Winter Meetings Day One Open Thread

Last year's winter meetings were quite eventful for the Diamondbacks. News had broken that Zack Greinke would sign just before the meetings started (his signing actually became official on day 2 of the meetings) and that spurred Dave Stewart and Tony La Russa to go all-in, making what was probably the worst trade of the decade so far.

The lead up to the winter meetings this year didn't make as big a splash, but it was still major. Welington Castillo was non-tendered (along with Rubby De La Rosa, but the latter would likely not have contributed this season anyway) leaving the Diamondbacks with Chris Herrmann and a series of question marks at catcher. Veteran catcher Jeff Mathis (career OPS+ of 53, or equal to Tuffy's best offensive season) likely isn't the sole answer at that position.

So far in his first offseason as General Manager, Mike Hazen has systematically dismantled everything built by the previous regime. Gone are Vicente Campos, Dominic Leone, Edwin Escobar, Tyler Wagner, Gabby Guerrero, Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, Kyle Jansen, and Zac Curtis. Gone also is Tuffy Gosewisch, technically a holdover from Kevin Towers, but who got almost all of his playing time since Tony La Russa took over baseball operations. If there was a question about the level of TLR's involvement in the front office, this should have answered it. There aren't too many more holdovers from previous regimes left to be purged.

What You Need to Know About the Winter Meetings
There likely won't be big news until tomorrow (if at all) but the front office staff is arriving just a bit outside the Capital Beltway for the opening of the winter meetings today. MLB Network doesn't even have much live coverage on the schedule for most of the day, although I'm sure they're ready to go in the event of breaking news.

Diamondbacks to seek relief help at winter meetings
No surprise here, as the bullpen is the most glaring area of weakness on the roster. Piecoro's article also mentions left handed hitting as an area of need.

Diamondbacks Hire Mike Fitzgerald as New Analytics Head
Fitzgerald comes from the Pirates, where he has spent the last five years.

Team-by-team needs heading into the winter meetings

MLB Free Agent and Hot Stove Tracker
With you should stay tuned to the 'Pit for Diamondbacks related news, you can follow along here for updates on the other 29 teams.

My take on what the Diamondbacks will likely do (based on what Hazen has done so far) is they will listen on Greinke, but not likely trade him, because they won't want to take on the level of salary needed to make the deal. Expect a minor trade or two, but nothing earth-shattering. There simply aren't prospects available to make a big-time trade (thanks, Obama TLR and DS!), and interest on Welington Castillo was apparently a lot lower that we would have expected. So unless there is a surprise and Greinke is moved, don't expect a big headliner this year. (Thankfully, we might add, after the dismal failure of last year.)

So expect a few rumors, but no big moves out of the Diamondbacks.