Kuzul

The Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks are no longer involved in on-field activities, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely dormant.

According to CBS’ Jon Heyman, the teams agreed on a three-way trade on Saturday:

Teams announce dbacks get heath bell, a’s get chris young (OF) and marlins get 3b prospect yordy cabrera. Obvs $ involved

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) October 20, 2012

UPDATE: Saturday, October 20 at 7:38 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

Major League Baseball shed light on another name included in this deal:

BREAKING: @athletics get @cy24_7 in trades that send Heath Bell & Cliff Pennington to @dbacks. @marlins add INF prospect Yordy Cabrera.

— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2012

Pennington hit .215 with six home runs and 28 RBI this season. For a small price, the 28-year-old shortstop is a solid veteran to play in a pinch for Arizona, but could also start next season.

—End of Update—

UPDATE: Saturday, October 20 at 4:55 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

According to MLB.com reporter Joe Frisaro, the Marlins will pick up part of Bell’s contract:

#DBacks are picking up $13 mil of remaining $21 mil on Bell contract #Marlins

— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) October 20, 2012

—End of Update—

None of those guys are named Alex Rodriguez, but this is still a notable trade, especially considering the timing of it. With winter meetings still a ways away, transactions are not common this time of year.

Bell only played one season with the Marlins, and it didn’t go well. A 5.09 ERA amounted to 19 saves on the season, despite blowing eight other tries. That’s not what you pay a reliever $7 million to do.

He had been the subject of rumors surrounding Rodriguez lately, but we can put those to bed after his move to Arizona.

Perhaps the biggest name in this move is Chris Young. He hit .231 with 14 home runs and 41 RBI this season. He played in very limited action after getting hurt in early September, but he does have some skill. Always a strikeout possibility, Young has a lot of the skills you look for in an outfielder.

Cabrera is the unknown commodity here. The shortstop prospect played in High-A this season, hitting .232 with three home runs. He’s still young, so his upside could pay dividends for Miami down the line.

Picking up part of Bell’s contract is probably the end of any cash considerations, but we will have to wait and see.

Oakland can be considered the early winner here. Bell could benefit from a change of scenery, and Arizona did need back-end arms, but the 35-year-old reliever is toward the end of his career. He had three straight 40-plus save seasons with San Diego prior to this season, but that was also within the confines of PetCo park.

Young, even for his faults, is still 29 years old. He’s hit 20-plus home runs four times, and he could give Oakland some pop in its lineup. Considering the cost, making the move makes sense for the Athletics.

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On Monday, we listed five National League players who needed to have a big week. One player not included on the list, as pointed out by Matthew Peary in the comments, was the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ Justin Upton. 

The D-Backs’ star right fielder has no home runs or RBI in the team’s first 10 games while batting .212/.350/.273 with 10 strikeouts in 40 plate appearances. As Peary said in his comment, that’s not what you prefer to see from an MVP candidate, which Upton most certainly is for Arizona.

But as it turns out, Upton might not just be slumping. He may be hurting. 

Fox Sports Arizona’s Jack Magruder reported via Twitter that Upton will see a hand specialist and undergo an MRI exam to check out a nagging thumb injury that has him out of Tuesday’s lineup. D-Backs manager Kirk Gibson said Upton going to the disabled list was “not out of the question.” 

Fortunately for the D-Backs, they have the outfield depth to cover Upton’s absence in the short-term. Signing Jason Kubel as a free agent was one of the more perplexing moves of the offseason. Now, bringing him to be the starting left fielder doesn’t look so bad. 

Gerardo Parra, the outfielder squeezed out of the starting lineup with Kubel’s signing, takes over in right field. The D-Backs’ outfield won’t miss a beat defensively. Though Parra has mostly played in left and won a Gold Glove for his defense there last season, he’s played 60 games in right. 

Unfortunately, Parra isn’t quite the hitter Upton is, especially from a power standpoint. So Arizona’s offense will suffer there. Last season, Parra hit a respectable .292/.357/.427 with eight home runs, 46 RBI and 15 stolen bases. This year, with diminished playing time, he’s batting .316/.350/.474 in 22 plate appearances. 

However, Chris Young has been doing his best to make up for Upton’s struggles. The centerfielder is off to a scorching start, batting .405/.500/.892 with five homers and 12 RBI. His 1.392 OPS is second only to Matt Kemp in the majors.

The key to his adjustment thus far, as Magruder and ESPN’s Buster Olney both wrote about, is being more relaxed and swinging in a rhythm rather than abruptly jumping at the ball from a standstill. 

Obviously, the D-Backs are a far better team with Upton in the lineup. Gibson joked that he’d rather have his superstar than outfield depth. No team could sustain losing an MVP-caliber player for a long period. But for now, that depth will help Gibby’s team stay at or near first place in the NL West until Upton’s injured thumb heals up.

— Follow @iancass on Twitter and subscribe on Facebook

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Before the start of last season, the Diamondbacks were a trendy pick to make some noise in the NL West.  Then Brandon Webb’s shoulder suffered a set-back and the season went down the toilet.

The bullpen was atrocious, the third worst in Major League history.  The organization decided to part with strikeout king Mark Reynolds to acquire bullpen help from Baltimore.

Kirk Gibson got the managerial job after a successful stint as the interim manager last year.  Arizona posted a winning record in August.  We’ll see if that success can translate into this season.

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Begin Slideshow

The Arizona Diamondbacks 2011 Major League Baseball Season couldn’t be any worse than their 2010 season, could it?

The 2010 MLB Season marked the second consecutive year the Arizona Diamondbacks finished with a losing record (65-97) and in last place in the National League (NL) West.

The team’s slow start resulted in manager AJ Hinch and general manager Josh Byrnes losing their jobs midway through the season on July 1st.

Hinch was replaced by the legendary Kirk Gibson while Jerry Dipoto filled in for Byrnes on an interim basis before Kevin Towers was hired in the offseason.

To make matters worse, the 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks set the all-time MLB Team Record for strikeouts by a hitters with 1,529 with Adam LaRoche (172) and Mark Reynolds (211) both leading the charge.

LaRoche was not resigned and Reynolds was traded to the Baltimore Orioles during the offseason.  The Diamondbacks also made various moves for the 2011 MLB Season to improve their bullpen’s league worst 5.47 ERA, including the signing of veteran closer JJ Putz.

After trading tenured veterans and fan favorites, Chad Qualls, Dan Haren and Reynolds, along with hiring Gibson and Towers, the 2011 MLB Season is certainly a new beginning for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Begin Slideshow

As we all know, the first half of the baseball season has been nothing short of a disaster for those of us who claim the Diamondbacks as our team.

As painful and embarrassing it is to admit it now, I am one of those poor fans.

Even with the shame and disappointment of the season, this second half still holds value for me as a fan.

Now, since the team is completely out of contention, the priorities change.

There is no way that they can win the division or even get close, but there are some things I wish to see in the final 73 games of the season.

Trades:

The team’s current roster does not work.

The mix of players, however individually talented, is not working as a team. There are issues with strikeouts, starting pitching consistency, and relief pitching in general.

Additionally, a once heralded farm system is now seemingly bare.

Who should go? First should be Chris Snyder (this saddens me because he is No. 2 on my favorites behind Mark Reynolds—I mean, be honest, how can you not love a guy who literally busted his balls for the team AND THEN FINISHED CATCHING THE INNING. I WAS THERE AT THAT GAME!).

Miguel Montero is turning out to be the best hitter on the team. Snyder is starting worthy and deserves to go somewhere to have that shot.

Plus, if you want a low average, defensively-minded catcher, John Hester is a lot cheaper. Moving Snyder would mean adding some young talent.

Honestly, I think a change of scenery will be beneficial. I seem to recall another very similar catcher that played for Arizona that left. He was a defensive catcher, hit poorly, but had power.

His name was Rod Barajas, and he has been a starter now for a few years. He still only hits about .240, but has hit over 20 home runs in a season three times since leaving Arizona and been considered a solid player.

I foresee this type of play from Snyder if he leaves.

Who else should go? I think that Kelly Johnson should go so that Tony Abreu can play everyday, even though some doubt that he is an everyday player.

I would let Stephen Drew go for a pitcher like Ricky Porcello, as it is rumored that is being discussed.

I waver on Adam LaRoche because of his glove. He drives in runs, but he is like so many other players and strikes out a lot.

Both have reasonable contracts for next season and have value. Dan Haren should go only if there is a great deal on the table.

Player improvement:

Without the pressure of a pennant race, the players should focus on development. I want to see my man Mark Reynolds (currently on pace for 222 strikeouts) NOT pass his previous two records.

I want to see his average end up at about .250 (meaning he hits between .270 and .280 for the second half). I want him to end up with at least 35 home runs and 110 RBI.

I want to see both Chris Young and Justin Upton end up with 30/30 seasons. I want Upton to avoid 200 strikeouts (currently he is on pace for 202).

I want to see Upton hit .300 for the second half and stay healthy. He needs to be that type of player to fulfill the expectations we all have.

I want Miguel Montero to finish the year with a .300 average or better. I want to see Upton, Reynolds, and LaRoche (if he is on the team the rest of the season) all have at least 100 RBI.

I want to see either Cole Gillespie or Gerardo Parra to establish who should be the starting left fielder of the future.

Personally, I want to see Parra develop into the high average, slap and gap hitter that the team lacks in the lineup. Those attributes would be nice combined with his solid defense.

I want to see at least ONE guy in the bullpen claim the closer job and be at least okay. I don’t EVER want to see Chad Qualls closing a game.

I want to see Brandon Webb actually pitch in a game.

General play:

What I hope to see out of the team is emotion.

I want the players to be fired up, win or lose. If a bad loss, I want to see pain and disappointment, like it matters.

I want to see grit and determination. I want to see Kirk Gibson having a tangible influence on the squad.

Wins and losses:

I know the season is shot, but I want to see the talent start coming together, especially offensively (since the bullpen seems to be a lost cause).

I’m not expecting much, but I would like .500 play the rest of the way. The team is on pace for a 61-101 record.

If they can go 37-36 for the second half, the record will still be a putrid 71-91, but it would be solid progress considering what has happened thus far.

What will likely happen:

As much as I want to believe that all these things will happen, more than likely we will see more of the same.

Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds will both have 200-plus strikeouts, but Reynolds will hit 40 home runs. However, he will probably hit only about .230. Upton will stay about .260.

I would be surprised if Webb pitches in the majors. It will have officially been the biggest con in history, as he would have weaseled the team out of over $8 million for doing nothing.

No one will take over the closer’s role effectively. The bullpen will continue to be disastrous and will set the record for futility in ERA.

The team will make no meaningful moves and not change much, which means little will change this year or next.

So, while I am not oblivious to the likelihood of continued meagerness on the field (in fact, I already am hoping for new and exciting ways to lose just for entertainment, like a sort of loser bingo ), I want to find hope and excitement about the future of the club.

We shall soon see how it goes.

You can follow me, the (Happily) Trapped Fan , for my posts and other random thoughts that come up in my trapped life on Twitter.

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Well that was short.

By my count, first time All-Star outfielder Chris Young had five singles and one double in Anaheim Monday.  

Unfortunately for the Diamondback, it was not the well-placed-line-drive-derby. 

Eliminated in the first round in last place, Young hit just one ball out of the park while frequently voicing his displeasure with himself aloud.

“In the long run, I’d much rather have my line-drive swing than my home run swing,” Young told azcentral.com.

“Nobody has to worry about my getting turned around. It was line drives the entire time.”

That’s all fine and dandy, but he might want to rethink his stance before entering another home run derby. 

In the end, the young resurgent player seemed to enjoy his short-lived experience at the event and garnered high praise from the ESPN announcers. 

It would have been nice to see a Diamondback go further however, since the team rarely gets any national audience.

The only Arizona player to win the derby was Luis Gonzalez in 2001. 

Hopefully next season, when Chase Field plays host to the Mid-Summer Classic, a real home run hitter will be chosen from the team. 

Cough, Mark Reynolds, cough.

He might swing and miss ten times, but at least he will put on a show when he connects.

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