Arizona Diamondbacks Daily Dose: Outfielders in Demand

The General Managers’ meetings have begun in Boca Raton, Florida and the masses of Major League Baseball media are reporting on the action. These meetings usually do not produce the type of headlines that are the product of the Winter Meetings that will be held next month but there should be some movement beyond the winning bid of the Minnesota Twins of Korean slugger Byung Ho Park. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Arizona Diamondbacks are attracting a lot of attention. Here is an excerpt from his latest piece, the entirety of which you can read here:

"Rival clubs are “all over” the D-backs’ outfielders in trade discussions, according to one club official, and the team also is drawing interest in its young infielders. The D-backs have talked previously about adding a closer, but now seem content to keep Brad Ziegler in that role and build the bullpen in front of him."

I am pretty sure none of us are surprised by this news. The D-backs have four Major League quality outfielders in Ender Inciarte, A.J. Pollock, Yasmany Tomas and David Peralta, plus a potential fifth one in Socrates Brito. The infielders aren’t too shabby, either with Nick Ahmed, Chris Owings, Jake Lamb and Brandon Drury with number one overall pick Dansby Swanson in the organization. It will be interesting to see if any preliminary talks begin in Boca Raton and end with a deal or two next month in Nashville, Tennessee. However, based on what D-backs’ GM Dave Stewart stated recently, it would be a surprise if the team acquired a starting pitcher via trade.

A interesting piece to ponder is this one by Jim McClennan at azsnakepit. It brings up the idea of trading A.J. Pollock. Frankly, I’ve had a lingering thought in the back of my mind for weeks as to why the D-backs haven’t already locked up Pollock to a long-term deal. There has been interest on both sides for what seems to be months to get a deal done but so far, there has been nothing. Living in New York and given the need for D-backs’ starting pitching, I have wondered if a Pollock for Matt Harvey deal has been discussed internally. There are concerns about Harvey bolting New York the second he hits free agency so the thought is why not get something for him now. Pollock would be the big bat the Mets will crave as they attempt to defend their National League crown. Mind you I am not endorsing or rejecting this deal, I am just putting the thought out there.

Next: Arizona Diamondbacks: 3 Middle Relief Options

On to some more D-backs’ links:

D-backs’ Scout Joe Mason Inducted to the 2015 Southeast Scouts Association Hall of Fame-Twitter

Tony LaRussa, Dejon Watson and Chip Hale Discuss Improving the D-backs’ Roster-foxsportsarizona

Brad Ziegler feels relievers should be considered for a Gold Glove-ESPN