Arizona Diamondbacks Minor Moves: Yips, A Catcher And A Comeback

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been wheeling in dealing, though not exactly at the level or speed that attracts attention. Let’s roundup last week’s minor moves.

The Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t setting the baseball world on fire with their winter action, but that doesn’t mean they’ve been hibernating. Minor moves are the stuff baseball fanatics salivate over, as herein lies the deepest depths of unanalyzed, unrealized potential.

We’ve covered the couple of semi-major moves, both the extension of manager Torey Lovullo and the signing of Greg Holland, a potential impact reliever, but there’s been more happening beneath the surface. Let’s dive in and take a look at the Diamondbacks smaller moves from the past few weeks.

– Jared Miller was outrighted off the 40-man roster, remaining with the organization with, probably, Triple A Reno. Miller, 25, is a 6’7″ southpaw with a fair amount of promise, and though his prospect shine took a hit this year, it’s not gone.

Unfortunately, what ails Miller is more difficult to diagnose than a typical case of inconsistency. Miller has a low-level case of the yips, meaning he has, suddenly and without apparent cause, lost the ability to throw a baseball over the plate.

After consistently posting solid numbers in the minors, last season his walk rate jumped to an ungodly 13.5 BB/9. That’s not only unsustainable – it’s not indicative of a physical ailment.

Hopefully Miller can iron out whatever psychological blockage prompted such a disastrous turn this upcoming season. The good news is, at only 25-years-old, there’s plenty of time for Miller to put it all together.

– Catcher Alberto Rosario returns to the organization on a minor league deal, providing depth in the high minors for a position that often needs it. Rosario, 32, spent last season in the Dbacks organization between Double A and Triple A, slashing .253/.288/.313 across 179 plate appearances.

He saw big league action in the two seasons prior with the Cardinals, but here he figures to land in the upper minors unless there’s significant injuries to the big league club.

– The Diamondbacks were one of three thorough organizations in attendance at Adrian Gonzalez‘s recent workout, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). The Tigers and Royals were also in attendance.

Granted, it’s not likely Gonzalez earns much spotlight time in the MLB this year. If he did catch on somewhere, it would be a fun story and that’s likely the extent of it.

For the Diamondbacks, they have enough first baseman (Jake Lamb, Wilmer Flores, Kevin Cron) that giving at bats to Gonzalez would seem to be in conflict with both an attempt at contention (Lamb, Flores), or important development time (Lamb, Cron).

An invite to spring camp wouldn’t hurt, of course, as he has more than enough more league experience to share with the young folks during story time. Whether Gonzalez receives enough positive feedback to keep this comeback truckin’ remains to be seen.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are moving right along, making the minor moves necessary to keep an organization afloat, and there may yet be time for an impact move. That said, it’s more likely that this is the level they will be working at for the rest of the winter. Stay tuned for more minor moves.