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The Arizona Diamondbacks putting together a roster that looks to defend the NL West.
It was just a couple of days ago that ESPN MLB insider Keith Law was gushing about the potential of first round draft pick Trevor Bauer. It is well known throughout baseball that the Arizona Diamondbacks have a very stocked farm system when it comes to young starting pitching.
They traded away Jarrod Parker but still have Bauer, Tyler Skaggs and also Archie Bradley. However, if you look at the major league team's starting rotation, it will be tough for any of these young guys to crack the major leagues without a big showing. Arizona already has its starting rotation all but set. They have Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, recently acquired Trevor Cahill, Josh Collmenter and recently re-signed Joe Saunders.
Arizona is doing a good thing with what they are doing.
ESPN's Keith Law is busy checking out all the hottest prospects before Spring Training gets into full swing, and created his top 20 impact prospects list, which just so happened to contain the Arizona Diamondbacks' ace-in-waiting Trevor Bauer.
Here is LAw's take on Bauer's progress and current status with the club:
11. Trevor Bauer, RHP | Top 100 rank -- 21: Bauer could be in the top few spots on this list if he had a spot in Arizona's rotation, but he'll start the season in the minors barring an injury. That said, Joe Saunders isn't as good as Bauer, andJosh Collmenter is a novelty act whose deception won't cover his lack of stuff for much longer, and I think Bauer's ability to miss bats with multiple pitches will get him to the majors sooner rather than later. Teammate Tyler Skaggs also could be in line for a call-up, as the D-backs will be better off with Bauer and Skaggs in the No. 4-5 spots for the second half of the season than they would be with Collmenter and Saunders.
Like Madison Bumgarner up in San Francisco, Bauer isn't long for minor league work, owning the tools, mentality, and durability to join the club much sooner than later. Make sure to watch his progress down on the farm, he may be shooting up to the Show if he performs well the first part of the season.
For more on the Diamondbacks, head on over to AZ Snake Pit.
The Arizona Diamondbacks announced on Thursday the signing of left-handed pitcher Craig Breslow to a one-year contract, effectively avoiding arbitration according to D-backs’ Executive Vice President and General Manager Kevin Towers.Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
Breslow, 31, led all relief pitchers in the big leagues with a career-high five pickoffs in 2011, while ranking 11th in the American League by allowing just 21.1 percent (8-of-38) of inherited runners to score. Breslow had a 0-2 mark with a 3.79 ERA (25 ER in 59.1 IP) in 67 appearances with the A’s last season.
Now entering his seventh season, Breslow has spent time with the Padres (2005), Red Sox (2006), Indians (2008), Twins (2008-09) and A’s (2009-11),
Breslow was acquired from the Oakland Athletics along with right-handed pitcher Trevor Cahill with cash considerations on December 9, 2011 in exchange for right-handed pitchers Jarrod Parker and Ryan Cook and outfielder Collin Cowgill.
The D-backs are not effectively done with their arbitration this year.
For more on the D-backs, head over to AZ Snake Pit.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to terms on one-year deals with All-Star catcher Miguel Montero and infielder Ryan Roberts, according to D-backs' Executive Vice President and General Manager Kevin Towers. With both deals, the team and the players avoid arbitration.
According to MLBlogs.com, Montero's deal is for $5.9 million and Robert is for $2.012 million.
"It feels so nice," Montero said of having the issue settled. "I feel relieved and happy to get it done, man. I can't wait to get to Spring Training and start playing. That's the fun part. That's what it's all about. We're going to have a good team again this year."
Signing Montero was a must for the D-backs. The 28-year-old made his first All-Star team this past season and led all NL catchers with a .471 slugging percentage, 36 doubles, 55 extra-base hits and 86 RBI, while hitting .282 with a career-high 18 home runs. In six seasons with the D-backs, Montero has hit .271 with 58 home runs and 246 RBI in 513 games.
Roberts is coming off a career year on offense after hitting .249 with 25 doubles, 19 home runs, 65 RBI, 18 stolen bases and 86 runs scored.
According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal amongst a litany of other sources have said that Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero will be the first player this season to head to arbitration to hammer out his contract from the upcoming season.
Montero, 28, asked for $6.8 million, more than twice as much as his 2011 salary of $3.2 million, while the D0backs made a counter offer of $5.4 million. Their hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning, with a possible settlement beforehand or long-term contract arising is likely off the table according to sources near the situation.
According to Rosenthal, Arizona views current Texas Rangers catcher Mike Napoli as the most comparable player to the situation of Montero. Montero’s people on the other hand are trying to paint Montero in the light of a Yadier Molina instead of Napoli, one of the top in not the top catcher in baseball. Napoli was only a part-time backstop last year while Montero was there all season.
Montero will be free-agency eligible after the end of next season.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks officially announced signing RHP Brad Ziegler to a one-year deal. Ziegler was acquired from the Oakland Athletics in a trade last summer at the deadline and pitched in 66 games in 2011 and recorded a 2.16 ERA.
Ziegler will join an improved D-backs bullpen that includes J.J. Putz and David Hernandez at the back and middle relievers Takashi Saito and Bryan Shaw with lefty specialist Joe Paterson. The group looks pretty solid although they probably could use another lefty and a long-reliever to replace the loss of Micah Owings.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have been looking to avoid arbitration with their best relief pitcher Brad Ziegler. Ziegler posted a 2.16 ERA last season between the Oakland Athletics and his trade to the Diamondbacks, and was one of the most effective bullpen pitchers the D-Backs had to use. Ziegler had filed for a big deal as he was up for arbitration, but came to terms with Arizona for a deal that mutually satisfied both parties.
MLB Trade Rumors has the story about Ziegler's deal.
The Diamondbacks have agreed to a one-year deal with Brad Ziegler, avoiding arbitration, MLBTR has learned. The right-handed reliever will earn $1.795MM in 2012.
...
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Riverfront Sports client filed for $1.945MM while the Diamondbacks countered with a $1.46MM offer.
The Diamondbacks now have an excellent arm out of the pen that can help charge their lineup. He should be a useful complement to an underrated starting rotation that should help win a lot of games next season in the NL West, a division not really well-known for its offensive firepower. As a right-handed specialist, Ziegler will have his hands full trying to hold down some of the best hitters in the West.
To talk about Ziegler and the Diamondbacks, head to AZ Snake Pit.
Craig Tatum is headed to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it looks like their roster moves might be nearing an end. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports has more.
Diamondbacks claim Craig Tatum on waivers from Astros, team announces
— DKnobler (@DKnobler) January 23, 2012
For those who don't know much about Tatum, let's find out about more about him. Tatum had a decent time last season moving around the league, hit .245 (17-for-87) with 3 doubles and 7 RBI in 31 games with the Orioles in 2011. Then he also appeared in 21 games with Triple-A Norfolk; Tatum was claimed by the Astros on October 28, 2011 but didn't do much with Houston before being signed with the D-Backs. His performance is definitely an uptick from his career .223 hitting.
The Diamondbacks now have filled up their 40-man roster. Will there be any other moves?
To discuss Tatum to the Diamondbacks, head to AZ Snake Pit. To talk about Tatum and the Astros, go to The Crawfish Boxes.
The Arizona Diamondbacks were a playoff team in 2011, taking the NL West title with ease while stacking their lineup with talent this offseason, almost certainly coming out a stronger team in 2012.
ESPN's schedule makers must have forgotten all about that.
The Diamondbacks are the brightest spot on an Arizona professional sports landscape that features a setting Suns team, the Coyotes that still lack a local solution to their ownership woes, and the Cardinals who are very much on the cusp of something (we're just not sure what).
It's the local baseball team that's on the rise and closer to (another) championship parade; this offseason proved how committed they are to getting. The Snakes went from "rebuilding" to "win now" faster than we expected and they did it all in brilliant fashion.
The question is, will the fickle sport fans of this transient town embrace the Diamondbacks again?
If they don't, there's no blaming team management this year.
The D-backs in 2011 achieved a fantastic turnaround, winning the NL West with a combination of gritty culture, smart value signings, and more than a little luck in the form of injuries in the Giants ranks and career-seasons by guys like Ryan Roberts and Gerardo Parra.
Most of us expected the team to try and sell more tickets off the backs of last summer's success and view 2012 as another step towards eventually, possibly, contending.
We thought the roster would mostly come back in tact and the younger players would get another year to develop. A few of the bright young arms in the system would get thrown into the fire and hopefully, the team could be entertaining again and maybe get lucky.
Nope.
The Diamondbacks had other plans.
The Arizona Diamondbacks finally got the veteran pitcher they spent all offseason looking for and it turns out it was the guy they knew best. According to multiple reports, the D-backs agreed to a one-year deal with veteran pitcher Joe Saunders worth $6 million.
The D-backs flirted with all kinds of options to fill out a rotation that will rival anything this side of Philadelphia. From Hiroki Kuroda to Mark Buehrle to the recent rebuffed advances towards Bartolo Colon, GM Kevin Towers has searched high and low for the stable presence to add to a rotation made up of youngsters Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Trevor Cahill and Josh Collmenter.
According to Nick Piecoro, the D-backs ownership signed off on paying Saunders and with the other moves the team has made, notably the free agent signing of OF Jason Kubel, the payroll will be an estimated $80 million this season. Last year's team salary was about $53.6 million.
Saunders recorded an ERA of 3.69 last season and pitched 212 innings.
The decision will make it harder for the group of young arms waiting in the wings to get a shot at the show. Pat Corbin, Tyler Skaggs, Trevor Bauer, Wade Miley, and Charles Brewer will all have to work to prove themselves in Spring Training and then wait their turn. If one or more of the youngsters prove ready, the D-backs can always look to trade Saunders or one of the prospects for other valuable assets.
In the mean time, too much pitching depth is a good problem to have. This team certainly has come a long way in a short time thanks to Towers and the savvy moved made by then interim GM Jerry Dipoto in 2010.
The 2012 Diamondbacks will enter the season with all the pieces in place from last year's NL West title team. In addition, they have a solidified rotation that includes an immediate upgrade with Cahill and a host of young arms waiting their turn. The offense is stronger with the addition of Kubel to the middle of the order and the bullpen has been beefed up with veteran middle inning guys Takashi Saito and Craig Breslow.
For more on the (still unofficial) deal, visit AZ Snake Pit.
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MLB Power Rankings: Diamondbacks Project Very Well For Future With Young Talent, Strong Management
by Scott Coleman
The Arizona Diamondbacks experienced quite the turnaround season in 2011, going from the middle of the NL West to among the best teams in the National League. The club came up just short of advancing in the NLDS and one can only be excited for the future with the amount of young talent assembled on the roster.
The guys at ESPN recently released their 'Future Power Rankings" for each team in Major League Baseball, ranking them from No. 1-30. The D-backs came in high on the list, but just how high did they go? We have the answer after the page jump...
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Feb 16 6:58p