They will have to make decisions about who can stay and who must go. Whether the team is aiming for immediate success or future potential makes a sizable difference in the ways in which this offseason is handled. For the sake of sufficient coverage, both will be considered in this list of a flurry of moves that can be General Manager Mike Hazen could consider in order to get the Diamondbacks back on track.
Ditch the pitchers
Baseball is a pitcher’s game. Considering the Diamondbacks had a single pitcher with an ERA under 3.00 (Luis Frías, who only played in three games), it’s safe to say that Arizona needs to unload some of the bullpen and bring in some new talent.
Madison Bumgarner is a World Series MVP and has 127 awarded wins over 13 years. The Diamondbacks signed him before the 2020 season, hoping his arm would deliver like it has many times before. But his two-year tenure on the mound in Arizona has been far from ideal. Bumgarner allowed 106 earned runs in 35 games with a steep 5.07 ERA. He hasn’t been the pitcher Arizona hoped for and it’s time to consider whether or not he belongs in the Valley. If the team decides to trade Bumgarner, there could be a substantial return in a deal for a player of his caliber.
Arizona also needs to reconsider if two-year man Caleb Smith should continue to take the mound in a Diamondback jersey. Smith has played on four teams in five years and has been bitten by the home run frequently, allowing 33 in 28 games with the Miami Marlins in 2019. He’s shown signs of improvement in Arizona, giving up just 20 long balls in 45 games, but he still sat at a 4.83 ERA, and it’s hard to overlook his 61 earned runs allowed in 113 innings pitched.
Other starting pitchers include Zac Gallen, who had a rocky season with an ERA of 4.30, up significantly from his 2020 season ERA of 2.75. Luke Weaver, while unhealthy for a chunk of the year, had 31 earned runs in just 13 games. On the bright side, Tyler Gilbert looks like a legitimate throwing talent, evident in his historic no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in August. His call up from the minor leagues could pay off and be a short-term rotational fix should the Diamondbacks decide to keep him around.
The leader of the pitching staff has been Merrill Kelly over the last couple seasons, who has developed from a shaky, unreliable field presence to a dependable player who can pitch deep into games at times. He started 27 games for the Diamondbacks and tallied seven wins with a respectable 4.44 ERA in a team-leading 158 innings.
For the Diamondbacks, the pitching comes down to bringing in athletes that can develop into talented players. Their focus will be bringing in arms that will serve the team well in the future. Cheap but valued free agents include Tyler Anderson, Eduardo Rodríguez, and James Paxton. Relief pitchers Ryan Tepera, Hansel Robles and Aaron Loup are good options for the bullpen as well.
The batting order is a bad beat
The Diamondbacks had the third-worst run differential in the league, finishing with 214 fewer runs scored than their opponents. That’s a clear indicator of just how lacking the team was at the plate. Arizona finished the season with 644 runs batted in (RBI), which ranked 25th in the league. Unsurprisingly, Arizona was second to last in home runs in 2021, launching just 144. To put that in perspective, the league average by team was 198 home runs.
Christian Walker, who was highly anticipated during the offseason after a solid 2020 campaign, struggled mightily during 2021. He tallied 98 hits on over 400 at-bats — a dismal .244 batting average.
But between the power of the stars at the top of the order, Arizona is a few offseason acquisitions away from having a decent lineup. Ketel Marte had a .318 batting average in 340 at-bats, while Nick Ahmed had 38 RBI and 46 runs scored. Josh Rojas drew 58 walks and led the team with 69 runs scored, while Carson Kelly reached base at a .343 clip, which ranked second on the team. David Peralta also had a productive year, tallying the most at-bats of anyone on the team while also pacing the group in triples (8). He was second in RBI (63), and third in hits (126).
The lineup is, in retrospect, a competitive group. The players are well-known and have proven they can perform at a high level. With an array of talent that did decently well individually but did not meet expectations as a group, there’s still plenty of potential.
The surprise midseason trade of third baseman Eduardo Escobar was a considerable loss for the Diamondbacks, as he whacked a team-leading 22 home runs in just four months of action.
The offense for Arizona is below average, but there are plenty of bright spots that will give the Diamondbacks confidence going into next season. One stat shows Arizona ranked fourth in the league in total at-bats with 5,489. Arizona also ranked fifth in the league in triples (31) and second in doubles (308).
The batting order over the past few years has been primarily left-handed hitters, which is part of the problem. If a pitcher has a decent advantage over an opposing batter because of the left-right dynamic, then every hitter in the batting order would struggle in the same manner. Arizona should look for free agent righties to switch up how the order faces opposing pitchers.
There are plenty of free agent, right-handed batters that would fit the team’s mold well. Should the designated hitter be granted in the National League come next season, sluggers like J.D. Martinez (should he opt-out of his current contract) and Khris Davis would add a boost in offensive firepower. Outfielders Kevin Pillar and Mark Canha could also offer some consistency in the lineup for a team-friendly price.
Trust the process
Team success takes time to obtain within any organization. The San Francisco Giants had four consecutive seasons with a record below .500 from 2005 to 2009 before finally finding the stability to win the World Series in 2010, the start of a five-year run that included two additional championships. All it took was for one Buster Posey to develop and take the field along with a slew of other franchise cornerstones.
It doesn’t seem unrealistic for promising young players like Seth Beer or Pavin Smith to step up in a big way and become the light at the end of the tunnel for Arizona. Failure is success in progress.
Contact the reporter at zabradsh@asu.edu.
