2020 Diamondbacks decisions: Yoshihisa Hirano

Jarrod Dyson results

Before we get to Hirano, let’s have a quick look at the results for outfielder Jarrod Dyson. Like Avila before him, the question of whether or not to tender him a contract at all proved a close one, with the 221 respondents even closer to being evenly split. In the end though, the edge just went to no, by a 52-48% margin (115-106 if you want the real numbers). No contract will therefore be tendered. But in the sake of interest, let’s see what he would have been given by the SnakePit hivemind.

The majority of those who voted went for a one-year deal, that receiving 66.1% of the votes cast, by those who opted to tender Dyson at all. Everyone else went for two years, except for one strange individual who decided to vote for five years. I’d like to thank Jarrod Dyson for stopping by the SnakePit. As with Avila, there was much less consensus on price, with no figure reaching even 20%. But each of the five choices in the $2-4 million range got at least 10%. $2.5 and $3 million were tied for most votes, and the median figure (half below and half above) was the latter. However, per the decision of SnakePit readers, no contract will be offered to Jarrod Dyson for 2020.

Yoshihisa Hirano

Hirano had a stellar 2018, winning the ‘Pittie for Rookie of the Year, as he posted a 2.44 ERA over 75 appearances for the Diamondbacks. He was expected to split time with Archie Bradley as the set-up men for closer Greg Holland. But it didn’t quite work out that way, with Hirano’s ERA ballooning to approaching double last year’s figure, at 4.75. And even that represents something of a recovery, since it was a run higher even than that through the end of May this season. His peripherals weren’t as dramatically different, with his FIP going up from 3.69 to 4.04. Hirano actually struck out batters at a considerably higher rate this year, fanning more hitters in total, despite pitching thirteen innings less.

However, his home-run rate spiked, about half again on the 2018 figure, and his walk-rate also increased a bit, from 3.1 to 3.7 BB per nine innings. He also missed time with an elbow injury; a potential red flag, though he did return to make seven appearances in September. There are also metrics which suggest he was unlucky, Hirano actually decreasing the amount of hard contact by batters, from 43.8% in 2018 to 38.8% in 2019, though his line-drive rate was higher (increasing from 15.8% to 20.1%). This is going to be a very interesting case: for comparison, he was originally signed by the Diamondbacks to a two-year deal, worth $3 million per season.

Below, you’ll find a quick three question survey with regard to Hirano, who is now a free agent. The first question is as to whether or not he should be offered a contract at all, so it’s a straight Yes/No. If you answer Yes, move on to the second and third questions, which let you select a length and value for the offer. If you’re on mobile, or otherwise are having an issue, here’s the link.