Editorials

NL West Round-Up: Giants, Rockies Making Signings Amid Rumors

Tim HudsonAs we continue to inch closer to the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida teams in the NL West are starting to make moves in an effort to contend with the Dodgers next season.

Here’s how things went down in the NL West this week.



Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks made one big move to their front office operation this week and that was announcing that Dave Duncan will be serving as a special assistant to GM Kevin Towers and a Major League pitching consultant.

The 68-year-old is best known for his time as pitching coach of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1996-2011 under manager Tony La Russa. He’s viewed as one of the best pitching coaches in history and now will assist the club with pitchers and catchers during Spring Training.

Arizona also made some minor moves this week as they designated reliever Tony Sipp for assignment after posting a 4.78 ERA in 56 appearances this past season. They also signed left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. Rowland-Smith has spent most of his career in the Mariners organization.

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies lost out on the bidding for Brian McCann, but were said to be very aggressive in talks with him. The Rockies also lost out on Carlos Ruiz earlier this off-season as it’s clear they’d rather move Wilin Rosario to another position.

Other than that, the Rockies were relatively quiet this past week, other than making the LaTroy Hawkins deal official. The 40-year-old agreed to a one-year, $2.25 million deal with a $2.25 million option for 2015 and a $250,000 buyout.

San Diego Padres

The Padres have vastly improved the top of the rotation this past week as they landed one of the top arms on the market in right-hander, Josh Johnson on a one-year contract. The deal is worth $8 million with incentives that can take it up to $9.25 million if he makes 26 starts due to his injury history.

As insurance, the Padres have a $4 million club option for the 2015 season if Johnson fails to make seven starts this season.  If healthy, Johnson will give the Padres a solid rotation that should help them rebound from a bad 2013 season and allow them to stay competitive in the NL West.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants were on the hunt for starting pitching help this offseason and have found a solid veteran to add to the rotation. With a two-year, $23 million contract, right-hander Tim Hudson will be on his way back to the Bay area, this time with the Giants.

The 38-year-old is coming off ankle surgery after he suffered a freak ankle injury on a play at first base in July. Before the injury, Hudson looked to have found the fountain of youth with a 2.73 ERA,  50-to-19 K/BB ratio from June 1 through July 24 in a span of 10 starts.

Hudson will look to regain his form and is sure to solidify the rotation behind Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and the newly re-signed Tim Lincecum.

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ICYMI: The Texas Rangers and Dodgers talked trade at the GM Meetings.

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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