Simon: Praising Arizona (Diamondbacks)
From SABR member Mark Simon at ACTA Sports on March 8, 2018:
After a 24-win improvement in 2017, the Arizona Diamondbacks have had a busy offseason in trying to put together a roster that could compete with the Dodgers for the division and the Rockies and Giants for the Wild Card. The Diamondbacks are trying for consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2007-2008.
Most notably, the Diamondbacks lost right fielder J.D. Martinez, who signed a five-year deal with the Red Sox rather than return to Arizona. Martinez put up incredible numbers with the Diamondbacks (29 home runs in 62 games), but those would have been difficult for even the best power hitters in major league history to sustain.
To replace Martinez, the Diamondbacks did two things: They made a three-way trade in which they gave up infielder Brandon Drury and pitcher Anthony Banda to get outfielder Steven Souza from the Rays and they signed former Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson.
Read the full article here: http://www.statoftheweek.com
Originally published: March 8, 2018. Last Updated: March 8, 2018.