Snake Bytes, 12/9: Shelby Miller trade reactions

Your daily Miller

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks to acquire pitcher Shelby Miller from Braves - As steep as the cost in talent was for Miller, the package wasn’t enough to land them Marlins right-hander Jose Fernandez. Sources said the three players "would not have come close" to satisfying the Marlins’ demands, and a report by the Miami Herald confirmed as much, saying the clubs were discussing a deal that would have included Corbin, Swanson and three others in exchange for Fernandez.

[CBSSports] With Miller trade, Diamondbacks continue parting with young talent - This isn't to say the Diamondbacks now have an utterly barren farm system -- Braden Shipley and Pete O'Brien are still around, and Archie Bradley's still just 23. Moreover, if the Diamondbacks wind up hoisting the trophy in 2016 or 2017, then no one will lament the traded-away prospects. But the Diamondbacks, considering the price they've paid and considering how valuable cost-controlled talent is to mid-budget teams, do need to win.

[FOX Sports] Arizona Diamondbacks know they will face criticism for Shelby Miller trade, but they don't care ... winning now trumps worrying about complaints later - Dave Stewart, Tony La Russa and Co. march to a beat no one else in baseball hears, and chances are they will be marching into contention in 2016. Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin and Miller at the top of the rotation. Paul Goldschmidt at first base. A.J. Pollock in center field. One of the highest-scoring offenses in the NL. One of the more efficient defenses. Young position players who should only improve. No, the Diamondbacks will not be this year’s Padres, a collection of ill-fitting parts.

[SI.com] Diamondbacks in win-now mode with Shelby Miller deal - There may be more moves to come, but as things stand, it’s not a guarantee that Miller will upgrade the rotation enough to compensate for the loss of Inciarte in the outfield. For all of the attention the Diamondbacks are generating, this deal is a much bigger win for the Braves, whose rebuild got a jumpstart with this trade.

[USA Today] Shelby Miller gives Diamondbacks an imposing rotation - Suddenly, a starting corps that produced the fifth-worst ERA in the National League last season (4.37) is looking pretty decent and could become downright imposing if lefty Patrick Corbin, in his second year back from Tommy John surgery, returns to his All-Star form of 2013. In Miller, the Diamondbacks are getting a solid No. 2 starter to slot behind Greinke, the staff ace the team desperately needed.

Diamondbacks news

[AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks announce Zack Greinke signing - The Diamondbacks made official their acquisition of ace right-hander Zack Greinke, announcing an agreement to terms on a six-year contract with the former Dodgers star. Greinke will be introduced during a news conference Friday at Chase Field. "Zack fills the frontline starter need we've been exploring for a while. He is an established, proven competitor and his body of work speaks for itself. Zack will be a tremendous influence on our young starters," Vice President & General Manager Dave Stewart said in a club statement.

[MLB.com] Zack Greinke deal helped by TV contract - Hall said, "We're not in the business of deferred salaries, we got out of that, but it's much different where we have forecasted real projections of revenue that we know are there." The new TV deal kicks in this year, and while it's not a tremendous difference this year, it will be in the future. It escalates each year," Hall said. "It's an increase over where we were, not huge. I want to say it's a little more than $10 million over where we were. We were around $35 million last year."

[Arizona Sports] D-backs' Hall: I think Zack Greinke signing shocked everybody - Trading away Trevor Cahill, Addison Reed and Bronson Arroyo helped them to take the plunge on Greinke now. "That’s why we said then we were trying to create flexibility so we could go do something bigger. It’s been tough the last couple years when in the free agent market you go out and you sign a three or a four (starter) and they may not have much impact," Hall said. "There’s no question that the guy that we signed can have the greatest impact above everyone in the free agent market."

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks seeking insurance for $206.5M deal - Insuring the contract requires additional steps in the medical exam process, but Hall said the club "knocked it all out at once" on Monday, adding that Greinke’s physical "came out perfect." Teams are said to often insure between 40 and 60 percent of the value of the contracts, and sometimes the policies don’t run for the length of the deal. Hall sounded confident the club would secure a policy that covered all six years of Greinke’s deal.

[NumberFire] Why Zack Greinke Is Great for the Arizona Diamondbacks - The pickup is a coup for the Diamondbacks, who, as I wrote about last August, finished up the 2015 season with a ton of momentum, a playoff-caliber offense and defense, but shortcomings in the starting staff. On Friday, they shored up one of those shortcomings in a big, big way.

[BaseballAmerica.com] Diamondbacks Cultivate Winning Culture - As one of five homegrown position players who started for Arizona in 2015, he is not shy about crediting the time spent and the lessons learned coming up through the Arizona system as integral to his place as a three-time all-star and two-time Gold Glover. "I think for every guy who gets to the big leagues, some of what gets overlooked is the coaches you have in the minor leagues," Goldschmidt said. "They are there on an almost daily basis. They have a big influence by teaching you a lot of the little things. I think a big reason we have so many guys in the big leagues is because of the (instructors) we have."

And, elsewhere....

[Forbes] Major League Baseball's Next Big Battle (And It Isn't With The Players) - With league revenues now approaching $9.5 billion, MLB seeing for the first time four clubs break the Luxury Tax threshold, and the fact that as part of the current labor deal set to expire next year, the top 15 clubs by market size will have revenue-sharing completely dissolved, the biggest battle of the upcoming labor deal may not be with the players, but with owners. As one large revenue owner said to me off-record, "We don’t like getting beat with our own money."

[American Spectator] Baseball Thrives on Income Inequality - One of the primary arguments of those who advocate the end of income inequality is that when a few make the lion’s share in an organization, it prevents the resources from trickling down more equitably to the lower paid workers. But is this true? Looking at Major League Baseball as a model, it appears the opposite happens. Do we really believe, for example, if the Boston Red Sox didn’t sign David Price this offseason ownership would have used that savings to give pay increases to lower skilled workers, such as clerical and maintenance staff?

Epic post-anthem standoff in Australian Baseball League lasts until third inning - While Major League Baseball executives get serious at the Winter Meetings this week in Nashville, players in the Australian Baseball League are getting a little silly on the other side of the world. During an ABL game over the weekend, the bullpens for the Melbourne Aces and Brisbane Bandits engaged in a standoff following the national anthem that lasted into the game's third inning.