Editorials

NL West Round-Up: Second Week Of Off-Season Quiet Before GM Meetings

So far, it’s been more rumors than signings for the NL West as general managers, agents and players will head down to Orlando, Florida for the GM Meetings starting tomorrow.

Here’s everything that was discussed in the NL West this week:



Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks are looking to add starting pitching help and it appears they’re targeting Chicago Cubs’ right-handed pitcher Jeff Samardzija. The Cubs seem unlikely to sign Samardzija to an extension and are looking to trade him with only two years remaining in his contract.

Samardzija has emerged as a solid starter the past two seasons, posting a 4.34 ERA last season with a 9 K/9 ratio. The Cubs will likely be looking for good young talent in return and DBacks minor leagues Tyler Skaggs and Archie Bradley have been mentioned as possible players going the other way.

The Diamondbacks are also in the market for a new pitching coach and have reached out to Dave Duncan, the former St. Louis Cardinals coach under then-manager Tony LaRussa. No word yet from Duncan, but the DBacks are holding out hope to help steer this young staff in the right direction.

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are beginning to look at all pitching on the market as they try to rebuild their bullpen and rotation. They first exercised the mutual option with pitcher Matt Belisle and are showing interest in Oakland A’s closer Grant Balfour, who is a free agent.

The Rockies went on to sign right-hander Greg Burke to a minor league contract as the 31-year-old spent the 2013 season with the New York Mets. Along with Balfour they’re also turning their attention to right-handers Jose Veras, Joe Smith and Brian Wilson in hopes to fix the worst bullpen in the NL last season. Look for the Rockies to multiple free agent relievers this winter.

San Diego Padres

Nothing much going on this week for the Padres, but Tim Brown of Yahoo reports that the Padres prefer to hold onto third baseman Chase Headley instead of trading him away:

Headley was projected as one of the best up and coming third basemen in the game as he had a breakout season in 2012, winning a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award while finishing as the NL RBI leader when he drove in 115 runs. However, he regressed a lot in 2013 and finished the year with only 50 RBI, a .250 batting average and 12 home runs in 141 games.

His market might’ve thinned, but there are several teams still interested as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels, New York Yankees (If Alex Rodriguez is suspended) and Seattle Mariners are looking for help at the hot corner.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants are looking for starting pitching and are keeping an eye on several veteran arms. The Giants are taking a long look at Tim Hudson, Dan Haren and Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo seems like the most viable choice for them, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney:

What the Giants truly need is offensive help, specifically in the outfield and if they are willing to spend some money, they’ll target Jacoby Ellsbury or Shin-Soo Choo.

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ICYMI: The Mets could be targeting two of the Dodgers high-priced outfielders this winter.

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

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