Every acquisition the Diamondbacks made this offseason
By Christopher Gaine
It was a busy offseason for the Diamondbacks. The signings, hirings and trades made have made for many new faces coming to the team this season– both on the field and in the coaching staff. Here’s a little rundown of all of their acquisitions in case you were busy watching the Coyotes or Suns this winter:
October 28: Longtime Angels pitching Mike Butcher is named Diamondbacks pitching coach. Butcher had been with the Angels since 2006.
November 12: After a turbulent two-year tenure as Nationals manager, Matt Williams returns to his old team as the third base coach. Williams was an assistant with Arizona from 2010-2013, and played with the team from 1998-2003.
November 14: The Diamondbacks trade Jeremy Hellickson to the Phillies for pitching prospect Sam McWilliams. McWilliams, an eighth-round pick in 2014, had a 3.27 ERA in seven rookie ball starts last year.
November 25: Dave Magadan is named hitting coach. Magadan had spent the last three seasons in the same position with the Rangers.
December 8: The granddaddy of them all. Zack Greinke signs a six-year, $206.5 million contract with the Diamondbacks. The average annual value of $34.3 million is the highest in baseball history. Greinke went 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA last year, and has finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting during each of the last three seasons. Christmas came early with this one.
December 9: The Diamondbacks didn’t stop there. They traded a steep package– No. 1-overall pick Dansby Swanson, star prospect Aaron Blair and .300-hitter Ender Inciarte– to the Braves in exchange for Shelby Miller and prospect Gabe Speier. This controversial trade cemented the Diamondbacks as one of the busiest teams of the offseason.
January 30: After laying low for almost two months, the Diamondbacks traded Chase Anderson, Aaron Hill and prospect Isan Diaz for Jean Segura and Tyler Wagner. Segura has struggled in two seasons since an All-Star 2013, batting .252/.285/.331 while playing subpar defense.
February 2: Relief pitcher Wesley Wright signs a minor league contract. Wright pitched in just 11 games last season, but had a 3.17 ERA in 58 games with the Cubs in 2014.
February 8: The Diamondbacks sign Tyler Clippard to a two-year, $12.25-million contract. Clippard has an ERA of 2.68 in 481 appearances since becoming a full-time relief pitcher in 2009. He has posted an ERA under 3.10 in six of the last seven seasons, including a 2.92 mark with the Athletics and Mets in 2015.