We discuss Marte, torpedo bats, and preferred pets!
Another week, another extension. This one isn’t off to as great a start though. Short term, how does this impact the Diamondbacks, our prospects, and our overall playoff chances?
Spencer: I love having Marte locked up essentially for his entire career now. There’s something immensely satisfying about having a player so iconically tied to our franchise. He’s a stud, and great human. I don’t think it really affects any of our prospects much. He was already under control for a few years anyway and Lawlar seems primed for 3rd with the Perdomo extension. Maybe someone like Blaze or Tawa gets pushed into a Rojas role instead of getting a chance to be a starter, but neither strikes me as a starting caliber player. So that part is a wash. Cristantes would seem the next most likely middle infielder of note pending the development of Dix and/or Torin/Luis but they are all so far away Marte may be fully a DH by their debuts and Perdomo/Lawlar could be headed to free agency or a recoup value trade.
Playoffs in 2025…less certain of than I was 48 hours ago but our depth is solid. And the team has a lot of experience with both Marte’s legs and leg muscles in general, so hopefully it can be a relatively “quick” turnaround and Tawa can hold his own enough while others step up to keep us in the race.
Makakilo: The Diamondbacks reduced Ketel Marte’s 2025 salary by $5 Million. That incremental increase could help the team this season, perhaps by making an advantageous trade possible. As we learned last season, the difference between staying-at-home and being in the playoffs is very small. This season, every small improvement could be the one that gets the Diamondbacks into the playoffs.
Justin: I love the Marte extension, I texted ISH “Next Dback to have his number retired!” I like the extensions overall. It feels very “win now-ey.”
1AZfan1: Short term, I don’t think the extension affects our prospects. As Spencer noted, we already had him for the next few years, anyway. Mak made mention of freeing up cash for potential moves at the deadline, which is probably the biggest short term impact for the ballclub. The injury certainly impacts our playoff chances, especially since soft tissue injuries have a tendency to recur throughout the year.
Ben: I’ll always own that I was a doubter when the D-Backs signed his first contract extension, but he has proven me extremely wrong. He has become the heartbeat of this team on and off the field and his value is pretty close to irreplaceable on a short-term basis. The team is undoubtedly better with him than without, but I’m excited to see what Tawa can show in the meantime. I don’t think the extension affects our prospects very much as Lawlar seems destined for third with Perdomo’s earlier extension.
Wesley: I think the freed up cash is a real sign that the team is in win now mode, and that Ken Kendrick is trying to solidify his legacy and/or eventually selling the team.
Dano: I’m happy with it….Ketel is a key to our offense, and it didn’t seem like an unreasonable amount of money or an excessive number of years.
ISH95: Losing a top-3 MVP player is always going to hurt your team, of course. The step down from him to Tawa/Hampson is monumental. However, I think the offense overall is well equipped to handle losing him. Run scoring hasn’t been our issue so far, and I don’t see it becoming one without Marte.
Long term, are you more concerned about the payoff for this contract now?
Spencer: I think it’s obvious we’ll be overpaying current value by the end of this deal. But it’s worth the investment. Locking up a fan favorite player like this and paying on the back end for what he did in his prime is the type of fan endearing move I’ve been desperately looking for Kendrick to make my entire fandom. Yes the end could be rough to watch like Miggy and Votto’s were, but that’s the price you pay to have a true Legend on the team. In 2045, I hope his number is retired, he’s in the AZ Hall of Fame and his obnoxiously large headed mascot version is racing nightly in downtown Phoenix.
Makakilo: I’m not concerned. Two points:
- An intangible benefit of extending awesome players is attracting other awesome players to your team. By locking up Marte, I’m hoping it makes it easier for the Diamondbacks to attract more awesome players.
- Why aren’t baseball contracts indexed to inflation? Inflation is unpredictable and makes it hard to predict the value of dollars many years in the future.
1AZfan1: Injuries were always a concern for Marte, whether it was for the next 2 years or the next 5. Hopefully any injuries that occur don’t cause any major changes to his player profile. If he sustains an injury that causes him to lose power or makes him unplayable in the field early in the contract, this contract could end up being an albatross (unless ownership is still willing to spend around it). I am happy that Marte will likely be a D-back for life. He is absolutely a person who this franchise deserves to have associated with it for long after he’s retired like Gonzo.
Ben: I think you’d be hard pressed to find a contract that doesn’t include the team overpaying at the end of it. That’s just the nature of long-term extensions – the team hopes to frontload the value while the backend is for the player.
Wesley: I hope he quietly becomes a HOF caliber second baseman. The only real concerns I have with him is his health, but you should have that with every player signed to an extension. It’s just the cost of doing business.
Dano: As others noted, Marte’s health is often a concern, as his current early trip to the IL reminds us. But again, I don’t find the amount or the length of the extension to be terribly unreasonable.
ISH95: Marte’s health will always be a concern until they day he retires. No way around that. Does the time of this one suck? Yeah.
10 games in, are there any underperformances that you’re concerned about yet?
Spencer: ERod is continuing to disappoint. I hope he gets better. I’d like McCarthy to pick it up too. With Marte out though, I’d like more from 9/9 bats right now. Puk also worries me a bit, but I know that’s me overreacting more than anything else. We have a winning record at time of writing and this team feels more like 2023 than 2024 so far.
Makakilo: 8 games in, the overall pitching, as measured by 5.25 runs allowed per game, is underperforming my prediction of being close to the league average of 4.33 runs allowed per game. Although I’m sticking to my prediction, there are downside risks. My thoughts are in this AZ Snake Pit article which will likely post Tuesday.
Justin: I guess the pitching.
1AZfan1: Not an underperformance…yet, but I am watching Geno very closely. He’s had the power numbers when he’s made contact with the ball to kinda divert our attention, but his plate discipline is very suspect through the first week and half. Currently, he’s swinging outside the zone at a higher rate than he ever has in his career and he’s making contact in the zone and overall at a significantly lower rate than he ever has in his career. What’s saving him is his HR/FB ratio that is 3-4x what he’s done throughout his career and he’s walking at a very high rate. The power surge won’t continue at this pace, but hopefully the walks will and can keep him afloat until he starts getting base hits again.
Wesley: The pitching is underperforming, Ketel missing time already is a real concern, mediocre defense and just looking lifeless in all aspects.
Ben: The pitching writ large has been disappointing, but especially in the rotation. Burnes has not looked comfortable yet and Kelly just got shelled in his last appearance. It’s extremely early, but two times through the rotation, the team has gotten exactly two “quality starts.” That puts that much more pressure on the offense and bullpen – neither of which look as strong as they were last year. But of course, it’s early and there are still kinks being worked out.
Dano: Honestly, the offense has been bothering me the last few days, and some of our starters definitely aren’t seeming up to snuff yet–looking at you, Corbin Burnes and Eduardo Rodriguez–but we’re still in very small sample size territory. Ask me again on May 1.
ISH95: Concerned is such a strong word, but the fact that we’ve yet to get a decent outing from Burnes yet is noticeable.
Torpedo bats. Next big thing or ruining the game?
Spencer: I hope in 5 years we have 3–5 types of bats that all stand out for players to really hone their particular skill set into exciting play on the field. Bring on the little changes like this that make the game more exciting I say.
Makakilo: After the Diamondbacks won the series against the Yankees, my concerns nearly disappeared. My choice for comment would be that it’s something with visibility that quickly emerged and will soon dissolve into the background.
“Players have actually been moving the sweet spot around in bats for years.” – Rob Manfred
1AZfan1: It’s insane that this thing has caught on to the point that Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball has a torpedo bat icon for players known to be using them. I’m sick of hearing about it.
Wesley: I was working on something discussing this, but I ended up sick the last week and have had some difficulty expanding my thoughts into a full length article, so I’ll just sum it up here. The real long term implication of these bats is that we’ve entered the era of data-driven, individually customized baseball bats. That torpedo shape might not even be best for everyone, but shifting the mass of the bat so it is optimized for that particular player definitely is. The ‘torpedo’ bats that manufacturers are rushing out for amateurs right now are NOT the same thing that the pros are swinging. Focusing on the shape of the bat completely misses the point, and there are a bunch of equipment manufacturers who are already taking advantage of that. The only reason it has taken this long for this to happen is technological limitations.
Ben: I suspect they’ll just be part of the larger stable of bat options. I remember a few years ago when an “axe handle” modification became somewhat popular – including for our very own David Peralta (I believe). It’s just part of the unending battle between pitchers and batters.
Dano: I’m not sure I could fully articulate how much I really don’t give a crap about “torpedo bats.” It’s fine. Move along.
ISH95: I’m just shocked it took someone 150 years to ask if the traditional shape of the bat is optimal.
Dogs, cats, or other. Defend your answer.
Spencer: Dogs. Because I’m more allergic to cats. And my dog is eyeballing me suspiciously as if he knows what question I’m answering right now.
Makakilo: Cats. I have three! They have personality and are often-enough inscrutable. They love to explore every area of the house.
Justin: I’m not sure. My best friend got a puppy 6 or 7 months ago for her two kids. The more that I think of it, I am in the minority who would answer, “Meh.” to this.
To have has a pet? I think I’d go with a fish or something. I actually wanted a cat for a while until I cat sat for my Aunt and Uncle for a couple weeks. My eyes got all red and itchy and I was sneezing alot… so I might have a low grade allergy to cats. I did have a cat and a dog growing up, though.
I have to include this:
1AZfan1: Dogs. Cats are the worst and I feel that is an unassailable statement =]
Wesley: Dogs. The average cat has more in common with a shitty roommate than with a pet.
Ben: Can I cop out and say both? I grew up in a household menagerie that included snakes, turtles, stray dogs and cats, plus three permanent dogs and two cats. My wife is sadly allergic to cats, but we thankfully have a dog to offset the loss.
Dano: Cats, without a doubt. They are far more capable of looking after themselves, they have much more dignity, and they are a lot less likely, in my experience, to try and hump your leg, which is just unseemly and embarrassing for all involved.
ISH95: Once upon a time, this was a strong answer of dog, simply because of my allergies. A very successful (ongoing) regimen of allergy shots has worked wonders in that department, however. I’m still a dog person, but I’m not as against cats as I once was.