The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Didi Gregorius on Tuesday in a three team, nine player trade that attempted to solidify Arizona’s future at the shortstop position. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks continued their busy off-season on Tuesday by acquiring what they hope to be their answer at shortstop for years to come in a three-team, nine player trade also involving the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians. Arizona acquired young shortstop Didi Gregorius from Cincinnati and left-handed reliever Tony Sipp and first baseman Lars Anderson from Cleveland.

Arizona shipped prized pitching prospect Trevor Bauer and relievers Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw to Cleveland. Cleveland also acquired outfielder Drew Stubbs from the Reds. Cincinnati received Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, shortstop Jason Donald and about $3.5 million from Cleveland.

Arizona’s Trevor Bauer was shipped to the Indians on Tuesday in a three team, nine player deal involving Cleveland and Cincinnati. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The center piece for the Diamondbacks was Gregorius, a player that GM Kevin Towers said reminded him of “a young Derek Jeter”. Considered more of a defensive standout, the 22 year-old Dutchman got his first taste of big league action last season. Gregorius hit .300 with two RBI’s in eight games with Cincinnati last season. In five minor league seasons, Gregorius hit .271 with 20 home runs and 166 RBI’s, splitting time between rookie ball t the lowest level and Class AAA at the highest. His best season in the minors came in 2010, when he hit .272 with five home runs and 41 RBI’s split between Class A ball and  professional baseball in Australia. He also hit 11 triples for the Reds farm system that season.

The Diamondbacks had an obvious falling out with Trevor Bauer and he became expendable with the signing of Brandon McCarthy last week. While Bauer has massive potential, his throwing program and attitude irked people in the organization and he became surplus for the Diamondbacks. They had to give him up to get their man in Gregorius. Bryan Shaw was going to see his role reduced this season with the acquisition of Health Bell and Albers was seen as a stop-gap in the bullpen for the short term.

Tony Sipp will get his chance to compete for a left-handed spot in the Arizona bullpen with Matt Reynolds. The left-handed Sipp pitched the last four seasons in Cleveland. Last season, Sipp was 1-2 with a 4.42 ERA in 63 appearances for the Indians.

Anderson will most likely be sent down to Class AAA Reno. Anderson hit .250, with 9 home runs and 59 RBI’s last season with Class AAA Pawtucket and Columbus.

Both offer something a little different than the other. One is cheaper on some groceries and the other is cheaper in other groceries. So in an attempt to maximize our groceries and minimize our spending, my wife and I create two separate shopping lists – one with groceries that are usually cheaper at one store and another for groceries that are cheaper at the other. It’s our own personal “Moneyball” if you will. Billy Beane has nothing on us.

Okay, so we’re spending $200 instead of $60 million, but the idea is the same. We’re trying to maximum the value of our dollar.

Each season, every MLB team tries to do the same thing – maximize the value for their dollar. For teams like Beane’s A’s, the Rays and the D-backs, that means being only able to spend half, or less, the money that teams like the Dodgers, Yankees and Tigers can. So every dollar counts.

Miguel Montero was the latest Diamondback to sign a long-term deal but the D-backs will have to do some other shopping this offseason to round out their roster. Image: Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE

With that in mind, I’ve taken a quick look at what the D-backs will be shopping for this offseason. Using Baseball Reference and Cot’s Contracts, I was able to compile the D-backs guaranteed contracts in 2013, arbitration eligible players and pre-arbitration eligible players.

To start, the D-backs used a 13 position player, 12 pitcher composition of their 25-man roster for most of the season. The D-backs have 10 players with guaranteed contracts in 2013 (numbers in parenthesis are in millions): Miguel Montero ($10), Justin Upton ($9.75), Jason Kubel ($7.5), Aaron Hill ($5.5), Willie Bloomquist ($1.9), John McDonald ($1.5), Heath Bell ($9), J.J. Putz ($6.5), Trevor Cahill ($5.5) and David Hernandez ($1.25). That fills six position player spots, one starting pitcher spot and three bullpen spots for a total of $58.4 million (minus $4 million that the Marlins will be paying of Bell’s contract).

Other players that are locks to make the opening day roster are Gerardo Parra, Paul Goldschmidt, Adam Eaton, Cliff Pennington, Ian Kennedy, Brad Ziegler, Matt Albers, Josh Collmenter and Wade Miley.

Parra, Kennedy, Ziegler and Albers are all arbitration eligible while Goldschmidt, Eaton, Pennington, Collmenter and Miley are all pre-arbitration. The exact numbers for each of these players’ salaries for next year is volatile so I won’t even pretend to guess at that number. However, the number will likely take the D-backs close to a $70 million cap number.

In addition, the D-backs have options on catcher Henry Blanco (club option for $1.24) and Matt Lindstrom (mutual option for $4). The D-backs seem unlikely to pick up Lindstrom’s option now with Bell, Ziegler, Putz, Hernandez, Collmenter and Albers already in the pen.

The option on Blanco is up in the air at this point.

Now that we’re all caught up with the details, it looks like the D-backs will have six spots on their grocery list to fill the 25-man roster: 3B, a back-up catcher, a bench corner infielder, two starting pitchers and one more relief pitcher.

The two starting spots seem to be the easiest to fill from within. Patrick Corbin probably is being considered a strong candidate for one of the two starting spots available. Corbin pitched well for the D-backs in stretches last season but did finish the season badly and ended with a 4.54 ERA. Corbin may be destined for the bullpen at some point. Last season as a reliever he had a 1.54 ERA, and as a starter, he had a 4.91 ERA.

Trevor Bauer struggled mightily in his stint with the D-backs last season but has to be a favorite to fill one of the two starting spots. Bauer, by pretty much all accounts, was stubborn in his approach and never wanted to challenge hitters by throwing strikes. Basically, he tried to get major league hitters to chase pitches out of the strike zone. Well, they’re major league hitters for a reason and wouldn’t give in to Bauer. Because of that, he had a 6.06 ERA and walked 13 batters in 16.1 innings of work.

The frustrating part is that Bauer has plus stuff and could challenge all hitters in the strike zone and get results. If he is able to learn that lesson and throw strikes, he could be the top of the rotation pitcher the D-backs thought they were drafting.

However, the pitcher I think should and will end up in one of the starting spots is Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs threw 29.1 innings in 2012 and compiled a mediocre at best 5.83 ERA. But I for one came away from his outings impressed. He wasn’t wild and has a repertoire that should be able to miss bats at the major league level. He’s spent four seasons in the minor leagues compiling a 2.98 ERA and appears to be ready to make the next step.

That fifth spot will either be Bauer or Corbin but signing a veteran free agent to a one-year deal worth $5 million or so isn’t outside of the realm of possibility, either.

The next biggest priority for the D-backs should be a starting third baseman. Chris Johnson took the D-backs by storm after his acquisition from the Astros last season but slowed down quickly. He is arbitration eligible this season for the first time and if the D-backs choose to sign him, he will undoubtedly be the starting third baseman. I think this might be the best option for the D-backs at this point. However, there are other options if the D-backs decide to go another way.

Ryan Wheeler played for the D-backs regularly after his call up in late July last season. However, he failed to impress. He had a .294 OBP and a .339 Slugging in 109 at bats. Now, that’s still a small sample size and the D-backs may believe in Wheeler enough to give him the starting spot, but I think that would be a mistake. Wheeler has always been strike out prone and his defense is suspect at best.

The problem the D-backs face, if they don’t believe in Wheeler or Johnson, is the free agent class at third, though. The class is mediocre with Kevin Youkilis probably the best option. The D-backs would likely only want a short-term contract to serve as a stop gap until prospect Matt Davidson is ready (most likely the 2013 season).

Yet another possibility is trading for a third baseman, which GM Kevin Towers has shown he is not afraid to do. Still, I think the most likely option, out of the few mediocre options, is signing Johnson.

That leaves a backup catcher and one more bench player. Montero played a league leading 141 games at catcher last season. That left a paltry 21 games for backup Blanco for the entire season. Montero’s durability is part of the reason the D-backs signed him to a six-year, $65.9 million deal during the season. However, that contract is also a big reason to make sure Montero stays healthy by sitting him a few more games.

They should take his starts down to a more manageable 125-130 per year. That’s still quite a bit but it also makes a decent backup catcher a bit more valuable. Blanco probably is not the answer at 41 years old. A good right-hand hitting catcher to allow Montero to sit against tough lefties is probably the goal. Perhaps a guy like Kelly Shoppach at one year and $1.5 million would be a good fit. Shoppach has a career .868 OPS against lefties and a .658 OPS against righties.

Having that extra bat to come off the bench against lefties can be very valuable to the D-backs.

To fill the last bench spot, the D-backs should look at a left-handed hitter that can fill in at first to give Goldschmidt some help against tough righties. (Side note: as much as Goldy is known for absolutely owning Tim Lincecum, he has actually struggled against righties and killing left-handed pitching. He has a 200 point difference in OPS from lefties to righties.)

A guy like Adam Laroche, if his option is not picked up by the Nationals, should strongly be considered by the D-backs.

To round out the shopping list, the D-backs will need one more relief pitcher to fill out the bullpen. That will almost assuredly come from with the organization. Guys like Bryan Shaw and Sam Demel will probably be the front runners for that slot. I’d like to see the D-backs give Shaw another shot.

All-in-all, here is the 25-man roster that is most likely (plus a few things I would personally like to see) going into 2013:

C- Montero

1B- Goldschmidt

2B- Hill

3B- Johnson

SS- Pennington

LF- Kubel

CF- Eaton

RF- Upton

BN- Parra

BN- Bloomquist

BN- McDonald

BN- Shoppach

BN- LH Power Bat (e.g. Laroche)

SP- Kennedy

SP- Cahill

SP- Miley

SP- Skaggs

SP- Bauer

CL- Putz

SU- Hernandez

RP- Bell

RP- Ziegler

RP- Albers

RP- Collmenter

RP- Shaw

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Mike Zagurski (49) pitches during the game against the Washington Nationals in the ninth inning at Chase Field. Image: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE

Transactions: The Dbacks were forced to make a few moves over the weekend that saw Josh Collmenter head to the disabled list with ulcers and a recall of right hander Brad Bergeson from Triple-A Reno. They also had to place Willie Bloomquist on the DL with a back issue that has hampered him for a couple weeks now. To fill his roster spot they promoted infielder Jake Elmore to make his major league debut for the club. The other move was a matter of choice as they [finally] designated Mike Zagurski for assignment while recalling right hander Bryan Shaw.

Record Notes: The team is playing .500 ball lately and still sits one game above .500 on the season at 58-57 but lost a game to the first place Giants and now trail them by five games. They have won three series, lost three series, and split three [four game] series in the second half of the season.

*With their 9-1 loss on Friday night, the team fell to 1-39 in games in which they scored two or fewer runs.

*With their 6-5 loss on Saturday night the team dropped to a major league worst 8-17 in one run games on the year and have lost five straight one run affairs.

GOOD: Patrick Corbin put together another impressive start on Sunday working seven innings while allowing just four hits and two earned runs. He didn’t walk a batter, collected seven strikeouts and at one point retired sixteen straight Nationals hitters. The 23 year old rookie has been excellent in August posting an ERA of 1.89 and a 2-0 record in nineteen innings of work.

*Bryan Shaw returned to the Diamondbacks bullpen Saturday night after being demoted on July 20^th and he didn’t disappoint striking out the side in the seventh inning. J.J. Putz came in during the ninth on Sunday and retired the final two hitters to record his 13^th consecutive save and 22^nd overall.

*Aaron Hill’s bat livened over the weekend as he collected a pair of doubles and his first homerun in 20 games. He also drove in his first run in the month of August.

BAD: Trevor Cahill was mediocre yet again on Friday as he surrendered two homeruns and four earned runs over six innings of work. Cahill has failed to win consecutive starts in nine consecutive appearances now dating back to June 3^rd. He has given up at least three runs in seven of those nine starts.

*Paul Goldschmidt began the series 0 for 9 on Friday and Saturday before finally breaking through with a clutch performance on Sunday as he went 2 for 4 with three RBI’s and a stolen base. Goldie is mired in a 3 for 20 mini-slump right now but hopefully Sunday’s effort will get the first baseman rolling again. His eleventh stolen base on the year leads all National League first baseman and is tied for the most in MLB at his position.

UGLY: Takashi Saito suffered another abbreviated outing on Sunday lasting just 1/3 of an inning while giving up three hits and a pair of runs before being pulled. In his last three outings the right hander has working just 1 1/3 innings while allowing six hits and four earned runs including a homerun. His ERA has skyrocketed over 6.00 (6.14) and his struggles are coming at an inconvenient time as the team is making a “push” for a playoff spot.

*Mike Zagurski was again hit hard on Friday night allowing four earned runs on four hits- three doubles- as pitching coach Charles Nagy and Gibby let the left hander grind his way through one of the worst innings he’s thrown all season- he allowed four earned runs in 2/3 inning on June 20^th. With the game virtually out of reach everyone was forced to watch the 29 year old painfully battle hitter after hitter and without a reliever warming up. The outing sent Zagurski’s ERA over 6.00 on the year (6.18) and prompted his demotion to Triple-A Reno the following day. The Dbacks now have zero left handed relievers in their bullpen with Zagurski’s demotion and the Craig Breslow trade at the deadline.

*Chris Johnson came back to reality during his first series at the friendly confines of Chase Field. He collected just one hit in eleven at bats and misplayed a couple balls being credited with his 16^th & 17^th errors on the year. Since he blasted a pair of homeruns against the Pirates last Tuesday, the third baseman is just 4 for 20 (.200) with six strikeouts. He did still knock in two runs over the weekend pushing his RBI total as a Diamondback to 18 in just 13 games. While the offensive downfall isn’t concerning considering how well he has been, the defensive mishaps are something the defense [and pitching staff] cannot afford. He has already committed four errors in his time as a Diamondback.

*Team Defense. What a horrible display of fielding once again this weekend as the club tacked on another three error game Saturday night on their way to committing five errors over the three games. It was their second consecutive series with five errors and they now have eleven errors in just their last eight games. Still, even with their recent struggles on the field the defense sports the tenth best fielding percentage in all of baseball at .984- the MLB leading Mariners have a .990 percentage.

NOTES: *Arizona State alumni Jake Elmore made his major league debut on Saturday night as a pinch hitter coming to the plate with runners on first and second and one out. It was a quality at bat as he saw four pitches before flying out to right field for the second out.

*The Dbacks have seen some difficult opponents in their last five series with the Mets, Dodgers, Phillies, Pirates and Nationals finishing 9-8 during that span. All but the Phillies are either the division leader or contending for at least a playoff spot with under 50 games to go. In the Phillies series the team was dealt the hand of Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in the final two matchups, two of the toughest starters in baseball when they are hitting their spots. As the team travels to St. Louis to start a three game set Tuesday night, they will be faced with yet another tough opponent that has fared very well against the Dbacks as of late.

*Ian Kennedy will take the hill tomorrow evening to try to rectify his poor outing against the Pirates and take game one that will kick off their nine game road trip. In Kennedy’s first start against the Cardinals earlier this summer he was hit hard in the first two innings allowing six earned runs on two homeruns but was able to shut down their offense after the second to throw seven complete innings.

Now bring on the Cardinals!!

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 Sidenote: This awesomeness kicks off Wednesday in Long Beach, CA: http://vimeo.com/40057950