Last year the Arizona Diamonbacks finished 2nd in the NL West with an 81-81 record. It was their second 81-81 season in a row. Arizona was busy in the off-season, but will it pay off? We shall see. Vegas Odds have the Diamondbacks list at +1200 to win the NL West, +3500 to win the NL Pennant and +6000 to win the World Series.
The Diamondbacks ranked 14th in runs (685), 26th in homers (130) and 11th in batting average (.259). Injuries hurt their offensive production for much of the year, but one player that wasn’t affected was Paul Goldschmidt, who finished 2nd in the NL in the MVP voting. Paul hit .302 with 36 homers and 125 RBIs. He did that with little protection in the lineup, but that will be different this year as Arizona went out and got Mark Trumbo from the Angels. Goldschmidt, Trumbo, Prado and Montero gives this team a solid middle of the lineup. Aaron Hill and Gerardo Parra are consistent at the top of the lineup and should get on base enough to give the middle of the lineup plenty of chances to knock in some runs. Overall this offense should produce more runs and their power numbers should improve as well.
The Diamondbacks were middle of the pack as far as pitching, ranking 17th in the league in ERA at 3.92. This year the D-Backs have parted ways with Heath Bell and Tyler Skaggs and have picked up Bronson Arroyo and Addison Reed, who had 40 saves for the White Sox last year. This pen looks very solid with Reed, David Hernandez, Brad Zielgler, JJ Putz, and newly acquired Oliver Perez. The pen should be much better than last year’s group that blew 29 saves. The starting rotation took a blow with the announcement that Patrick Corbin would be lost for the year following tommy John surgery. The rest of the rotation looks good, with Trevor Cahil, Wade Miley, Brandon McCarthy and Bronson Arroyo. Bronson may not be ready for the start of the year (back issues) so I would look for Randal Delgado to be in the rotation at the beginning of the year, along with Josh Collmenter. Very little depth in the rotation though, so should they get any more injuries they will be in trouble.
Outlook: The Diamondbacks made some good moves in the offseason in getting Trumbo, Reed and Arroyo and all three will pay dividends. Trumbo should will really help this offense and give Goldschmidt some protection in the lineup. I look for an improved offense overall. The pitching staff if healthy will be solid, but they already lost Corbin for the season and Arroyo may not be ready at the start of the season, so this staff will struggle out the gate and if any more injuries crop up then they will be in trouble with little depth. I can see a real possibility that Arizona will post their 3rd 81-81 season in a row.
Info gathered from FoxSports.com and CBSSports.com
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