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Diamondbacks Looking At Free Agent Relievers, Including Tyler Clippard

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TODAY: The D’Backs have been in contact with Clippard’s representatives, Fanragsports.com’s Jack Magruder reports (Twitter link).

FRIDAY: Clippard sits “atop [the D-Backs’] wish list” for another late-inning arm, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).

THURSDAY: Despite saying just yesterday that his team doesn’t “have much going on” in the way of new player acquisitions, Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the club will still look into the free-agent relief market.

After finding the cost too high to add another pen arm via trade, Stewart suggested that the Snakes may yet pull the trigger on an open-market addition. “We could look at what’s left on the free-agent market,” he said. “I keep getting pushed back to the same position: Trading three or four prospects for seventh-inning guys is probably not something I want to do.”

It isn’t entirely clear who might be targeted, but Stewart seemingly indicated that he’s interested in a reasonably significant addition. He certainly suggested that top remaining reliever Tyler Clippard is under some consideration. “We have not talked to his people, (but) that is a good name,” Stewart said of Clippard. “I know we talked about it internally, so I think there’s a pretty good possibility we will (reach out), at least just to see.”

Beyond Clippard, though, there don’t appear to be many fellow free-agent arms that will garner attention from Arizona. “I think there’s probably only going to be a few options that will fit,” said Stewart. “I don’t see there being a bunch.” 

The D-Backs did save some cash by shedding Aaron Hill’s contract via trade, and could conceivably deploy that $4MM or so on another arm. As explained in the above link regarding Stewart’s comments from last night, the club has a lot of names in the pen mix but could probably stand to add another, more established piece.

D’Backs GM Dave Stewart On Jean Segura Trade

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On Saturday, the Diamondbacks acquired shortstop Jean Segura and reliever Tyler Wagner from the Brewers in exchange for starting pitcher Chase Anderson, second baseman Aaron Hill, and prospect Isan Diaz.  The deal brings a notable player to the Diamondbacks’ lineup while also creating something of a logjam at his position.

Here’s a look at what Arizona GM Dave Stewart has said about the deal and what could come next for the D’Backs:

  • Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart did not dispute the idea that the D’Backs could parlay their infield depth into a trade to bolster another area, as Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic writes.  Stewart also indicated that another GM has already approached him about that idea. “It does give us flexibility and also the dollars saved give us some flexibility as well,” Stewart said. “You guys know we’ve been looking at middle relievers. We’ve been looking at closers. We’ve been looking in those areas to try to get better. If there is a deal out there to be made we have to look at it.”
  • Stewart added that dealing Hill also saves the club some money if they want to take another look at the free agent market.  Hill, the veteran of the trade, has declined steadily since a peak season in 2012. Injuries and playing time battles held him to 353 plate appearances last season and he hit just .230/.295/.345. Entering his age 34 season, he’s owed $12MM in the final year of his contract.
  • Prospect Isan Diaz was “one of the first names” mentioned by the Brewers in trade talks, Stewart said (Twitter link via Jack Magruder of FOX Sports).  Baseball America rated Diaz the ninth best prospect in the Arizona system.  Diaz, 20 in May, is coming off a strong season in rookie ball in which he was dubbed the MVP of the Pioneer League.
  • While giving proper respect to Nick Ahmed, Stewart told MLB Network Radio (on Twitter) that Segura is going to get most of his reps at shortstop rather than second base.
  • Also in his chat with MLB Network Radio, Stewart confessed that the D’Backs took payroll into consideration by acquiring Segura instead of a free agent like Howie Kendrick.  “We are not, right now, as financially solid as we’d like to be,” Stewart said (audio link). “But the addition of [Zack] Greinke took some dollars out of our pocket.  We were considering our compensation pick and we also lost our first round pick and I think, as a group, we weren’t willing to give up the comp pick.”

NL Notes: Stewart, Stearns, Perez, Cubs

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Here’s the latest from a few National League general managers as they prepare for the upcoming GM Meetings…

  • Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart would prefer to address his team’s pitching needs via free agency rather than dealing from his position player depth, he tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  “I’m kind of in the mode of if I can hold on to my depth, then I’d like to hold on to it,” Stewart said.  “I want to see if we can accomplish what we want to accomplish by dealing with these free agents. That’s probably my first choice. That’s probably the way I would want to do it.”  Stewart said he’s already contacted with agents for several pitchers the D’Backs are interested in, and hopes to have more such discussions during the GM Meetings.
  • The Diamondbacks’ first round draft pick (13th overall) isn’t protected but Stewart sounded open to giving up the pick to sign a qualifying offer free agent if “whoever we get is impactful enough that we would want to do that.”
  • While the D’Backs are aiming at free agents first, Brewers GM David Stearns said his team is (not surprisingly) planning to focus more on drafting and trades in this stage of the team-building process, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  “That doesn’t mean we’ll never be a player in free agency. It means we’ll have to be very selective and opportunistic about the times that we do invest in the free-agent market,” Stearns said.
  • The Brewers made several roster cuts over the last week, which Stearns said was a way to “create roster flexibility” for future acquisitions and free some 40-man space to protect minor leaguers from the Rule 5 draft next month.  Hernan Perez elected free agency after being outrighted, and Stearns said the Crew will try to re-sign the infielder.
  • Cubs GM Jed Hoyer believes teams could make some trades made during or just after the GM Meetings since the offseason is already heating up, he tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  “There’s probably going to be a little more urgency for teams. Given the fact there’s already been a trade, I think people realize that things could happen quickly. I think people are going to be ready to move quickly,” Hoyer said, referring to the six-player deal already swung between the Rays and Mariners on Thursday.  This doesn’t necessarily mean the Cubs themselves will be busy, though Hoyer has already had at least “exploratory” talks with all 29 other teams.
  • Hoyer expects to be asked about the Cubs’ position player depth in possible trades for pitching.  While the Cubs like their everyday and bench roster, “you can never say never,” the GM said.  “If something makes sense where we would trade out some surplus on the position-playing side for some pitching depth, that’s something we have to explore.”

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