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Team news
[The Athletic] The Diamondbacks explored trading Goldschmidt two years ago. What if they’d followed through? - According to multiple sources, in August of 2016 the front office of former GM Dave Stewart endorsed a five-year plan that would have involved trading Goldschmidt that offseason, among other rebuilding moves. The goal was to create sustainability and restock what has been for the past several years one of the game’s weaker farm systems... One source indicated that the Diamondbacks would have held on to their pitching – including Zack Greinke and Patrick Corbin, although both were coming off poor seasons that would have limited their trade value – and also would have explored an extension with second baseman Jean Segura, who had two years of team control remaining.
[dbacks.com] D-backs Fan Fest, Saturday, February 9, 2019 • Noon-4 PM MST • Salt River Fields - If you're thinking of going to the Fan Fest at Salt River Fields, you probably want to click on the link. Because entry this year will be by TICKET ONLY. They're available free of charge, but I imagine they probably want to have a better handle on numbers there, then they have had for previous years. Looks like the usual stuff: autographs, yard sale, panel discussions. etc.
[FOX Sports] Enjoy a D-backs, Coyotes marathon on Christmas Day - FOX Sports Arizona’s shopping is done — and it is leaving some memorable presents under the tree for fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Coyotes. For 13 consecutive hours on Christmas Day, the network will showcase some of the best offerings from its 2018 original programming lineup with a Holiday Marathon that will be bring a smile to any fan of the Coyotes or D-backs. The final present you can unwrap on Christmas morning, it all starts at 9 a.m.
And, elsewhere...
[ESPN] Dodgers gain flexibility after blockbuster trade with Reds - In a seven-player trade that moved upward of $70 million in salary commitments, the Dodgers opened significant payroll space, cleared two major league surpluses off their roster and positioned themselves to make major moves, both in free agency and through the trade market. Whether they pursue them remains to be seen.
[Beyond the Box Score] Projecting the 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame vote - Thanks to Ryan Thibodaux’s tracker, we can use statistical probability methods to project the final vote totals for our favorite players. Spoiler: Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay are locks, while Edgar Martinez is also listed with a better than even chance of getting in. We'll be having the ballot for the SnakePit Hall of Fame next week, probably on Christmas Day. So something to chew over rather than turkey. :)
[telegram.com] Mariano Rivera not getting this writer's Hall of Fame vote - Rivera never won an ERA title because he never pitched enough innings — about 70 a season on average — to qualify. Would you award a pennant to a team that only played 70 games no matter how good its record in those games? A hitter who batted .400 in 300 plate appearances would not be recognized as the batting champion, would he? What is different about closers? Why do they get a hall pass when it comes to the numbers?
[MLB] This is how the Rays started a revolution - Where baseball was truly, unquestionably altered in 2018 was in the Rays' progressive use of "The Opener." Not the bullpen games that had long been employed by teams in times of desperation, but an approach in which a reliever attempts to get the initial outs of the game in a matchup that makes particular sense for him, before handing the ball over to a long man who would ordinarily be a starter.