PHOENIX - The Diamondbacks 2014-2015 off-season had one extremely apparent theme; change. The changes started before last season was even over, with ownership moving on from the two GM model by firing one and keeping the other. The removal of Mr. Schroeer was just the start, not long after the front office was altered they showed manager Kirk Gibson and a number of his assistants the door. Arizona then hired Athletics bench coach Chip Hale, formerly a minor league coach with the Diamondbacks organization, to be manager. Turner Ward was promoted to Hitting Coach from Assistant Hitting Coach, and Mike Harkey takes over as Pitching Coach after six years as the Yankees' Bullpen Coach.
Hopefully Hale can bring more than 'grit' to this roster.
Once the front office and coaching staff was in order the team started rapidly tearing down the 2014 Diamondbacks to build towards a (hopefully) better future, more on that later.
NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST OUTLOOK
The NL West, oddly enough, probably won't be much different in 2015. The San Francisco Giants, defending World Champions, are probably going to walk away with the division and look like a favorite to repeat as World Champions. The Giants continue to have great hitters and pitchers, it's just going to be a matter of putting things together like last year and making their roster stronger through free agency.
The only thing up in the air is who will be the worst team in the division, and it's going to be a solid four team competition. Outside of San Francisco, this could be the worst division in baseball. There are teams engineering serious rebuilds (Arizona and San Diego), a team in flux (Colorado), and an outright bad team that appears to be rudderless at the moment (Los Angeles). Of the four the Dodgers have the most potential, but it doesn't seem likely any of these teams are going to be competing for much aside from a Top 5 draft slot.
WINTER TRADE WINDS
If it wasn't nailed down, the Diamondbacks tried to trade it this year. They probably would have traded things that were nailed down if someone offered a prospect for it, but sadly they were only able to move players. Arizona effectively burned down their roster and stocked their minor league system for the future, the trades ranged from minor blockbuster to forgettable, but each one is an important move forward.
Can Winker become the future of Arizona's outfield?
The biggest trade was one with the Chicago Cubs that saw Carlos Santana, Lonnie Chisenhall, Dayan Viciedo, Ian Kennedy, and Pat Neshek leave town. The centerpiece of the deal was OF Jesse Winker, a Top 100 prospects by many scouting services, but the addition of LHP Enny Romero and OF Billy McKinney made it hard to pass up. The deal also included C/3B Victor Caratini, C John Baker, RP Alex Torres, and RHP Mason Melotakis.
Jake Arrieta also hit the road, heading west to the Giants in exchange for prospects RHP Nick Travieso and RHP Michael Lorenzen. With Arrieta heading for free agency after the season the team opted to cash in on his 2014 season instead of risking free agency next winter.
Will management be sorry they traded for Rosario?
The most satisfying trade for management was one that swapped OF Domonic Brown for OF/2B Eddie Rosario. The Twins and Diamondbacks entertained a similar trade before the 2014 season, but ultimately could not come to an agreement. Arizona has been enamored with Rosario's upside, despite his off-field issues, and hopes to see him in Phoenix soon.
The final trades before 2015 were big ones in terms of potential return. The Diamondbacks sent R.A. Dickey, Henderson Alvarez, and Didi Gregorious to the Indians in exchange for OF Austin Meadows, 2B Taylor Lindsey, and SS Yeltsin Gudino. Arizona also took on quite a bit of salary with this deal by agreeing to take on Matt Cain ($10.8 million), Ubaldo Jimenez ($3.4 million), Kevin Slowey ($2.1 million), and Omar Infante ($4.5 million). All of these contracts expire after the 2015 season, but the wasted cap space will be well worth it if Meadows, a Top 100 prospect, can develop into a star. This deal yielded even more prospects as
Jimenez was immediately flipped to Toronto for two pitching prospects. He didn't even have time to hold up a Diamondbacks jersey.
Matt Adams was sent to Seattle in exchange for prospects, OF Michael Taylor and 3B Mitch Nay, and Josh Johnson's bloated contract ($8.2 million) that expires after 2015. Sources note that the Diamondbacks were after OF Raimel Tapia, but the Mariners wouldn't budge on the talented OF prospect.
ARIZONA FREE AGENCY PREVIEW
With free agency already open, the team doesn't look like it will do all that much aside from the signing of Yasmany Tomas. Tomas, a Cuban defector, was landed after a heated battle between a number of interested teams. He went into free agency as an outfielder but reports are that Arizona will give him a shot at third. Tomas agreed to a team friendly 6-year deal, 4-years followed by a 2-year mutual option, so he should be in Arizona for some time.
Will the Cuban slugger be a stud or a dud?
Ownership has openly stated that they only have one hard target during free agency; Gio Gonzalez. The team is content to let a number of 2014 regulars walk, mainly SS J.J. Hardy and Trevor Cahill, but the team is committed to bringing back their ace. Despite not having a good season in 2014 due to injuries, the team feels that Gonzalez is part of their rebuilding process.
The shedding of contracts through trades has left quite a bit of cap room for the Diamondbacks, it would be surprising if they failed to ink Gonzalez to a new deal.
Some sources feel that Arizona would be willing to bring Cahill back, but it's unlikely they will want to pay the 26-year old much considering his steep decline. There are also rumors that the Diamondbacks might be interested in RP David Hernandez, who missed all of 2014 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, but with the bullpen arms available it seems unlikely that Arizona will invest any more in relievers.
The team is also laying low for the next few years as a whopping $38 million is scheduled to come off the books after the 2015 season, and none of those players appear to be of interest. If Matt Cain returns to form it's possible they would bring him back, but it's more likely they would flip him at the trade deadline to someone interested in a starter.
PROJECTED 2015 ROSTER (WINTER)
Pending the completion of Free Agency the Diamondbacks roster looks rather spartan. A number of projected starters are just guys who happen to be around (John Baker, Tony Campana) and 2014 contributors thrust into full-season roles (Ender Inciarte, Chase Anderson, Michael Bolsinger.) Paul Goldschmidt continues to be the cornerstone of this roster, but with the way things are going he could be gone before spring training.
C - John Baker
1B - Paul Goldschmidt
2B - Omar Infante
SS - Chris Owings
3B - Yasmany Tomas (Rumored)
LF - Tony Campana
CF - David Peralta
RF - Ender Inciarte
DH - Aaron Hill
SP - Patrick Corbin
SP - Matt Cain
SP - Kevin Slowey
SP - Michael Bolsinger
SP - Chase Anderson
RP - Joakim Soria
RP - Jim Johnson
RP - Matt Reynolds
RP - Alex Torres
