). Samardzija admitted to Ringolsby that the barrage of rumors swirling around his name wore on him last summer, to some extent, though he didn’t blame any of his 2015 struggles on the stress associated with that talk. The Giants, Ringolsby writes, feel there’s still untapped potential in Samardzija’s powerful arm.