Grichuk Plugs Arizona’s Final Gap

Diamondbacks proprietor Ken Kendrick needs many issues. Principally, a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in taxpayer cash with which to renovate his crew’s growing older and leaky dwelling ballpark, but additionally, by the way, a World Collection. The D-backs got here shut final yr, and regardless that they fell on the last hurdle, the outlook of the ballclub is optimistic. Their total core is again, and younger stars like Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno ought to solely enhance with time. This offseason, Arizona has traded for third baseman Eugenio Suárez and signed lefty starter Eduardo Rodriguez to enhance its rotation. Brandon Pfaadt ought to have a stronger sophomore season, and world top-10 prospect Jordan Lawlar ought to break into the lineup in some unspecified time in the future this season.

Lastly, the Diamondbacks have upgraded their designated hitter spot, which was a little bit of a wild card final October. The latest addition got here this weekend, once they signed Randal Grichuk to a one-year deal price $2 million in assured cash.

Grichuk would be the right-handed foil to fellow free agent signing Joc Pederson. As an apart, I’d prefer to register my objection to the Diamondbacks signing Joc Pederson once they have already got infielder Jace Peterson beneath contract. That must be towards the legislation. I’m going batty over right here as a result of the Tigers have each Jackson Jobe and Jace Jung within the higher minors, whereas Jace Jung’s brother Josh Jung can be an enormous leaguer. Then there’s Brett Baty, who in my thoughts is the unnamed third Jung brother as a result of he’s additionally an alliteratively named third baseman from Texas.

I’m simply saying, if Arizona might simply commerce Jace Peterson for an equal utility infielder, that’d make issues simpler for lots of people.

Final postseason, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. performed each inning for the Diamondbacks in left subject, whereas Corbin Carroll performed most of their innings in proper. Carroll began three video games in heart earlier than transferring to proper mid-game, and he additionally obtained pulled throughout rubbish time of Arizona’s 10-0 loss to the Phillies in Sport 2 of the NLCS. Each time Carroll began in heart — Video games 3, 4, and seven of the NLCS, all towards left-handed starters — Tommy Pham began in proper. Evan Longoria, the conventional starter at third base, DH’d. Alek Thomas entered every of these video games as a late substitution and began each different recreation in heart. The left-handed hitting Pavin Smith began one recreation within the NLCS, however regularly got here in mid-game to pinch-hit towards righty relievers.

The non-Carroll, non-Gurriel members of that rotation have been a little bit of a large number within the combination, although it labored out for essentially the most half as a result of, whereas Smith, Pham, and Thomas all ran cold and hot, they got here up with huge hits on the proper time.

Certainly, Mike Hazen and his merry males didn’t need to depart issues to likelihood once more. Right here’s what the non-Carroll, non-Gurriel members of the third base/outfield/DH rotation did towards left-handed pitching with the Diamondbacks final yr.

Thomas, together with his wRC+ of 12 towards lefties within the common season, didn’t begin towards the Phillies’ left-handed starters, however he did begin playoff video games with Clayton Kershaw, Andrew Heaney, and Jordan Montgomery on the mound. That’s bleak.

Let’s swap Rivera for Smith and see how they fared towards right-handed pitching.

Higher, however not superior.

Luckily, that is an space that’s straightforward to enhance. Thomas is the one member of this group who figures to stay within the lineup often in 2024, and his bat has by no means actually been a part of his worth proposition. It’s principally one thing you set up with to get his glove and his legs on the sphere. Smith and Rivera stay with the group, however seemingly in decreased roles.

After which there are inner reinforcements. Jake McCarthy missed the postseason due to a strained indirect. He’ll be again. Lawlar’s arrival will result in somebody from the center infield group getting kicked into the combination at both third base, outfield, DH, or all three. There’s additionally younger nook infielder Ivan Melendez, who solely made it to Double-A final yr and isn’t on the 40-man roster but. Nonetheless, I really feel like mentioning him as a result of on the College of Texas he hit .387/.508/.863 with 32 dwelling runs in 67 video games, and had one of many biggest nicknames in baseball: The Hispanic Titanic.

The newcomers are upgrades. Suárez strikes out a ton, and at 32, he’s nearer to the tip than to the start. However Longoria is sufficiently old to know find out how to use a rotary telephone. That in all probability wasn’t tenable for one more season.

So let’s see what the Diamondbacks can cobble collectively, assuming Thomas nonetheless will get the lion’s share of enjoying time in heart subject.

Pederson will in all probability should be platooned, however that’s wonderful, as a result of Grichuk kills left-handed pitching. In opposition to righties, Suárez takes a dip however continues to be a league-average hitter total, whereas Pederson takes over for Grichuk.

There’s a further bonus: Grichuk can play heart subject, in a pinch, for those who squint actually exhausting. At the very least, the Rockies thought so: In 2023, they gave him 52 begins within the outfield, 17 of them in heart. The yr earlier than, Grichuk began 48 instances in heart. So Torey Lovullo can, if he so chooses, go for an especially offense-heavy alignment that places Grichuk in heart subject towards lefties.

This trio of newcomers is costlier than the group it changed. Pham and Longoria made $10 million mixed — and Pham was solely on the Diamondbacks for the final two months of the season. Everybody else was pre-arb. Pederson, Grichuk, and Suárez will make a mixed $22.3 million in wage in 2024, plus a mixed $5.5 million extra in buyouts, as all three have both a membership or mutual possibility on the finish of the season. And the Diamondbacks needed to ship two gamers to Seattle to get Suárez within the first place.

However as an alternative of going into the playoffs needing to cobble collectively eight to 12 at-bats a recreation from no matter they might scrounge up from the again of the 40-man roster, the Diamondbacks now have a secure, all-situations starter at third and a extremely good platoon at DH. It’ll price twice as a lot cash, but it surely’s twice pretty much as good an answer.