Arizona Diamondbacks Daily Dose: GM Meetings This Week
By Joseph Jacquez
Good Morning Arizona Diamondbacks fans and welcome to today’s Daily Dose!
November 9th, 2015
Diamondbacks G.M. Dave Stewart is focused on free agents as the G.M. Meetings Begin-azcentral sports
Arizona Diamondbacks’ General Manager Dave Stewart is focused on the free agent starters market as the baseball world convenes in Boca Raton, Florida for the first major event of the 2015-2016 offseason: the GM Meetings.
This is where the conversation gets started and while the D-backs aren’t being talked about by the national media as a team expected to be active this week like the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona hopes to at least begin the conversation before the Winter Meetings take place next month.
If there is anything that I can takeaway from the offseason up to this point it’s that Stewart and the rest of the front office are focused on adding starting pitching through the free agent market rather than making a trade.
Stewart convened that message to azcentral sports Nick Piecoro:
"“I know there are going to be a lot of agents there,” Stewart said Sunday. “We may be able to get an opportunity to talk to these guys about some of the free agents. I don’t know if there’s going to be a lot as far as the trades are concerned.”"
The D-backs do have a surplus of depth in the infield and outfield both at the Major and Minor League levels but after several offseasons of giving away prized prospects and basically getting no return on the team’s investment, the Snakes are clearly hesitant about trading. All of the possible scenarios out there would likely require giving up prospects or sacrificing depth.
One viable option the team has is to trade an infielder or an outfielder because at some point this team will have to establish who they want starting at those positions moving forward and this team has too many pieces. However, based on the message Stewart has convened so far, the D-backs aren’t interested in doing that.
Here is one thing to keep in mind about pursuing free agents specifically this offseason: a record 20 players received qualifying offers and ten of those guys were starters: Brett Anderson, Wei-Yin Chen, Marco Estrada, Yovani Gallardo, Zack Greinke, Hisashi Iwakuma, Ian Kennedy, John Lackey, Jeff Samardzija and Jordan Zimmermann.
I’m sure the D-backs would be interested in several of the names listed above and this team has been connected to several of those starters. However, signing one of them would require the D-backs to give up the number 13 pick in the upcoming draft, and that selection is very valuable.
The D-backs are going to have to decide if adding one of those guys is worth giving up that pick. If not, the team will have to find a free agent starter that didn’t receive a qualifying offer. Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake are great examples.
Trades with teams like the Cleveland Indians might have to be an option after all.
Next: Diamondbacks Interested in Kenta Maeda?
Now on to today’s Daily Dose: here are some stories on the D-backs that you might have missed!
Arizona Diamondbacks Prospect Review: Marcus Wilson-Venom Strikes
Though the a's did bid on byung-ho park, they did not have the winning bid. Marlins and dbacks also did not have top bid.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 9, 2015
Appreciating an Awesome D-backs Defense-Inside the Zona
Ranking Every Team as a Free Agent Destination-Bleacher Report
The Impact Free Agent Move each MLB Team will Make-Bleacher Report
Now here are stories from around baseball you might have missed!
Six Key Clubs at the GM Meetings-MLB.com
Rockies Eye Daniel Murphy at First Base-Call to the Pen
Twins win Byung-ho Park Bid-Pucketts Pond