Results tagged ‘ D-backs ’
Zavada expected to return to camp
The agent for Clay Zavada says he expects the D-backs left-hander to be back in camp Tuesday or Wednesday.
Zavada did not show up for the club’s physical exams Sunday night and was not in attendance at the club’s first pitcher and catcher workout Monday.
Zavada’s agent, Barry Meister, said that Zavada experienced some discomfort in his shoulder and that was the reason for his absence.
“He just needed a couple of days to figure out what was going on with his shoulder,” Meister said.
Meister said that Zavada was going to see either the team’s training staff or team physician Michael Lee about his shoulder Tuesday and that he had talked to manager Kirk Gibson about his situation.
Notes from first pitcher catcher workout
46 days until Opening Day in Denver
11 days until first Spring Training game
Another beautiful day for baseball at Salt River Fields with temperatures again around 80 degrees and bright blue skies.
We’ve been told that players will be signing autographs each day around 11:50 a.m. local time. The club has gone out of its way to make sure fans are able to get up close with the players on the pathways between the fields. I also noticed today that the main stadium was open for fans to walk around and take a look at.
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Today’s stories:
Notes: Hudson healthy; Heilman eyes starting
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Turns out GM Kevin Towers misspoke Sunday when he said Zach Duke would be late to camp because his wife was due to give birth to the couple’s first child any day now.
Duke’s wife Kristin gave birth last Wednesday so Duke was there and threw a bullpen Monday.
You have to feel for him leaving his 3-day-old child behind to get on a plane for Arizona, but that’s sometimes what ballplayers have to go through as part of the job. For now, he will have to make do with Skype, something he says he’s been doing three times a day to see his baby Madison.
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Clay Zavada’s absence from camp seemed to catch everyone by surprise. Still not exactly sure what’s going on there. Towers said he had heard something about Zavada maybe not wanting to go “through this again” whatever that means.
When I talked to Zavada a couple of weeks ago he sounded pretty excited about the season so I’m not sure what’s going on, but it’s something I’ll continue to follow and keep you updated.
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Seemed like there might be some progress on the Kelly Johnson front. The two sides have until Wednesday’s salary-arbitration hearing to reach a settlement.
Johnson’s agent is now in town and the dialogue has picked up between the two sides.
“Dialogue is better than no dialogue and over the last 48 hours we’ve had a lot more dialogue than we’ve had in the last two weeks so I look at that as a good sign,” Towers said.
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Catcher Miguel Montero made some interesting comments about the culture change in the clubhouse with the influx of veterans and Kirk Gibson taking over for A.J. Hinch as manager.
“The last two years we’ve been losing 90 games, and it seems like nothing happened,” said Montero. “I don’t think that is going to happen again. If we lose again, everybody is going to know that we lost a game. I think that’s what it means. And I like that idea, because I hate to lose. Period.”
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That’s all for today. I’ll be back at it bright and early Tuesday. Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter @dbackswriter.
Nothing new this morning on Johnson front
D-backs GM Kevin Towers said this morning there is nothing new to report on the Kelly Johnson arbitration front, though dialogue is expected to pick up in the next 24 hours as Johnson’s agent is now in Phoenix.
The two sides will go to a hearing Wednesday if a settlement cannot be reached.
The D-backs filed an arbitration offer of $4.7 million while Johnson’s side filed at $6.5 million. The second baseman made $2.35 million last season.
Notes from pitcher and catcher report day
47 days until Opening Day in Denver
12 days until first Spring Training game
Couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for pitchers and catchers to begin reporting to Salt River Fields with temperatures reaching 80 degrees under sunny skies.
It was a relatively quiet day. It’s called a report day, but technically the pitchers and catchers only have to check in by phone and besides most of the team, including the position players, have been working out at the facility for a while now.
Here are two bits of news to come out of the day:
DUKE TO BE LATE: Pitcher Zach Duke, who was acquired from the Pirates in November, may wind up being a couple of days late as his wife is set to give birth.
JOHNSON HEARING SET FOR WEDNESDAY: Second baseman Kelly Johnson’s arbitration hearing is set for Wednesday, GM Kevin Towers told us.
“We’ve certainly been preparing for the case as well as I’m sure they are,” Towers said. “I’ve said all along our hope is to avoid a hearing. I think being able to settle would be better for both sides, you know he wants to focus on the season. I think today we’ll probably have some dialogue.”
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There was a lot of talk today from both Towers and manager Kirk Gibson about restoring an identity for the D-backs and that’s something I’m sure I will be writing about more this spring. Towers was asked what happened to the D-backs identity from 2007 when the team won 90 games and went to the NL Championship Series. His answer I think is very telling in how his philosophy differs from former GM Josh Byrnes.
“They had a great bullpen in ’07,” Towers said referring to Tony Pena, Brandon Lyon and Jose Valverde. “They had several weapons coming out of the bullpen. I thought right then and there if they keep this bullpen together they could be very tough because they had very strong nucleus of young players.”
And then he moved on to talk about that team as a whole.
“They started facing adversity for the first time as a group and there really wasn’t a lot of veteran leadership around to maybe help those guys in how you deal with it and it just became kind of a domino effect and then there was probably some self doubt,” Towers said.
That’s why Towers believed that building the bullpen was so important this offseason as well as also adding some veterans to the bench. He will be mocked by some in the sabermetric community for that philosophy and it does go against the current thinking in baseball so it will be interesting to see how it all works out this year.
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Another thing you hear a lot of from those in the organization is the different atmosphere that Towers has created. Whereas in the past there was a feeling that the baseball operations department was separate from the rest of the front office that is no longer the case.
During the organizational meetings that were held last week, there was quite a bit of talk about how united everyone was. That to me seemed to be an indication that it was not previously like that.
“If there was a disconnect I don’t think it’s there anymore,” Towers said. “I think Wednesday when people left to go back to their homes I feel they were unified, ready for battle and their focus is on this season.”
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That’s all for today. I’ll be back at it bright and early Monday. Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter @dbackswriter.
Hampton done, Blanco not
The D-backs have agreed to terms with left-hander Mike Hampton on a one-year contract and are expected to announce it later today.
It is a Minor League contract with an invite to Spring Training.
In other news, the D-backs have strong interest in veteran backup catcher Henry Blanco, but a baseball source said a deal at the moment was “not close.”
Hampton was signed by the D-backs last August and in 10 games down the stretch for them, Hampton did not allow a run in 4 1/3 innings.
D-backs GM Kevin Towers told reporters Tuesday that he expected to hear back from Hampton on the team’s offer to him Wednesday.
Towers has remade the bullpen in recent weeks, but the one thing he was still looking to add was a left-hander.
Tidbits from Day 2 of Winter Meetings
Here are a few tidbits that didn’t make it into my story Tuesday from the Winter Meetings:
– When asked about who would pitch the eighth inning for him, GM Kevin Towers said he would have to wait and see before adding, “It might be Jarrod Parker. You never know.”
Parker, of course, is the team’s top pitching prospect and a starter, who missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. So naturally when Towers mentioned it, all of our ears pricked up and he was asked if he was serious.
“We’ll wait and see how the spring goes,” Towers said. “I would say it’s probably highly unlikely. He needs to be built up. I view him a little like [Jake] Peavy. To me he is a guy you put right into the rotation.”
So don’t look for Parker to be coming out of the pen any time soon. Although, with The Gunslinger, you never know.
– A few new contract details about LHP Zach Duke’s mutual option for 2012. It is worth $5.5 million, but goes up to $6 million if he throws 175 innings in 2011, $6.5 if he throws 190 innings and $7 million if he throws 205. The buyout of $750,000 remains the same regardless.
– Heard that the D-backs had interest in Matt Diaz, but felt he was too expensive.
– Free agent Marcus Thames could be a possibility for left field.
– D-backs don’t seem inclined to sign a front-line first baseman.
D-backs pushing hard to get Putz
The D-backs are pushing hard to get free agent right-hander J.J. Putz signed to a two-year deal with a club option for 2013.
Putz would slide into the role of closer as new GM Kevin Towers continues to try and remake the Arizona bullpen.
Putz, who will be 34 in February, was 7-5 with three saves and a 2.83 ERA in 60 games for the White Sox in 2010. The D-backs had attempted to sign him last offseason.
D-backs agree with Melvin Mora
The D-backs filled their hole at third base by signing Melvin Mora to a one-year contract.
Mora, who will be 39 in February, hit .285 with seven homers and 45 RBIs in 354 plate appearances for the Rockies in 2010.
Mora will get the bulk of the playing time now that the D-backs have dealt Mark Reynolds to the Orioles.
David Hernandez on trade to D-backs
My colleague Brittany Ghiroli got a hold of David Hernandez for his reaction to the deal to the D-backs. Here’s what he had to say.
“It’s bittersweet,” Hernandez said. “I have a weird feeling, I don’t know what to expect. But at the same time its exciting I’ll be close to home [California] all my family will be able to come out. The only bad thing is all the relationships and friendships I’ve made since 2005. I’ve made a lot of friends through the years.”
“I thought I was going to be there to see them turn it around in the next three or four years,” Hernandez said of the Orioles. “It’s something I wanted to do. But it just didn’t work out.”
“It’s always good when other teams value you, it makes you feel like you are definitely needed and wanted. I look at it as a fresh start.”
Who’s on third?
Assuming the medicals are approved and Mark Reynolds gets dealt to the Orioles right-handers David Hernandez and Kameron Mickolio, the most pressing question is: Who plays third for the D-backs.
Look for them to make a big push to sign Melvin Mora, maybe swing a deal for Kevin Kouzmanoff and they also will use veteran Geoff Blum over there as well.
Steve Gilbert
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