On Sunday, Randy Johnson no-hit his old team through six innings, finishing
with seven strikeouts and just three baserunners allowed through seven frames.
Adding to the insult, the Big Unit erased both of the runners he let on base via
free passes, picking off Chris Young and inducing pinch-hitter Mark Reynolds
into an inning-ending double play.
Sadly, if Diamondbacks fans were to look objectively at RJ's three starts
this year (1-2 6.32), they would have to conclude that he is easily having one of the
worst seasons among ex-Diamondbacks so far. To make matters worse, while
D-backs fans can tell themselves that they could not afford Johnson's services
(a lie; Jon Garland is making about the same salary), many of the players they
have recently
let get away are making less than a million dollars.
Here is a sampling of guys that the Diamondbacks may wish they had back.
Listed with each player are his 2009 stats, 2009 salary, and method of departure
from the desert (all stats accurate through Monday, April 20):
Carlos Quentin: .302/.426/.814 - $0.55 M - Traded to the White Sox for
Chris Carter -
We all know what Carlos Quentin did for the Chicago White Sox last year
before injuring his hand. This year, he's proving that he is healthy and
that last year was no fluke. He is currently leading the American League
with seven home runs, and that is not merely a product of hitter-friendly US
Cellular Field, as he has hit 20 of his 43 White Sox homers away from the Cell.
The D-backs can take some solace in the fact that Chris Carter had a monster
2008 season in the minors himself (39 HR, 104 RBI, .930 OPS) and that they used
him as part of the package that brought Dan Haren to the desert, but that does
very little to soften the blow, particularly when Diamondbacks outfielders are
currently batting .170 with a .494 OPS.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, .814 is Quentin's SLG, not his OPS.
Orlando Hudson: .385/.467/.635 - $3.38 M + $4.62M in
performance bonuses - Signed by the Dodgers as a free agent -
Like Johnson, Hudson has already come back to bite his own team personally,
as he homered against the D-backs April 11th. Like Quentin, Hudson is
coming off a hand injury, so no one knew for sure that he would come back strong
in 2009. O-Dog has answered all questions presented him and then written a
follow-up essay for extra credit. Unlike many of the D-backs recent
personnel moves, this one still looks good. His replacement, Felipe Lopez,
is one of the only Diamondbacks currently hitting worth a lick (.352/.386/.574),
and Lopez doesn't make $8 million if he has a good year the way that Hudson
does. The D-backs also received two draft picks when the Dodgers signed
Hudson, including the 17th overall selection, which was the highest compensatory
pick possible.
Even though it's hard to convince a Diamondback fan of the fact just now,
this transaction has worked out well for all three parties so far.
Juan Cruz - 1-0 0.00 - $2.25 M - Signed by the Royals as a free agent -
Cruz also brings back two draft picks to Arizona, although not as high of
picks as Hudson generates. For that reason, letting him sign with Kansas
City was an understandable move. On the other hand, no D-backs reliever
has an ERA under 2.70 whereas Cruz has not yet allowed a run in 5.2 innings.
Cruz would be the second-highest paid member of the D-backs bullpen if you
consider that the Mets are paying a portion of Scott Schoeneweis' $3.6 million
salary, but $2.25 million is still not a lot for a reliever who can dominate the
way that Cruz does.
Emilio Bonifacio - .316/.339/.421 - $0.4 M - Traded to the Nationals for
Jon Rauch
I have to admit, I had always thought that the Arizona front office overrated
Bonifacio. He seemed like a one-tool player that had made few
developmental strides in many years in the system. Well, he is beginning
to make the front office look right... in a way. Bonifacio is leading the
National League in both runs scored and stolen bases as one of the primary
reasons that the Florida Marlins have gotten off to such a hot start.
But Bonifacio is also 4-for-his-last-33 (.121) with one walk, 11 strikeouts, and
no extra-base hits after beginning the season with five consecutive multi-hit
games. Those five games were likely a fluke, but I bet the D-backs would
still rather have him than Jon Rauch, who has been simply terrible since joining
the club.
Dan Uggla - .229/.329/.417 $5.35 M - Selected by the Marlins in the Rule 5
draft -
Of course, the Marlins are used to profiting off discarded Diamondbacks
second basemen. Dan Uggla has been the best power-hitting second baseman
in baseball over the past three years. His overall 2009 numbers don't wow
you, but his dozen RBI leads the Marlins and is nearly twice the total of the
Diamondbacks' best run producers (Mark Reynolds and Conor Jackson are tied with
seven). I guarantee that the Diamondbacks would love to have him back,
especially considering that they gave him away for nothing.
Brian Barden - .409/.458/.864 - $ 0.4 M - Claimed off Waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals -
Barden is another infielder that virtually no one figured would develop into
the hitter that he has. Barden had always posted solid-but-unspectacular
numbers in the minors, but now he is making the Cardinals forget about Troy
Glaus' injury and even getting spot starts in the middle infield. He's
obviously not going to finish the year a .400 hitter, but I bet any team would
love to pay him the major league minimum to be their utility infielder.
David Eckstein - .311/.373/.422 - $0.85 M - Signed by the Padres as a free
agent -
Eckstein's numbers look good, not great, until you remember that he has to
play half of his games at Petco Park. Away from Petco, his line looks like
this: .429/.478/.571. Again, Felipe Lopez has exceeded all expectations so
far, but Eckstein could be providing similar offense at a fraction of Lopez'
$3.5 million salary. Alternatively, one of those two could have been
filling in at shortstop while Stephen Drew's hamstring heals, rather than the
punchless Augie Ojeda taking Drew's place.
Alberto Callaspo - .375/.412/.438 - $0.4155 M - Traded to the Royals for
Billy Buckner -
Callaspo is another cheap middle infielder the D-backs recently relinquished
who would have provided an upgrade to the current 25-man roster. To make
matters worse, Billy Buckner allowed seven runs in four relief innings before
getting sent down to Triple-A. Callaspo was traded more due to an
off-field incident than because the team didn't think that he could perform, but
it still adds to the prosecution's case that the Diamondbacks aren't making the
greatest personnel decisions in the world.
Javier Vazquez - 1-1 3.00 - $11.5 M - Traded to the White Sox for Chris
Young, Orlando Hernandez, and Luis Vizcaino
No one is going to fault the Diamondbacks for this one, as Chris Young has
played outstanding centerfield defense for almost three years now and the
D-backs would have a hard time paying Vazquez' salary. On the other hand,
they are paying Eric Byrnes nearly the same amount to be their fourth outfielder
this season ($11 million). Would they swap Byrnes and Young for Vazquez
and some combination of Gerardo Parra and Alexander Romero in centerfield?
Vazquez has fanned 25 batters in 18 innings this year, with only Johan Santana
and Zack Greinke totaling more punchouts so far. A combination of Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, and Javier Vazquez would certainly comprise the best
front-three in baseball.
Adam Dunn - .316/.527/.632 - $8 M - Signed by the Nationals as a free
agent -
Again, Dunn would have been a difficult man to retain given his salary
demands. But he's leading the National League in both walks and on-base
percentage. In fact, his OBP is nearly twice the Diamondbacks' team total
of .286. Had the Arizona Diamondbacks offered him arbitration and he had
accepted, would it have been so bad? It would have prevented the team from
signing Jon Garland, but it wouldn't be a stretch for Hector Ambriz, Matt Torra,
Cesar Valdez, Evan MacLane, or Tony Barnette to duplicate Garland's performance.
There is no one on the Diamondbacks who can come close to Dunn's combination of
on-base acumen and raw power. There are few in all of baseball who can.
If you've got to let him go, at least make certain that you get two draft picks
in return.
Are there any ex-Diamondbacks players off to a slow start this year?
Brandon Lyon is struggling as Detroit's setup man and Jose Valverde blew his one
save opportunity thus far. Livan Hernandez has had two solid starts for
the Mets; nothing to get excited about, but he's another pitcher who could
replace Garland's production for about one-tenth of the price. It's hard
to identify anyone that the club has recently let go that fans are glad to have
gone. Maybe Russ Ortiz, but he's still performing better with the Astros
than he did with the Diamondbacks.
As currently constructed, he Arizona Diamondbacks are still a decent team,
and likely much better than the 5-8 club that they have shown themselves to be
thus far. The bottom line, however, is that the Diamondbacks have shown
more talent out the door in the past couple of seasons than they have brought
in. If the Diamondbacks do not win the World Series this fall, all some
fans will be thinking is how much better they could have been had the D-backs
been better evaluators of talent.
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