Diamondbacks Avoid Arbitration With Randall Delgado
Jan. 9: Delgado’s deal is worth $2.25MM, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
Jan. 8: The Diamondbacks have agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration with righty Randall Delgado, per a team announcement. Terms of the arrangement with the MVP Sports client were not announced.
Entering his final season of arbitration eligibility, Delgado was projected by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz to earn $2.5MM in 2018 salary. He had settled with the team for $1.775MM for the prior season.
Originally acquired in the 2013 Justin Upton swap, Delgado did not stick in the Arizona rotation but has been a useful reliever over the past several seasons. Delgado’s background as a starter was put to good use by the Snakes in 2017, as the club frequently asked him to throw two or more innings and even gave him five starts, representing his most extensive rotation work since 2013.
Delgado was thriving in a swingman role, as he ran up 62 innings of 3.05 ERA pitching before taking the ball on July 15th. Unfortunately, that appearance proved to be his last on the year; it left four earned runs on his balance sheet and Delgado nursing what turned out to be a season-ending flexor tendon injury.
On the bright side, it seems the Diamondbacks have confidence that Delgado avoided a more serious ailment and will be back to full health for 2018. So long as he can build up to his usual form in camp, he’ll be expected to play a significant role in the Arizona relief corps for one more season before hitting the open market.
Follow all of the year’s arb proceedings with MLBTR’s MLB arbitration tracker for 2018.
Injury Notes: Nunez, Nelson, Delgado, Kela, Capps, Rasmussen
Red Sox utilityman Eduardo Nunez feels he has dodged a bullet with his right knee injury, as Evan Drellich of CSSNE.com reports on Twitter. Nunez sprained his posterior cruciate ligament, but he says he anticipates returning before the year is up. That said, he’ll understandably also take his time to ensure he makes it back to full health. While Boston hasn’t yet nailed down a postseason spot, it is in excellent position and (at this point, at least) doesn’t seem in need of rushing back an important player.
Here’s the latest on some other health issues from around the game:
- The Brewers are still waiting to learn more on the status of key righty Jimmy Nelson, as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports on Twitter. He received a second opinion on his shoulder injury today, though the outcome isn’t yet known. Nelson is expected to miss the rest of the season regardless, but the precise course of treatment hasn’t been determined.
- Diamondbacks righty Randall Delgado is indeed dealing with a flexor strain, Jack Magruder of Fan Rag tweets. That initial diagnosis has now been confirmed; while that seemingly takes some worst-case scenarios out of play, he’s already slated to miss the remainder of the year. Delgado had thrown 62 2/3 frames of 3.59 ERA ball, posting 8.6 K/9 and an uncharacteristically low 2.0 BB/9, before going down. That should set him up for a decent raise on his $1.775MM salary for his final year of arbitration, though the price will still likely be low enough for Arizona to pick up the tab unless there’s real concern he won’t bounce back.
- The Rangers announced that they’ve activated righty Keone Kela from the DL. The 24-year-old has been dealing with a shoulder injury, but could represent a nice boon to the club’s relief corps if he can get back in the swing of things late this year. Kela had pitched to a 2.36 ERA over 34 1/3 innings before hitting the DL.
- Padres righty Carter Capps has been diagnosed with a blood clot, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune reports (Twitter links). He’s heading to the 60-day DL, ending his season and allowing the club to select the contract of Cory Mazzoni. The broader outlook for Capps isn’t clear. San Diego will have to decide whether to tender him a contract this winter. He hasn’t been all that inspiring thus far since returning from Tommy John surgery, allowing nine earned runs with a 7:2 K/BB ratio in 12 1/3 innings while averaging just 93.2 mph with his fastball (over five mph off of his most recent readings from 2015). That said, Capps will likely command only around $1MM; the club could at least take him into camp and cut bait before that full amount is guaranteed if he can’t turn the corner.
- Recent Rays draft pick Drew Rasmussen has undergone his second Tommy John procedure, Danny Moran of the Oregonian reports on Twitter. Rasmussen, an Oregon State hurler, went to Tampa Bay with the 31st overall pick in this summer’s draft but did not sign with the team. The Rays evidently found some reason to be concerned with the medicals from the talented youngster, who had returned from his first TJ procedure only months before the draft.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/10/17
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Tigers will select the contract of outfielder Tyler Collins on Monday, writes MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery. The team will make a corresponding move at that time. Collins started in right field for the Tigers early in the season, but batted just .200/.288/.338 and was ultimately outrighted. He then hit .288/.358/.462 in 296 plate appearances with Triple-A Toledo. Now, the Tigers are calling on him again as fellow outfielders Mikie Mahtook and Alex Presley struggle with injury.
- The Diamondbacks selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Christian Walker, the team announced. Right-hander Randall Delgado was moved to the 60-day DL in order to create a 40-man roster spot. Walker was named MVP of the Pacific Coast League this season, getting back on the map as a prospect after two average seasons in Baltimore’s farm system. Walker has a .283/.350/.479 slash line over 2866 career PA in the minor leagues, and he’ll be making his first trip to MLB since appearing in 13 games for the Orioles in 2014-15.
- The Pirates selected the contract of southpaw Dan Runzler from Triple-A Indianapolis while shifting Josh Harrison to the 60-day DL to create roster space. Runzler appeared in 89 games (72 1/3 IP) for the Giants from 2009-12 but hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since, bouncing from the Arizona and Minnesota farm systems over the last two years before signing a minors deal with Pittsburgh last winter. The Pirates also announced a number of minor league callups, as catcher Jacob Stallings, left-hander Jack Leathersich and right-handers Tyler Glasnow, Edgar Santana and Johnny Barbato will all join the big league roster.
- The Orioles outrighted Jayson Aquino to Triple-A yesterday after the southpaw cleared waivers, according to MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (Twitter link). Aquino was designated for assignment on Tuesday. The 24-year-old has posted some solid numbers over eight career seasons in the minors, though he has a 6.32 ERA in his brief time (15 2/3 IP) in the big leagues.
- The Diamondbacks released right-hander Louis Coleman earlier this month, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Coleman originally signed a minors deal with Arizona in June and was then released and re-signed by the team in August before this most recent transaction. Coleman was also released by the Reds in June after signing a minor league contract with them in the offseason. All told, the righty has some impressive numbers this season at the Triple-A level, posting a 2.25 ERA, 10.8 K/9 and 2.41 K/9 over 64 relief innings. Coleman has yet to pitch in the bigs in 2017, a year removed from appearing in 61 games out of the Dodgers’ bullpen.
- Also from Eddy, the Indians released outfielder Dan Robertson. In 88 plate appearances for the Tribe, Robertson hit .225/.287/.338 with a home run. Robertson signed a minor league deal with Cleveland last winter and was released and re-signed to a new deal in August by the club.
- The Braves outrighted right-hander Enrique Burgos to Triple-A earlier this week, the team announced. Burgos was designated for assignment on August 30. The hard-throwing Burgos has yet to appear in a big league game this season after totaling 68 1/3 innings out of the Diamondbacks bullpen in 2015-16, as Burgos has continued to be plagued by control problems (a 6.6 BB/9 over 35 1/3 minor league innings this season).
NL Notes: Acuna, Braves, Cubs, D-backs
Braves outfield prospect Ronald Acuna earned Minor League Player of the Year honors from Baseball America on Friday, before which BA’s Matt Eddy noted that the 19-year-old had one of the finest offensive seasons ever put together by a teenager. Acuna, who climbed from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A in 2017, combined for a .325/.374/.522 batting line and a 155 OPS+ in 612 plate appearances. Only seven other teenage players – all household names in Andruw Jones, Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez (twice), Jason Heyward, Gregg Jefferies, Justin Upton and Mike Trout – bettered Acuna’s OPS+ in an individual season, Eddy notes. Based on Acuna’s Double-A and Triple-A production, Eddy writes that he stacks up closely with where A-Rod, Sheffield, Jones, Jefferies, Heyward, Trout, Melvin Upton, Justin Upton, Adrian Beltre and Delmon Young were at similar stages of their minor league careers. For the most part, that’s special company.
A bit more from the NL…
- Cubs catcher Willson Conteras has been out with a hamstring strain since Aug. 9, but manager Joe Maddon suggested Saturday that he’s closing in on a return. “It’s not impossible [he could be activated on Sunday], but I don’t know that it’s going to happen,” Maddon said, per Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. “It’s just a matter of when you talk to him, ‘How are you seeing the ball? What do you feel like at the plate? How does the leg feel?'” Although Conteras has been among the majors’ best catchers this year, the first-place Cubs have managed to increase their lead in the NL Central during his absence from 1.5 games to three. Among the reasons: Fellow backstops Alex Avila and Rene Rivera, both of whom joined the Cubs as recent acquisitions, have filled in with aplomb offensively.
- Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo announced Saturday that the team has shut down right-hander Randall Delgado and added that he could miss the rest of the season, according to Kellan Olsen of Arizona Sports 98.7. Delgado hasn’t pitched for the D-backs since July 15 on account of elbow issues. He underwent an MRI this week that showed a flexor strain, and the club will send him to famed orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion. Flexor strains sometimes portend Tommy John surgery, of course, and having to undergo the procedure at this point would likely keep Delgado out until the 2019 campaign. The swingman was having a nice year before the injury cropped up, as he pitched to a 3.59 ERA with 8.62 K/9 against 2.01 BB/9 across 62 2/3 innings (26 appearances, five starts).
Agency Changes: Delgado, Ramirez, Robles, Polanco
Here at MLBTR we do our best to cover notable agency changes while keeping tabs on player representation through our Agency Database. Here are a few recent moves:
- D-backs right-hander has hired Dan Lozano of MVP Sports as his new representative, writes FanRag’s Jon Heyman as part of his weekly NL Notes column. Once one of baseball’s top prospects, Delgado didn’t pan out as a starter but has become a solid piece in the Arizona bullpen in recent years. He’s made four starts this year and fared nicely, but he’s back in the ‘pen and is on his way to perhaps his best season. Through 51 2/3 innings, Delgado has a 3.48 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 46.3 percent ground-ball rate. Delgado, 27, is controllable for one more year before hitting the open market after the 2018 campaign.
Earlier Notes
- Indians utilityman extraordinaire Jose Ramirez will move his representation to the Wasserman Media Group, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. It seems that Ramirez is sticking with agent Rafa Nieves, who just joined Wasserman. Ramirez has only just embarked upon a new, four-year deal with Cleveland that was inked late in Spring Training. With two options included, the contract covers all of Ramirez’s potential arbitration eligibility and allows the organization to control the switch-hitting 24-year-old through his age-31 season. He had earned the deal after a strong 2016 season, but his stock has risen yet further after opening the 2017 campaign with a .322/.376/.557 slash through 290 plate appearances. Notably, Ramirez has already swatted 11 long balls, matching last year’s tally in less than half the trips to the plate.
- Also moving to Wasserman is top Nationals prospect Victor Robles. Though he only just reached his twentieth birthday and hasn’t yet reached the upper minors, Robles received consensus top-ten leaguewide prospect billing entering the current season. He hasn’t disappointed, slashing .296/.393/.505 with six home runs and 13 steals through 233 plate appearances at the High-A level. While it seems unlikely that Robles will make it to D.C. before the 2018 season, he could be a foundational piece for the organization.
- Meanwhile, Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco will take his business to Octagon and agent Ulises Cabrera, according to 1500ESPN.com’s Darren Wolfson (via Twitter). The 23-year-old switch-hitter entered the current season with 105 days of MLB service, meaning he won’t be able to qualify for arbitration until at least 2020 and can’t qualify for free agency until 2023. Polanco was a highly regarded prospect who raised expectations with a solid performance in his first extended MLB stint last year. He has struggled thus far in 2017, though, with a .242/.294/.338 batting line through 219 plate appearances.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League
Quite frankly, there were too many arbitration agreements today to reasonably stuff into one post. So here’s a rundown of the National League players that have avoided arbitration on smaller deals (American League deals here). You can see all of the arbitration “action” thus far in a sortable, filterable format by checking out MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker. All projections referenced in this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:
- Wily Peralta and Carlos Torres have agreed to one-year deals, according to the team’s Twitter account. Peralta will earn $4.275MM (compared to $4.4MM projection), per Heyman. Torres was projected to make $2MM, but will get slightly more at $2.175MM, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter).
- Reliever George Kontos gets $1.75MM from the Giants, Heyman tweets. He had projected at $1.7MM.
- The Diamondbacks also reached agreement with lefty Patrick Corbin, righty Randall Delgado, and catcher Chris Herrmann, per Jack Magruder of Fan Rag (links to Twitter). Delgado gets $1.775MM and Herrmann receives $937,500. As for Corbin, he’ll take home $3.95MM, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter), which falls a bit shy of his $4.2MM projection.
- Infielder Eduardo Nunez will receive $4.2MM from the Giants, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). San Francisco has also reached agreement with lefty Will Smith, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). He’ll receive $2.5MM, just over his $2.3MM projection, Heyman tweets.
- The Phillies settled at $4.2MM with righty Jeanmar Gomez, per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). He falls just a big shy of his $4.6MM projection.
- The Cardinals have announced arb deals with Trevor Rosenthal and Kevin Siegrist. Rosenthal receives $6.4MM, per Heyman (via Twitter), which is just $100K over his projection. Siegrist projected at $1.9MM, but his salary has yet to be reported.
- Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom have each avoided arbitration with the Mets. Harvey gets $5.125MM in his second arb year, per James Wagner of the New York Times (via Twitter). Meanwhile, deGrom will receive $4.05MM in his first trip through the arb process, per ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin (via Twitter). New York has also agreed with lefty Josh Edgin, Rubin tweets, though terms remain unreported.
Earlier Updates
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday
The deadline for teams to exchange arbitration figures with eligible players is 1pm ET today. Dozens of arb agreements figure to flow in over the next few hours, and we’ll keep track of the smaller arb agreements in this post. All projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz and can be viewed on the full list of 156 players that filed for arbitration this year. Remember also that you can keep track of everyone that has avoided arbitration by checking out MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.
Onto the agreements…
- Shortstop Zack Cozart is in agreement with the Reds for an undisclosed sum, per a team announcement. He projected at $2.9MM in his second year of eligibility after a promising start to the 2015 season was cut short by a serious knee injury.
- The Diamondbacks announced that they have avoided arbitration with righty Rubby De La Rosa for an undisclosed sum. He was projected at $3.2MM but, per Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com (on Twitter), will earn only $2.35MM.
- Reliever Fernando Rodriguez settled with the Athletics for $1.05MM — beneath his projected $1.3MM — per the Associated Press.
- Dodgers infielder Justin Turner will earn $5.1MM next season, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter. That’s just a shade under his $5.3MM projection.
- The Braves settled with reliever Arodys Vizcaino for $897,500, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. He had a $1.1MM projection entering the fall.
- Both Zach Putnam will earn a $975K salary next year after agreeing with the White Sox, per a club announcement. That’s $175K over the projected arb value of the Super Two.
- The Cardinals settled with first baseman Matt Adams for $1.65MM, Heyman tweets. That’s a small bump over his $1.5MM projections. The team is also in agreement with right-hander Seth Maness, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Super Two reliever projected at $1.2MM but will receive $1.4MM, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter).
- Righty Tom Koehler receives a $3.5MM payday from the Marlins, per Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The team gets a break on the $3.9MM that had been projected. The team also has an agreement with righties David Phelps and Carter Capps, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. Heyman adds (via Twitter) that Phelps will earn exactly his projected amount of $2.5MM. Capps was predicted to earn $800K, but his salary is yet to be reported.
- The Diamondbacks agreed to a $4.35MM rate with first-year-eligible starter Shelby Miller, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. He had projected at $4.9MM. Notably, Miller comes in just ahead of fellow 3+ service-class pitcher Harvey (who is covered below). Fellow Arizona hurler Patrick Corbin will earn $2.525MM next year, Passan also tweets.
- The Nationals have agreed with infielder Danny Espinosa for $2.875MM, Jon Heyman tweets. He gets a slight bump over his $2.7MM projection in his second season of arb eligibility.
- Nolan Arenado will receive a $5MM salary from the Rockies in his first season of eligibility, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. That’s exactly what fellow star young third baseman Manny Machado settled for as well, though Arenado was a Super Two. As Swartz explained recently, those two players’ cases may well have been tied together despite some important distinctions. He also explained why Arenado might not reach his sky-high $6.6MM projection in actuality.
- The Orioles have agreed with starter Miguel Gonzalez for $5.1MM, Eduardo Rodriguez of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. Gonzalez projected for $4.9MM.
- Outfielder Chris Coghlan agreed at $4.8MM with the Cubs, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. That’s quite a nice increase over his projected $3.9MM. Also agreeing with Chicago was reliever Pedro Strop, who gets $4.4MM, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). He had been projected at $4.7MM.
- Both righty Michael Pineda (for $4.3MM) and infielder/outfielder Dustin Ackley ($3.2MM), according to Passan (via Twitter) and Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Those numbers largely track the projected amounts of $4.6MM and $3.1MM, respectively.
- Danny Duffy will play at $4.225MM next year after reaching terms with the Royals, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). Catcher Drew Butera, meanwhile, will get $1,162,500 from Kansas City. Both represented small bumps over their projected values of $4MM and $1.1MM.
- Marlins closer A.J. Ramos will get $3.4MM in 2016, Heyman reports (Twitter links). Teammate Adeiny Hechavarria, meanwhile, will take down $2.625MM. Both first-year-eligible players went over their projections ($2.8MM and $2.3MM, respectively).
- The Mets will pay $4.325MM to Matt Harvey and $3MM to shortstop Ruben Tejada for 2016, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports (Twitter links). Harvey approaches, but doesn’t quite reach, his $4.7MM projection. Though he’s still recovering from an unfortunate leg injury suffered during the post-season, Tejada will take home a cool half-million more than had been projected.
- Righty Joe Kelly has agreed with the Red Sox at $2.6MM, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. He falls a fair sight shy of the $3.2MM that MLBTR projected. Though he reached ten wins on the year, Kelly scuffled to a 4.82 ERA over his 134 1/3 innings.
- Righty Drew Hutchison agreed with the Blue Jays for $2.2MM, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. He falls short of a $2.6MM projection after a tough 2015 campaign.
- The Tigers have reached terms with shortstop Jose Iglesias for $2.1MM, per another Heyman tweet. The deal also includes some incentives, per the report. That’s a healthy jump up over the $1.5MM projection for the slick-fielding infielder, who did have a strong 2015 season.
- The Mariners announced that they reached agreement with lefty Charlie Furbush and righty Evan Scribner. Furbush will receive $1.7MM, while Scribner will get $807.5K, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.
- Both shortstop Jean Segura and righty Wily Peralta are under contract with the Brewers, per a team announcement. Segura gets $2.6MM after being projected at $3.2MM, per Heyman (Twitter link). Matt Swartz’s system pegged Peralta at $2.8MM, and that’s exactly what he’ll earn, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter).
There are plenty more after the jump:
NL Notes: Niese, D’backs, Pirates, Marlins, Dodgers
Mets left-hander Jon Niese was removed from his start today after only two innings and 35 pitches with what the club calls left elbow discomfort. Niese had been wearing a neoprene sleve on his left arm the past few days, tweets Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. "It's the Spring Training from hell," Niese told reporters (as quoted by ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin). Niese also said he hyperextended the elbow, which first flared up during an intrasquad game 10 days ago, and has been taking anti-inflammatory medication and undergoing rehab since. Niese added the discomfort is in the back of the elbow, not in the ligament area (the focus of Tommy John surgery). The Mets are flying the 27-year-old to New York tonight with a MRI, his second in less than three weeks, scheduled for tomorrow, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday.
Elsewhere in the National League:
- With the possibility Niese may open the season on the disabled list, Jenrry Mejia could join Daisuke Matsuzaka in the Mets' rotation with John Lannan earning a relief role, according to Rubin.
- The Diamondbacks are another team scrambling to fill a void in their starting rotation in the wake of the news from earlier today Patrick Corbin could be facing Tommy John surgery. GM Kevin Towers, however, plans to use in-house options like Randall Delgado, Archie Bradley, and Josh Collmenter rather than seek a trade immediately, tweets Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com.
- Noah Syndergaard, who remains in the Mets' Major League Spring Training camp, was the key component in last offseason's R.A. Dickey trade, writes Matt Ehalt of the Record. "I think eventually it got to the point where we needed Syndergaard," said J.P. Ricciardi, the Mets' special assistant to the GM. "I think in order to finish it off, we needed a younger, higher prospect to make us say, 'OK, it's worth trading a Cy Young Award winner.'"
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says the team's bullpen depth is "a chance to move a guy that can go help someone else to add a piece," tweets the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Travis Sawchik. Huntington also gave a near-guarantee Edinson Volquez will be in the Pirates' starting rotation, Sawchik tweets.
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post contradicts a story from this morning the Rockies are in the market for right-handed bullpen help. A source tells Renck the club prefers to give Chad Bettis or Chris Martin a chance before pursuing a trade.
- Being forced to rush their young pitching prospects to the Majors has come back to haunt the Marlins, as Jacob Turner and Brad Hand (22 and 23, respectively) are now out of options, opines MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
- The Dodgers have selected the contract of Justin Turner and will bring Chone Figgins to Australia, reports Dylan Herndandez of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). MLBTR's Tim Dierkes broke the news in February of Turner agreeing to a minor league contract with the Dodgers and now the 29-year-old will make $1MM as a reserve infielder. Figgins, who signed a minor league deal in January and is trying to make the squad as an utilityman, will be one of 30 players the Dodgers are taking on the trip (only 25 will be active on game day).
NL West Notes: Maholm, Arroyo, Delgado
If things went differently, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson could have found himself on the pages of Pro Football Rumors rather than MLBTR. Gibson was a standout wide receiver at Michigan State in 1977 and in an effort to increase his leverage with the NFL, he returned to the baseball diamond for the first time since high school, writes Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic. When the Tigers drafted Gibson with the 12th pick in the 1978 draft, they allowed him to finish out his senior season but made him give up on the NFL. Here's more out of the NL West..
- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly says that newly-acquired starter Paul Maholm knows he might wind up pitching in relief if Josh Beckett is healthy and named the fifth starter, tweets Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
- Diamondbacks newcomer Bronson Arroyo might not give Arizona the kind of production they were hoping to get out of a rotation addition this winter, but he should give them plenty of innings, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- Randall Delgado is out-of-options, but the Diamondbacks won't let him get away, tweets Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona. The D'Backs want to keep all of their assets so if he's not in the starting five, they'll slot him in the bullpen.
D-Backs Looking To Trade Market For Ace, Power Bats
3:30pm: The Diamondbacks may also be looking to the trade market for power bats, according to a recent series of tweets from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal reports that the D-Backs and A's recently discussed a trade that would send Yoenis Cespedes to Arizona in exchange for Tyler Skaggs, A.J. Pollock and others. Both sides have cooled on the idea and backed off the trade at this time, however, and the A's would only trade Cespedes for a "monster" return, according to Rosenthal. Still, as he points out, it serves as an example that the Diamondbacks will be aggressive and creative in their search for a power bat in the outfield.
1:54pm: The Diamondbacks are motivated to swing a trade for an ace-caliber pitcher, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick spoke with Arizona GM Kevin Towers, president/CEO Derrick Hall and owner Ken Kendrick in an excellent, in-depth breakdown of the situation. While Towers was quick to say that no player is untouchable, he sounded loath to part with prized pitching prospect Archie Bradley, a consensus Top 10 MLB prospect. Asked about the possiblity of trading Bradley, he replied:
"I don't see that happening. Not that anybody is untouchable, but we're hoping he's our David Price, and we can control him [for several years]. He's gonna get every opportunity to crack our rotation this spring … He's not looking to make our rotation as the fifth guy — he's looking to make it as the ace."
Hall pointed to the Diamondbacks' success in 2011 when Ian Kennedy finished fourth in the Cy Young race, noting how impactful having a "No. 1 type starter" was to that year's team. Hall expects activity to pick up: "We're getting a lot of calls and making a lot of calls, and we can see the interest is there. We're probably a good fit for a lot of clubs."
In addition to enviable pitching depth, the Diamondbacks also have several intriguing shortstops in the form of Didi Gregorius, Chris Owings and Nick Ahmed. Martin Prado's presence means that Arizona could also be inclined to include Matt Davidson in potential trades, and the presence of both A.J. Pollock could mean that Adam Eaton is attainable as well, notes Crasnick.
Crasnick lists familiar trade targets Price and Jeff Samardzija for the Diamondbacks, though Price has had multiple ace-caliber seasons while Samardzija has more so flashed ace potential. Crasnick adds that Tyler Skaggs and Randall Delgado, each of whom is still younger than 24, may be more likely to be included in potential trades.
The Diamondbacks are also looking to add an impact bat to the outfield, though that addition may be more likely to come via free agency, reports Crasnick. Big-name items like Nelson Cruz and Curtis Granderson may not fit into Arizona's payroll, which could lead to pursuits of names like Corey Hart and Michael Morse, though there are many who don't consider either one to be capable of handling the outfield at this point.