With a pair of splashy free-agent and trade moves during the early periods of the MLB offseason, the Arizona Diamondbacks front office clearly believes its 79-83 club is much closer to being the NL West-winning Los Angeles Dodgers than the cellar-dwelling Colorado Rockies.
By signing free agent Zack Greinke and trading for Atlanta’s Shelby Miller, the Diamondbacks are committing some big dollars and big prospects to surround Paul Goldschmidt with the talent to compete for an NL West title, says Tyler Maun of milb.com.
Maun joined Renaud Notaro and Dee White on Mile High Sports AM 1340 on Tuesday to discuss Arizona’s big offseason moves and how they’ll impact the rest of the NL West.
The moves signify Arizona’s belief that having two studs at the top of their rotation make them immediate contenders, but Maun and Notaro aren’t so sure.
Notaro remembers being in San Diego last offseason when the team acquired Matt Kemp and Justin Upton (among others), and the hype that surrounded the team at that time. San Diego finished the year 74-88, 18 games out of first place.
“The team that wins the offseason in MLB rarely wins the following season,” Maun said, referencing the Padres and White Sox from last year and the Marlins in 2012.
The Colorado Rockies, meanwhile this offseason, have done very little to garner attention or put their name in the running for “offseason winner” or “contender” for 2016.
While Maun praised the assets Colorado acquired in the Troy Tulowitzki trade, he also says its time for general manager Jeff Bridich to take off the training wheels. With a year under his belt, Bridich needs to make bigger moves than signing right-handed relievers Jason Motte and Chad Qualls.
Bridich said both will have the opportunity to compete for the closer role, vacated by John Axford, whom the team did not re-sign. It’s a quintessential Rockies move, one that likely propels them neither forward nor backward.
Motte, 33, closed for St. Louis before missing 2013 with Tommy John surgery. He made 57 appearances for the Cubs (3.91 ERA, 34 strikeouts, 11 walks) last season and earned his first six saves since leading the NL with 42 in 2012.
The 37-year-old Qualls posted a 4.38 ERA and four saves in 60 games with Houston last season.
Recent Rockies corollaries would be Boone Logan and LaTroy Hawkins, whom Colorado signed before the 2014 season.
Maun doesn’t believe the balance of power in the NL West has shifted to Phoenix; Los Angeles still has Clayton Kershaw and San Francisco has added Jeff Samardzija to throw alongside Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner.
Colorado hasn’t joined the race in the west yet. Does Jeff Bridich have the assets and the dollars (and the willingness) to surround Nolan Arenado with the same kind of pitching talent the Diamondbacks just put around Paul Goldschmidt?
For now, the answer is no.
Listen to the full conversation with Maun in the podcast below…
Catch Notaro and Big Dee every Monday-Thursday from 6p-8p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of what’s new and what’s next in Colorado sports.