2011-12 offseason thread

[Lefty]

Now that the season is over, what do the Diamondbacks do to better the team so they can get back to the playoffs in 2012?

I think they need to find a third baseman. I like Roberts but I don't believe he is an everyday player. Will be interesting to see if Towers looks to trade a guy like Saunders to make room for the young arms in the farm system.

 

[bankybruce]

Now that the season is over, what do the Diamondbacks do to better the team so they can get back to the playoffs in 2012?

I think they need to find a third baseman. I like Roberts but I don't believe he is an everyday player. Will be interesting to see if Towers looks to trade a guy like Saunders to make room for the young arms in the farm system.

With Drew's ankle a BIG question mark now for the start of next season, I wonder if Roberts can play SS. Once Drew is healthy, Roberts can fill in at LF, RF, 2B, 3B and hopefully SS. He still would play 100 games that way. Because we need a true high average/power 3B. Unfortunately, the only one that will be on the market is Aramis Ramirez. I am a Ramirez fan and he had a great second half and finally seem healthy, but he will get 15 million on the open market. I cannot see the D-Backs spending even half that on a single FA.

The other question to me is if Hill will be back or not.

 

[overseascardfan]

Fortunately, ARZ does not have many holes to fill this offseason. They have a lot of pitching in the minors and the big league guys are under team control for at least the next couple of years. I agree with bankybruce, that a big bat at 3rd is probably the biggest need, and Ramirez will be the only big ticket FA on the market. But keep in mind that if they do bring in a 3B it will be short term as the have Bobby Borchering & Matt Davidson (who may move to 1B or trade bait to AL team as DH) pretty close to the majors.

It's a shame we didn't shell out the dough a couple of years ago for Beltre, he has just been great the last 2 1/2 years. I think that Joe Saunders will be traded, hopefully a position player prospect and some more pitching come back in return. I don't see ARZ spending a lot in FA, last year's FA approach will be followed again this year IMO, low-risk, high-reward, low key guys.

Great year for the D'Backs, they really exceeded expectations this year and have a really bright future ahead. Hopefully management keeps the core guys together, spend some dough on guys that can help, continue to draft well and develop the farm.

 

[Lefty]

This from Rotoworld:

Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com speculates that Diamondbacks senior VP Jerry Dipoto could be a candidate for the Orioles' general manager vacancy.
Dipoto oversees all areas of scouting with the Diamondbacks and served as interim General Manager during the second half of the 2010 season where he aggressively made four trades prior to the non-waiver deadline, acquiring All-Star left-hander Joe Saunders along with three other pitchers from the Angels for Dan Haren and right-handed pitcher Daniel Hudson from the White Sox for Edwin Jackson. The Orioles have yet to comment on their intentions for a replacement but it is expected that they will have to work closely with manager Buck Showalter, who has strong opinions about the roster and areas where the team needs to improve. Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava has also been among the first discussed.

 

[BC867]

I think they need to find a third baseman. I like Roberts but I don't believe he is an everyday player.

Here is what I just posted to the Thanks for a wonderful year!!!!! thread about Tatman.

Tatman's 6 RBI's in the playoff series tied Goldschmidt for the team lead.
His .350 batting average was third. His 7 hits tied for the team lead.
And his 3 extra base hits were second on the team.

All season long, he was a major part of our 7th, 8th and 9th inning rallies with timely hits.

His overall regular season stats were not spectactular, but were OK. He was even third on the team in home runs, with just one less than Young and one more than Montero.

Roberts is a clutch player. The kind who helps his team overachieve and go from worst to first. And he helps bring fans to the game.

Don'tcha think our success did hinge, to a large part, on what he did do at 3rd base?

I have always been a proponent for power at the corners, but without Tatman's performance at 3B and Parra's in LF, would we have achieved what we did?

Add them to Upton, Montero and Young (especially hitting line drives in the playoff) gave us the versatility in hitting styles that won game after game.

We saw in previous years where we finished with everyone trying to hit the ball in the air. And striking out at record breaking clips. I hope we don't try to go back to that.

Reynolds was traded. Johnson, who then became our strikeout king, was traded. And it worked.

 

[bankybruce]

Here is what I just posted to the Thanks for a wonderful year!!!!! thread about Tatman.


I have always been a proponent for power at the corners, but without Tatman's performance at 3B and Parra's in LF, would we have achieved what we did?

Add them to Upton, Montero and Young (especially hitting line drives in the playoff) gave us the versatility in hitting styles that won game after game.

We saw in previous years where we finished with everyone trying to hit the ball in the air. And striking out at record breaking clips. I hope we don't try to go back to that.

Reynolds was traded. Johnson, who then became our strikeout king, was traded. And it worked.

I love Roberts as much as anyone else, but if a good 3B can be found, I am happy with Roberts as the everyday 2B is Hill is not brought back. Roberts will have a major role on this team no matter what.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Love Roberts, but he's not an everyday player. 100 games or so a season with 350-400 at-bats is perfect for him.
a high-quality 3B will be on the list for Towers this offseason. Who knows what he'll do at 2b and SS. IMHO, Hill should be brought back and you roll the dice with Drew/Bloomquist at SS. Roberts can also spell Hill at 2b.
Goldy is our man at 1B and hopefully, Baylor and the rest can work with him to get him even more comfy at the plate. I think he will become a major star. A .280 hitter averaging 30-35 HR's and 105-110 RBI on a consistent basis!

I would leave Parra as the everday LF. And of course, I would see what is possible in a trade for CY - his post season performance notwithstanding...
I think Ziegler needs to go. But other than that, our pen is fine and we should be able to roll with Shaw in the 7th, Hernandez in the 8th and JJ in the 9th. And if Shaw can develop a really solid off-speed pitch, he would be unhittable!

As for the starters - Hudson needs to take it up a notch. Needs to work on throwing more strikes and improve his control. Kennedy will remain our ace, and then there are all the young arms... Still, I would not at all be surprised to see Towers take a shot at some other quality veteran starter... again, based upon CY's post season performance, perhaps he raised his value enough to attract better offers in the market??

 

[bankybruce]

Love Roberts, but he's not an everyday player. 100 games or so a season with 350-400 at-bats is perfect for him.
a high-quality 3B will be on the list for Towers this offseason. Who knows what he'll do at 2b and SS. IMHO, Hill should be brought back and you roll the dice with Drew/Bloomquist at SS. Roberts can also spell Hill at 2b.
Goldy is our man at 1B and hopefully, Baylor and the rest can work with him to get him even more comfy at the plate. I think he will become a major star. A .280 hitter averaging 30-35 HR's and 105-110 RBI on a consistent basis!

I would leave Parra as the everday LF. And of course, I would see what is possible in a trade for CY - his post season performance notwithstanding...
I think Ziegler needs to go. But other than that, our pen is fine and we should be able to roll with Shaw in the 7th, Hernandez in the 8th and JJ in the 9th. And if Shaw can develop a really solid off-speed pitch, he would be unhittable!

As for the starters - Hudson needs to take it up a notch. Needs to work on throwing more strikes and improve his control. Kennedy will remain our ace, and then there are all the young arms... Still, I would not at all be surprised to see Towers take a shot at some other quality veteran starter... again, based upon CY's post season performance, perhaps he raised his value enough to attract better offers in the market??

I will agree with you one thing, I am open to trading Young, but only for a true leadoff hitter. He is the only one of the core group that I am open to moving for that missing piece. Saunders and Young for a real leadoff htter sounds great to me.

 

[BC867]

I will agree with you one thing, I am open to trading Young, but only for a true leadoff hitter. He is the only one of the core group that I am open to moving for that missing piece. Saunders and Young for a real leadoff htter sounds great to me.

That is an excellent point. Bloomquist's low OBP detracted, but his willingness to take pitches and try to simply get on base for the heart of the order reminded us how important a true leadoff hitter is, as you pointed out.

We certainly went through our share -- Young, Drew, Roberts -- until Bloomquist showed how valuable the valuable side of a leadoff hitter can be, especially hitting over .300 in the playoffs.

Drew is an important part of our team, just not at leadoff or cleanup.

 

[HooverDam]

Agreed with the general consensus that 3B needs to be the #1 priority. There isn't a whole lot out there in the FA market, but maybe via trade their could be something.

Like has been mentioned I think the organization believes Bobby Bochering is the 3B of the future, so you don't want to blow a huge amount of money on 3B or lock some veteran in there for years. They just need a guy who can play every day 3B and keep the seat warm.

I'd also be very for trading CY, though I'm not sure what the market for him is. His power and steals are nice, and he's a good defender, but the low AVG/OBP and constant pop ups are killers. If the rest of the lineup was stronger and he was the 8 hole hitter it would bother me less. The Snakes could look for a different CF or a LF and move Parra to Center maybe.

I like that the core of the lineup is finally developing and hope next year the middle of the lineup looks like this:

2. SS Drew (L)
3. RF Upton (R)
4. C Montero (L)
5. 1B Goldschmidt (R)

Thats a pretty solid, balanced and versatile core. They still desperately need to find a real lead off guy though.

 

[82CardsGrad]

I will agree with you one thing, I am open to trading Young, but only for a true leadoff hitter. He is the only one of the core group that I am open to moving for that missing piece. Saunders and Young for a real leadoff htter sounds great to me.

Now THAT is a terrific idea!!!!

 

[BC867]

developing and hope next year the middle of the lineup looks like this:

2. SS Drew (L)
3. RF Upton (R)
4. C Montero (L)
5. 1B Goldschmidt (R)

Thats a pretty solid, balanced and versatile core. They still desperately need to find a real lead off guy though.

I agree with you. And the lefty-righty-lefty-righty combo in 2-5 would be better than the predominantly righty group we've had since trading Johnson.

It is too bad that, with all the good things he is, Parra doesn't have the patience to fulfill the leadoff role.

 

[Dback Jon]

I disagree that Roberts can't be an everyday player - I think he very much can be.

 

[Nasser22]

Simple. Keep Hill. Lose Saunders. Pray for Drew. I agree with Lefty's opinion on Roberts, however I don't know who we could get right now at 3B... I have confidence in this team and want to see what they can do with minor improvements. Then, we can see what's available at the trade deadline for a 3rd baseman, or a good, short-term starter.

 

[Lefty]

•The Angels have D'Backs exec Jerry Dipoto and Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer on their list of GM candidates, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). We recently introduced Dipoto and Oppenheimer as part of our GM Candidates series.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Can't trade Saunders. Isn't he an unrestricted free agent?

Thought I heard that on the radio this afternoon.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Saunders is still arbitration eligible, but would become a UFA if the Dbacks do not tender him an offer (which is possible).

 

[Lefty]

•Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers spoke with Aaron Hill's agent this week, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The two sides made little progress and didn't exchange figures, but Towers said another talk is tentatively scheduled for next week. Hill hit .215/.386/.492 in 142 plate appearances for the Snakes after being dealt from the Blue Jays, but Towers said he isn't necessarily looking at a multi-year deal for Hill since he doesn't "want to get too crazy about six weeks [of production]. There’s a reason they moved him and a reason we moved Kelly Johnson.”
•Also from Piecoro's piece, the recently-released Juan Gutierrez said he expected the move and hopes to re-sign with the D'Backs on a minor league deal. Gutierrez underwent Tommy John surgery in September.

 

[Matt L]

David Wright at 3B!

 

[overseascardfan]

David Wright at 3B!

What I would do if I was Towers is try and offer up Drew straight up for Wright. Let's be honest ARZ will never be able to meet Boras' price tag for Drew and he will leave anyways after next year.

It helps NY because they are not going to re-sign Reyes and Wright just isn't the right fit for that ballpark. Bloomquist & McDonald played the SS position well last season when Drew went down.

 

[Lefty]

@nickpiecoro: Source: Dbacks and 2B Aaron Hill agree to terms on a two-year deal worth a little north of $10 million.

 

[Lefty]

The Diamondbacks and Aaron Hill have agreed to a two-year contract worth a little more than $10 million, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Sounds like a reasonable deal for both sides. The Diamondbacks declined Hill's $8 million options for 2012 and 2013 after the season. The 29-year-old second baseman enjoyed success after being acquired from the Blue Jays in August, batting .315/.386/.492 with two homers, 16 RBI and an .878 OPS over 142 plate appearances. Hill was an All-Star in 2009, when he posted an .829 OPS in 734 plate appearances. He's fallen back to earth with OPS' of .665 and .655 the last two years, but Arizona hopes his production spike at the end of 2011 is a harbinger for things to come.

 

[Dback Jon]

Great news!!!

 

[crisper57]

What I would do if I was Towers is try and offer up Drew straight up for Wright. Let's be honest ARZ will never be able to meet Boras' price tag for Drew and he will leave anyways after next year.

It helps NY because they are not going to re-sign Reyes and Wright just isn't the right fit for that ballpark. Bloomquist & McDonald played the SS position well last season when Drew went down.

I thought we had some young stud SS in the minors just waiting for Drew to leave so he can be called up. Can't remember where I heard that, but if it is true, I wouldn't sweat Drew leaving at the end of the year (and he will).

 

[Assface]

I thought we had some young stud SS in the minors just waiting for Drew to leave so he can be called up. Can't remember where I heard that, but if it is true, I wouldn't sweat Drew leaving at the end of the year (and he will).

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2011/index.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_players

Chris Owings. Right now his projection is 2013 so if we get one more year out of Drew that fits the estimated timetable.