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Diamondbacks OiR Chat
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Anthony Franco
6:00
Hey everyone, looking forward to discussing the Diamondbacks for the next hour
It's a fun team, let's get into it
Nate
6:01
Thanks for chatting, Anthony! How do you think the NL West is going to line up with the Dbacks new additions? Do you think they added enough to strengthen their bullpen? How about that 5th rotation spot... who will land it? (I'm hoping for Drey Jameson, but that's just my thought...) Go Dbacks! baseball
Tim t
6:01
How good can this team be?  How many wins would consider most likely?
Will B.
6:01
What are the chances of the Diamondbacks making the wild card this year
Anthony Franco
6:02
Not surprisingly, I got a decent number of questions on the team's overall outlook. These are just a representative handful. Might as well start broad
6:03
They're clearly above Colorado and behind L.A. and San Diego in the division. I think there's a reasonable case for either them or the Giants in the third spot. I'd lean towards San Francisco because I'm a little more confident in their pitching depth -- definitely a lot more experience there than Arizona has -- but think they're both around .500 teams
6:04
The NL's tough, even for a Wild Card spot. If Arizona finishes behind L.A. and San Diego in the West, then they'd need to be above all but one of the Giants, whichever team finishes second in the NL Central, and whomever of Atlanta, Philly and the Mets don't take the East
6:06
It's not impossible but it'd take a lot going right, particularly with the young pitching group of Nelson/Jameson/Pfaadt hitting the ground running. Feels like they're more likely to hang around but ultimately finish a handful of games out. I'd probably put their playoff chances in the 10-15% range
ScottAZ
6:06
Drey Jameson, Brandon Pfaadt and Blake Walston looked great in their first ST starts, Ryne Nelson and Tommy Henry not so great.  Which is your early ST pick for the 5th Starter?  Who do you think will be there by Opening Day?
Anthony Franco
6:09
This ties into Nate's second question above. I'm likewise most intrigued by Jameson, who has lights-out stuff and both induces a ton of grounders and misses bats. Ryne Nelson feels like the most stable of the group because of his strike-throwing, but I'd favor Jameson based on the stuff out of the gate
6:10
Henry's just a depth guy for me. Pfaadt will be up at some point but probably not on Opening Day
Small Fan Base?
6:10
Anthony, how many questions were queued up at the beginning and how many people are actively in the room right now? How do those numbers compare to other teams'? Is the fanbase significantly smaller than most the way the stadium makes it look every night?
Anthony Franco
6:11
I don't think an MLBTR chat is a perfect proxy for fanbase size but yeah, it's quieter than some of the other teams I'll end up doing
John
6:11
What are reasonable expectations for Christian Walker? 45 bombs?
Anthony Franco
6:12
That's really lofty. Last year was his first time over 30 and it required great health in a season where he played in 160 games
6:13
I like Walker a lot. Think he's an impact bat who could end up in the 30-35 homer range and probably tops last year's .327 OBP with better batted ball results. 45 is more homers than I'd project for anyone aside from Aaron Judge though
6:14
Judge and Kyle Schwarber were the only ones who got there last year
Dave
6:14
Should Arizona have traded Thomas while he still had a bit of his top prospect sheen and several years of control? The Yankees supposedly kicked the tires on him.
Anthony Franco
6:16
Obviously Thomas wasn't bringing back a Gabriel Moreno-caliber young player as Varsho did this offseason. Your take on this question depends on how much you think Thomas' 2022 is a reflection of what's to come. I still like him quite a bit -- contact skills and plus center field defense is a strong starting point, even if he's more of a gap hitter -- and think he'll rebound and increase his value moving forward
6:17
Minor league track record is too strong for me to abandon hope after his age-22 season
Danniel
6:17
Is Geraldo Perdomo the starting shortstop?
Daniel
6:17
Will Ahmed get traded?????
Anthony Franco
6:18
Going to be Ahmed's job to start the season. Doesn't have much trade appeal at $10.375MM coming off shoulder surgery
Perdomo mostly looked overmatched last year. Think he's headed back to Reno for now
Guest
6:18
Do you think that we will trade Gallen by the end of this upcoming season?
Brazen Hazen
6:18
What could a Gallen extension look like? Who would be a good historical precedent to reference?
Anthony Franco
6:19
Question 1: no, I think it'd take a disastrous first half for them to consider moving Gallen. They'd have to be worst team in the league level bad to consider something that significant while he has two and a half years of arbitration control
6:21
Question 2: feels like the Cristian Javier deal set a new floor for pitchers in the 3-4 year service bucket. Astros gave Javier -- who's not as good as Gallen -- a record $64MM over five seasons (buying out two free agent years) without any club options this spring. That was a really strong deal for the player and presumably sets the floor for Gallen's camp
Slurve
6:21
Do you have any insight as to why the Dbacks traded away Goldy in the ‘18-‘19 offseason just to sign Madbum in  ‘19-‘20 for similar money & years? Still hung up on that one, didn’t help that they got nothing back in the trade and Bum has been… a bum.
Anthony Franco
6:22
Goldy got 5/130 and Bumgarner got 5/85. I'd disagree with your premise they got similar money
6:24
But to your broader point, it's obviously a pair of moves they'd like back -- probably the worst two decisions by a front office that I think has done a lot of good things overall despite their recent records. I'd guess the logic on not extending Goldy was just the concern about paying a first baseman (even an elite one) into his mid-30s. Teams don't love that profile
6:25
Feels like that trade might not have turned out quite so badly -- albeit still a rough result -- if Carson Kelly hadn't broken his wrist when it looked like he was on the verge of a breakout
6:26
Bumgarner was a rough one at the time. He had the ace/playoff pedigree and decent run prevention throughout his time in SF but the raw stuff wasn't the same later in his Giants tenure. Didn't expect him to fall off this precipitously but it was head-scratching money from the start
Adrienne Yancey
6:26
What do you think are the most pressing needs for the D-Backs, and how soon do you realistically see us in contention again?
Boaz
6:26
Other than bullpen, what do you think will be the D-backs weak spot(s) area they need to strengthen before the trade deadline (assuming they’re in the mix for a WC spot)?
Anthony Franco
6:28
Could upgrade over Bumgarner or Davies at the back of the rotation even if Nelson, Jameson or Pfaadt seize a job or two. Maybe a short-term offensive upgrade at shortstop as well
6:29
Obviously Lawlar's the longer-term play there but if they're in the playoff mix come July, then an impending FA like Amed Rosario could make sense to add a little more punch at the position
6:30
Could look into players like Tim Anderson or Willy Adames who are controllable through '24 as well. Even if the plan is for Lawlar to take the job at some point next year, nothing stops you from subsequently flipping a guy like that the following offseason as they did with Starling Marte a couple years back
6:31
They have to prove they're legitimate playoff competitors first, of course, or it becomes a moot point
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