A free agent target of the Arizona Diamondbacks is not available just yet. Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda, who we have written about previously and has brought out the word “love” in D-backs’ general manger Dave Stewart, will not be posted by his team until at least November 21st, according to Fox Sports. The Hiroshima Carp is not expected to make Maeda available until after Team Japan finishes their participation in the WBSC Premier 12 international tournament.
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The Diamondbacks will have money to spend and the $20 million dollar posting fee should not be a problem for them. However, teams such as the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants are on the lookout for starting pitching and should a bidding war for Maeda’s services begins, the Snakes don’t have the resources the other three teams do. Still, David Price might be Boston’s primary target and the Yankees may not get involved with another lengthy contract with a pitcher leaving potentially the Giants as the main competition for the D-backs. Things will be interesting in about another week.
The Diamondbacks also made it official by naming Matt Williams as the team’s third base coach and Garvin Alston as its bullpen coach. One would think that Williams, with two years of Major League managing experience and very popular among fans, would be a threat to current skipper Chip Hale if the D-backs play below expectations in 2016. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case as Hale would say this according to KPHO regarding Andy Green‘s replacement:
"We obviously started to think of all of the different potential candidates we could have to coach third and handle the infield. I would say as soon as Andy got the job, I knew in my heart that Matt was the right guy for this job in many ways."
We will see if that sentiment remains the same if Arizona once again finishes below .500. You can see the fans calling for Williams to succeed Hale as manager of the D-backs.
Here are some other link about the Diamondbacks:
Next: Arizona Diamondbacks: Arizona Fall League Update
Oscar Hernandez is forming a bond with Yoan Lopez-mlb.com
Building the Diamondbacks: A Final, Reasoned Approach-azsnakepit.com
Paul Goldschmidt’s Top 11 Home Runs of 2015-foxsportsarizona