PHOENIX — No National League team was more aggressive this offseason than the Arizona Diamondbacks, who sacrificed from the pocketbook and the farm system to remake themselves into a contender.
Right-handers Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller were the prize targets, and they will move to the top of a rotation that was the team’s weakest link in the first full year under the reign of chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, general manager Dave Stewart and manager Chip Hale.
Greinke signed a six-year, $206.5 million contract as a free agent, surprising the baseball world and many who follow the D-backs since the deal includes $62.5 million in deferred money, a maneuver the D-backs had made it a point to avoid since their early days. Considering the deferrals, Greinke will earn only $656,250 per start if he makes his normal 32 starts this season.
Miller, the hardest-luck pitcher in the majors in two decades with Atlanta last year, was acquired for starting outfielder Ender Inciarte and top prospects Dansby Swanson and Aaron Blair. Swanson was the first overall pick in the 2015 draft, and Blair, the D-backs’ top minor-leaguer in each of the past two seasons, could crack the Atlanta rotation this season.
“What would you do to win?” Stewart said after the Miller deal culminated the whirlwind moves that brought two prime starters. “That’s the way I look at it. For me, it’s the cost to win. We think it is time to try to take it to the next level.”
The D-backs finished their offseason tweaking by adding middle infielder Jean Segura and right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard to a team that Hale guided to a 79-83 record last season.
The D-backs did not have much other work to do. With first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and center fielder A.J. Pollock having All-Star seasons and catcher Welington Castillo setting a career high in home runs, the offense ranked No. 2 in the NL in runs and was in the top three in most other major production categories.
Goldschmidt finished second in the NL MVP voting in two of the last three years. In the other season, he was leading the major leagues in doubles before he missed the final two months of the season after sustaining a fractured hand when he was hit by a pitch.
The trade of Inciarte opens left field for Cuban emigre Yasmany Tomas, who signed a six-year, $68.5 million free agent deal before the 2015 season but had been relegated to a platoon player by the end of the year. David Peralta will move from left to right, where Inciarte started.
The D-backs stress defense, and they had the best defense in the majors last season according to baseballreference.com. They “saved” 62 runs more than the average team, 11 more than the World Series champion Kansas City Royals, who were second. Inciarte was first in the NL in runs saved, shortstop Nick Ahmed was sixth, Goldschmidt was 10th and Pollock 12th.
Even with former closer Clippard on board, the D-backs will close with Brad Ziegler, whose 30 saves last season were a career high. Patrick Corbin, Rubby De La Rosa and Robbie Ray are expected to fill the rotation.
NOTES, QUOTES
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH: The acquisition of SS Jean Segura opened a lot of possibilities in the middle infield. Does Segura start at shortstop, his primary position? What does that mean for premier defensive SS Nick Ahmed? Does Segura move to second base ahead of incumbent Chris Owings, who had a down year in 2015 as he worked back to 100 percent after shoulder surgery following the 2014 season? Ahmed “saved” 20 runs more than the average shortstop in 2015, according to baseball-reference.com, and the D-backs prize defense. They led the NL and were second to World Series champion Kansas City with 62 runs saved.
ROOKIE WATCH: Socrates Brito showed tools and aptitude during a September recall last year, and he appears to have the skill set to be a starting major league right fielder. All he needs is experience. He is capable of defending all three outfield spots and figures to open the season as the fourth outfielder. If Yasmany Tomas struggles, Brito will be the first man in.
COMEBACK TRAIL: Wesley Wright has had some quality major league seasons, and he could emerge as a candidate to become a second (or third) left-hander in the bullpen if the D-backs choose to go that deep. Andrew Chafin is assured of one spot, and Matt Reynolds pitched well in last September after missing time because of Tommy John surgery. Wright pitched only 11 games in the majors last season because of a shoulder injury, but he had a 3.38 ERA in 205 games as a setup man with Houston, Tampa Bay and the Cubs from 2012-14. Lefties have hit .237 against him in 606 plate appearances.
PLAYER NOTES:
–OF Yasmany Tomas spent most of his time in right field last season, but with the trade of RF Ender Inciarte, the D-backs decided to shift David Peralta from left to right and put Tomas in left. Tomas slashed .273/.305/.401 with 19 doubles, nine homers and 48 RBIs last season. During the middle of the year, he was hitting .300 and was not listed among the league leaders because he did not have enough at-bats to qualify. He was a bench player the final month, however, when Inciarte took over in right and Peralta became the regular in left field. A short spring training trial at third base did not take. Peralta played right field after he joined the team in 2014.
–LHP Patrick Corbin in expected to have a full workload this season, his first full year after missing the entire 2014 season because of Tommy John surgery. Corbin was 6-5 with a 3.20 ERA in 16 starts as he worked his way back in 2015, and at times he showed his 2014 All-Star form. He was 5-2 with a 1.52 ERA in the nine starts in which he went at least six innings, and he made five straight quality starts throwing 85 pitches or fewer beginning Aug. 26, the first time a major-leaguer had done that in 27 years. He held lefties to a .211 batting average. He could slot in as the No. 2 or No. 3 starter, depending on how manager Chip Hale wants to deploy his lefties. Robbie Ray is the only other left-handed candidate for the rotation.
–RHP Evan Marshall (skull fracture) began throwing bullpen sessions a month before the start of spring training and appears to be 100 percent. An MRI showed his fractures have healed and the blood been reabsorbed from the bleeding that occurred when he was struck with a line drive while pitching for Triple-A Reno on Aug. 4.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I’m all fired up to see if we’re good enough to win enough games to contend, first. Good enough to get into October. Good enough to get into that final tournament.” — D-backs chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, to the Arizona Republic.