Sep 18, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (44) celebrates with left fielder Adam Eaton (6) after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field last season. Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Diamondbacks are basically starting over, and after a 98-loss season, it is hard to blame them. Avoiding the 100-year flood of injuries that beset them last year would be a good first step.
Tony La Russa, hired as the chief baseball officer last May, will enter his first spring training with the D-backs, who are new just about everywhere else in the front office and on the field. General manager Dave Stewart, vice president of baseball operations De Jon Watson and manager Chip Hale are in their first years on the job, and only five players — first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, second baseman Aaron Hill, and right-handers Josh Collmenter, Daniel Hudson and Brad Ziegler — remain from the 2011 National League West championship group, the last team to finish above .500 under former manager Kirk Gibson.
“We want to be over .500, that’s very important to the organization,” Hale said. “Expectations are probably a little lower, but not for us in the room. You can wins divisions and games in many different ways. We’re going to find out.”
The D-backs made inroads in the Cuban market in the offseason, signing third baseman/outfielder Yasmany Tomas to a six-year, $68.5 million contract and committing about $16 million in bonus money and taxes to right-hander Yoan Lopez. At the same time, they jettisoned salary by sending catcher Miguel Montero and his remaining $40 million to the Chicago Cubs and arbitration-eligible left-hander Wade Miley to the Red Sox, who signed him to a three-year, $19 million contract.
Tomas will be given every opportunity to play third base, where he fits the team best, and with his power the D-backs figure to have plenty of middle-of-the-order pop around first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and right fielder Mark Trumbo, who is making the move from left field.
Goldschmidt (two months) and Trumbo (11 weeks) were among the numerous D-backs who missed significant time because of injuries last season, a contributing factor in their drop to the bottom of the NL West. Center fielder A.J. Pollock and second baseman/shortstop Chris Owings, who also missed three months apiece in 2014, also are at the forefront of the new phase. Owings will start at either second base or shortstop, depending on whether Hill returns to form at second base or slick-fielding rookie Nick Ahmed is the choice at shortstop.
The biggest questions revolve around the pitching staff. The composition of the starting rotation has never been more in flux in the 14-year history of the franchise than it is now. As many as 12 names have been suggested as possible rotation candidates, and while some are more likely than others, the sheer volume indicates the situation.
Josh Collmenter and newcomer Jeremy Hellickson seem to be the only locks to make the rotation, Collmenter after his strong finish last season and Hellickson because of the resume he brings from Tampa Bay, where he had three seasons of double-digit victories before being sideline by bone chips last year. Newcomers Rubby De La Rosa is a strong candidate for the third spot, but the other two seem to be a full-blow competition between newcomers Robbie Ray and Allen Webster and holdovers Chase Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Vidal Nuno.
Anderson tied for the NL lead among rookies with nine victories, and Cahill had four seasons of double-digit victories before falling off the map — and accepting a minor league assignment — last June. He returned, but never seemed right.
Lopez throws in the mid-90s, but he is only 21 and may need assimilation time despite his four-pitch mix. Daniel Hudson made three relief appearances last September in a return from a second Tommy John surgery, and Stewart has said starting may be a way to best tailor Hudson’s usage. Ray was acquired from Detroit in a three-way deal that sent shortstop Didi Gregorius to the Yankees, and both Randall Delgado and Andrew Chafin made a few starts last season.
All-Star left-hander Patrick Corbin, whose Tommy John surgery last March was the biggest blow the D-backs felt last year, will not be rushed and is not expected back until perhaps June. Bronson Arroyo, who had mid-season Tommy John, hopes to return after the All-Star break.
Addison Reed will close.
The loss of Montero opens the catching position. Tuffy Gosewisch enters spring training as the nominal No. 1, and the D-backs signed veteran Gerald Laird to a minor league deal after claiming Oscar Hernandez in the Rule 5 draft. Stewart had said that big bat Peter O’Brien, obtained from the Yankees for Martin Prado at the 2014 trading deadline, could contribute behind the plate this year.
