Arizona Diamondbacks 2014 Winter Meetings Recap
The 2014 Winter Meetings in San Diego have come and gone, and there is no doubt that it was a busy week for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
When Dave Stewart became the General Manager of the Dbacks, he said that his vision was to add tons of depth and flexibility to the roster, specifically in the starting rotation, and that is exactly what he did at the Meetings.
Here all the options for the rotation come spring training: Wade Miley (for now), Jeremy Hellickson, Robbie Ray, Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster (if the Miley deal goes through).
Other options include Josh Collmenter, Chase Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Randall Delgado, Vidal Nuno, and maybe Daniel Hudson.Then there is Patrick Corbin, and Bronson Arroyo when they come back.
The Diamondbacks also have a slew of options in the minor leagues including Aaron Blair, Archie Bradley, Braden Shipley, and Andrew Chafin.
The Dbacks also officially announced the signing of Cuban OF/3B Yasmany Tomas, and traded Miguel Montero to the Cubs to free up $40 million.
Meanwhile, after days of rumors, conflicting reports, and confusion, Miley is still a Diamondback, and apparently the hold up with this trade is the third player that would go to Arizona.
Unless this third player is Henry Owens, or Christian Vasquez, I really dont like this trade. Miley is 28, he is durable and consistent, and he is under team control for three more seasons.
More than anything else, Miley has been the one stable guy in that rotation, and they need stability for a young team.
He provides a veteran presence, and that is huge. Sure Webster and De La Rosa have upside, but Miley provides so much value to this team.
Then there’s this from Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston:
This tweet above all else makes these rumors confusing.
You thought the Miley rumors were confusing? It was taken to a whole new level when Bob Nightengale of the USA Today tweeted this:
The first thing you need to know is that he is only one reporting this. The second thing you need to know, is that Nightengale is full of it, so you dont need to freak out.
There is no chance, and I mean NO CHANCE, that the Dbacks even considered trading either A.J. Pollock, or Archie Bradley for Matt Kemp.
First of all, the Dbacks want to clear up payroll, not add to the payroll, and taking on Kemp’s contract is not an option. The Dodgers would have had to pay his whole contract.
Even if they did that, there still is NO CHANCE this would ever happen. Pollock is part of the Dbacks core, and is a lock to start in CF, so he is going nowhere.
Bradley is still the 9th best prospect in baseball, and he pitched well in the Fall League, and he is expected to be apart of the Dbacks rotation in the near future, so he is going nowhere.
If there is even the slightest chance that Dave Stewart and company considered this, I have serious questions about what there trying to do.
Plus if the Dbacks actually did offer Bradley, why would the Dodgers reject it?
How many times do I have to say this: THE DBACKS DONT NEED ANOTHER OF!!!!
Again as you can tell, I have a really hard time believing this.
The Meetings are over, but that doesn’t mean the Dbacks aren’t done making moves. The Dbacks still want to add a veteran catcher, and they could still add another starter either via trade, or the free agent market.
The team also has plenty of questions and competitions to answer come spring training including the rotation, who will play third, second, and shortstop.
Stay with VenomStrikes as the off-season continues!
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