Sorting out the 2019 Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen

Last month, we polled you on the issues left to be addressed, and this month, we’ll be taking a look at each category. We start with what you ranked the fourth-ranked topic: the bullpen. Today, we list the candidates and ask you to rank them, so that we can figure out which are the seven (most likely) relief pitchers to be sitting in the bullpen on Opening Day. We’ll post the results on Wednesday, and then on Friday, discuss who might fit in where.

The candidates

The following are the players who currently sit on the 40-man roster, or are non-roster invitees to spring training. Therefore, not listed = Jake Barrett. His status is yet to be determined, having been designated for assignment last week, in order to make room for new signing Greg Holland. Whether he makes it through the process, and gets re-signed by the D-backs off the 40-man roster, gets claimed by another team, or is traded elsewhere, remains to be seen. But it does seem likely that he is not considered a significant part of the team’s plans for 2019 at the present time.

We may still see some more names added. The free-agent situation is still very much in flux, though perhaps less so for relief pitchers. Of the ten bullpen arms named by CBS Sports in their top 50 free agents, only Craig Kimbrel is currently still unemployed. But a number of arms are still available: anyone on that list of interest? Or should the D-backs rely more on internal options from their farm system, who will both be cheaper and come with minor-league options, so can be shipped up and down like Bus-pass Bracho was in 2018?

• Matt Andriese
• Silvino Bracho
• Archie Bradley
• Andrew Chafin
• Stefan Crichton
• Rubby De La Rosa
• Kevin Ginkel
• Nick Green
• Yoshihisa Hirano
• Greg Holland
• Matt Koch
• Joey Krehbiel
• Yoan Lopez
• T.J. McFarland
• Robby Scott
• Jimmie Sherfy
• Braden Shipley
• Bo Takahashi
• Emilio Vargas

The poll

It’s a ranking poll, where you can drag and drop the names listed into order. They start off alphabetical, but you (and therefore, we) should end up with the best pitcher at the top of the list, before you click the submit button. While there will be only seven spots in the bullpen on Opening Day, that doesn’t mean you should just rank the top seven and leave it at that. Last season, the Diamondbacks used no less than eighteen different relievers - and that doesn’t include either the trio of position players who took the mound, or starting pitchers like Shelby Miller and Zack Godley, also pressed into emergency duty. With 19 names here, it’s quite possible we will see almost all of them at some point.

Do not include the issue of options. This should be entirely a quality-based ranking. We will be talking about that with regard to the results, however. As always, discuss your logic in the comments.

Link to poll