Let’s fantasy budget for fun!
Jack estimated the D-backs have about $30 million to spend. How would you spend it?
Makakilo: Because I wrote that I would extend a qualifying offer to Christian Walker, I previously used $21 Million. What would I do with my remaining $9 Million?
The following table shows the Fielding Bible’s DRS by position, with green meaning D-backs are a top-3 team, and red meaning the D-backs are a bottom-4 team.
My surprising conclusion is that center field is a big problem. My idea is to move Corbin Carroll to right field and acquire a defensive center fielder.
When comparing specific players, let’s use Outs Above Average (OAA) instead of DRS. At center field, Corbin Carroll had 3 OAA in 230 attempts. That’s the bar to clear.
Acquire Harrison Bader. He is 30 years old and plays excellent defense in center field. He earned 10 OAA in 303 attempts (a much higher pace than Corbin Carroll). Last season, Bader’s batting performance fell from .733 OPS in the first half to .513 OPS in the second half. Because last season the Diamondbacks batters were generally awesome, I’m confident the batting coaches can help Bader back to full batting strength.
This acquisition would end the Diamondbacks’ efforts to play Pavin Smith in the outfield. My previous writing explained why Pavin Smith should not play in the outfield.
MLBTR predicted that free agent Harrison Bader will sign for one year, $8 Million. That’s within my budget!
What would I do with my last $1 Million? Extend Kevin Newman to give Torey Lovullo more position flexibility.
Summary: Christian Walker, Harrison Bader, and Kevin Newman.
Ben: I tend to agree with Makakilo. The outfield is arguably the weakest overall group heading into 2025 both offensively and defensively. Obviously the D-Backs won’t be in on the Juan Soto sweepstakes and even the next tier that includes Baltimore slugger Anthony Santander is probably beyond their reach, but there are upgrades that could fall to them. Harrison Bader is a definite possibility as is Jesse Winker who is projected to sign for just $2.4 million and is coming off his best season since his 2021 All-Star season with Cincinnati. The other option would be to try and re-sign Randal Grichuk who may only cost $6.6 million and has already shown exactly how valuable he can be in Phoenix.
C. Wesley Baier: The player I really want the Diamondbacks to sign, Roki Sasaki, is almost certainly going to sign with the Dodgers. I’m fine with a one year stop gap at first, or just filling the position internallÿ through the farm system. Other than that I have no idea.
Jim: My instinct is the resources almost all need to go onto the offensive side of the budget. I think our starting pitching is ok. Providing Jordan Montgomery comes back to reasonable form, we are more or less six deep on the rotation, which is okay as a starting point. And I see no purpose in throwing money at relievers because you are very unlikely to get much bang for your buck there. What I think worked really well last year was the Pederson/Grichuk platoon. Neither were perhaps the “best” at the DH spot, but by combining them, the D-backs were among the very top teams. The downside is, you are effectively using two roster spots up, though that’s less a problem than it used to be.
I can see something like that at 1B, the team getting a right-handed bat who can platoon with Pavin Smith. If Paul Goldschmidt comes reasonably priced, that might work. Younger and cheaper, we could go for someone like Mark Canha perhaps.The DH spot is going to be tougher, because I don’t think we have either half “in house”. Perhaps a pairing of Jesse Winker and Gary Sanchez? Bringing back the switch-hitting Josh Bell is another possibility, and he played a lot better for Arizona than before the trade in Miami.
Of all the sports you have tried playing, which were you worst at?
Makakilo: As an adult, I played softball. What was memorable was the amount of side to side running when I played outfield. I did not run straight to the ball because my top priority was to avoid the numerous gopher holes. Also, there was no such thing as a cutoff man, so my throws would bounce (often in unexpected directions) on the way to the infield.
C. Wesley Baier: I was an excellent bowler as a teenager, with a 168 average and a 266 high game in league play. If I’m playing basketball against normal people (ie not pro or collegiate athletes), I can be a decent center and get a lot of rebounds utilizing my above average height. I’m just “okay” at shooting, and never put in enough practice to improve upon that foundation. As far as baseball goes, I briefly was able to be an effective pitcher, once I figured out the correct mechanics and lost a bunch of weight. I’m a terrible hitter though, outside of bunting. Once I tore something in my rotator cuff, any chance i had at being a good pitcher went out the window along with the velocity. I like to think in some alternate timeline where I went pro, I’m costing some team a massive contract while sitting on the Injured List most of the season.
Jim: Any kind of aquatic sport would be a disaster for me, since my swimming skills are hardly above the “one-way trip to the bottom of the pool” level. Water polo might be the worst choice. Unless I was given a really good horse, anyway… On dry land, I have had the good sense to avoid most competitive sports. Growing up, I played cricket and didn’t suck, as well as football, and kinda did. But I think the gulf between me and the pros would probably be most measurably huge at darts.It looks incredibly easy on television, but when you’re standing there, the board is a lot smaller and further away than it looks. Never mind hitting specific sectors, if I managed to get my three darts on the board, that is cause for a lap of honor around the pub. I would, however, be a very good darts ref. If only mental arithmetic were an Olympic sport!
Ben: I once got into racquetball during graduate school when some colleagues got into the sport and I really struggled with the angles and strategy of the game. It was extraordinarily frustrating since I’ve played tennis since I was a kid and ordinarily enjoy racket sports. But there was something about figuring out how to bounce the ball off both walls that really escaped me for some reason. I’d love to give it another try though if anyone has any pointers!