Dbacks in Position to be Buyers, Sellers, or Both
By Scott Allen
When you look at the current Arizona Diamondbacks roster you wonder where it all went wrong? With the current “talent” on the roster, this team has clearly underachieved. Or have they? Have they really reached their potential? I think that’s where the problem lies. I’m not sure the Dbacks front office has figured that out yet either or we would have seen several moves already from a player standpoint.
The Dbacks are going to have to decide whether they are buyers, sellers, or both. If they are both, they are willing to wave the white flag on the 2010 season, which theoretically the Dbacks have already done with their on the field play. The front office hasn’t given that indication other than replacing their manager and general manager, which seemed to be, at the time, a move to more shore up and save this season to some extent. Clearly that won’t happen.
If the Dbacks are buyers, they don’t have much to give, but if they are sellers, they have plenty. If they want to start re-building for the future and want to help themselves for the near future, then they have three weeks to implode this mess. I don’t see it happening though. Unfortunately I see the Dbacks just sitting on their hands and watch this season go down in flames without helping themselves for the future. If they do sell though, here is who I think will be a Diamondback and won’t be after July 31st:
Those that may not be a Diamondback after July 31st:
Mark Reynolds – as hard as it is to believe, he is still a sought after commodity, even after 119 strikeouts and a batting average of .212. He has the power many teams are looking for. If it comes down to Reynolds and Justin Upton, Reynolds is the man to go. These two can not continue to exist together on the same team. The Dbacks have a number of infielders within the organization that may be ready soon to come up and give it a try in Arizona.
Adam Laroche – He’s got some power, he makes contact with the ball and has average skills at first. He’s a guy that can hit in the clutch, although he has not proven that much in the Dback uniform.
Kelly Johnson – Johnson has had a re-birth in Arizona this season. He hit a lot of homers early. Currently has 14 and 43 RBI. Solid second baseman who would fit great with any contender right now.
Those rumored to be in trade talks, but most likely staying:
Dan Haren – First of all, Haren hasn’t had the greatest of seasons. His ERA is higher than his batting average and he is hitting just under .400. Haren has a long term contract and will command quite a bit in return. I don’t see a contender willing to meet the Dbacks demands especially given Haren’s 2009 second half and 2010 first half performance.
Justin Upton – He is still young and is still learning. Yeah he has a lot of strikeouts, but I don’t see the Dbacks giving up on him yet. There is still too much potential there.
As far as I’m concerned, the entire bullpen can take a hike, but the only thing you will get return for any of them is a huge laugh. That doesn’t mean we can’t trade for a solid reliever or two and just dump the dead weight.
The next three weeks will be very telling about how not only this season, but the near future will go as well for the Dbacks.