The Diamondbacks entered the offseason on the heels of a slim postseason miss that noticed their bid for a playoff spot final till the ultimate day of regular-season play. It’s a bitter capsule for any membership to swallow, and basic supervisor Mike Hazen didn’t shrink back from acknowledging as a lot right this moment in an look on Arizona Sports activities 98.7’s Wolf and Luke Present (full audio of the 11-minute interview). Arizona’s GM sidestepped questions when requested about particular gamers who’re presently free brokers (e.g. Christian Walker) however did recommend he’ll be available in the market for some upgrades to his late-inning reduction corps this winter.
“I’ll beat you to the punch on this query,” Hazen joked with hosts Ron Wolfley and Luke Lapinski. “The place we get to the nearer state of affairs, ultimately, I don’t know. I nonetheless really feel like a back-end bullpen man to assist out with [Justin Martinez] and with [A.J. Puk] and people guys, I nonetheless see that. I assumed when [Paul Sewald] was closing, we had the most effective model of who we had been, frankly. … However, we all know [Martinez and Puk] can shut, too, so we’ll see.”
Sewald, as referenced by Hazen, was a key piece in Arizona’s bullpen after coming over from Seattle on the 2023 commerce deadline. He opened the 2024 season on the injured record resulting from an indirect pressure however was just about unhittable upon activation, rattling off 16 2/3 innings of one-run ball whereas solely yielding 5 hits and three walks with 15 punchouts. He hit a tough patch over the following seven weeks, nonetheless, yielding 18 runs in 23 innings earlier than touchdown on the injured record to shut out the season. When wholesome, Sewald has been terrific over the previous 4 years, logging 229 innings with a 3.18 ERA and 81 saves between the Mariners and Diamondbacks.
A reunion with Sewald might make sense on paper, although the D-backs can have numerous different choices to contemplate each in free company and on the commerce market. Sewald will flip 35 subsequent Might and posted his lowest common fastball velocity since 2019, so whereas his monitor document makes him a transparent rebound candidate, the Snakes and different golf equipment will maintain no less than some extent of concern about his skill to bounce again from this season’s accidents. He ought to nonetheless command a pleasant one-year deal on the very least, given how properly he’s pitched since 2021, however he’ll additionally absolutely draw curiosity from different groups as properly.
Options on the free-agent market are plentiful, although many will probably be expensive. Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, Carlos Estevez and Clay Holmes are among the many high relievers on this 12 months’s class, every with an opportunity to command no less than a three-year contract. The D-backs have by no means dedicated three years to a free agent reliever at any level up to now 14 years — hat tip to MLBTR’s Contract Tracker — and haven’t dedicated greater than the $14MM they gave Mark Melancon throughout Hazen’s time as GM. This winter’s market has a number of high-end arms who may very well be accessible for one 12 months and an eight-figure wage (David Robertson, Kirby Yates, Kenley Jansen and Blake Treinen amongst them), which might function a method of including an affect arm with out bucking that desire to keep away from multi-year spending on premium relievers. The commerce market is prone to embody names like Ryan Helsley, Devin Williams, Ryan Pressly and Pete Fairbanks, amongst others.
As with all golf equipment, the extent to which the D-backs can pursue upgrades is tied on to possession’s urge for food for spending. Arizona presently initiatives for a $149MM payroll, per RosterResource, which is about $14MM from the place they opened the 2024 marketing campaign. Hazen doesn’t anticipate a major dip in payroll but additionally cautioned that there’s no assure that what was already a club-record payroll will climb even greater.
“I’d anticipate we’re someplace in the identical space, plus or minus,” mentioned Hazen when requested about his finances for the 2025 roster. “I don’t know precisely the place that’ll all find yourself. We work by means of a whole lot of these selections with [owner Ken Kendrick] and [president/CEO Derrick Hall] as gamers develop into accessible or as conditions get offered to us by way of commerce or by way of free company. So, that quantity form of fluctuates for us slightly bit as we transfer by means of the offseason, however we’re going to have loads of sources to have a successful workforce subsequent 12 months.”
The D-backs aren’t going to idle with regard to their lineup, however Hazen spoke extra favorably of the position-player group, noting excessive expectations for Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, Eugenio Suarez, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno, specifically. On the rotation aspect of issues, Hazen downplayed rumors of a possible commerce from his beginning employees, noting that groups name on a regular basis and it’s his job to hear — however that doesn’t imply a transfer is especially doubtless.
