D-Backs looking to charge battery
11/09/2005
PHOENIX -- Josh Byrnes barely had time to unpack his suitcase in the Valley before he was due to head out of town again.
The newly named Diamondbacks GM spent last week back in the Boston area, gathering his family's belongings and preparing for their move to Phoenix. He was back in his Chase Field office Friday to continue his work restructuring the baseball operations staff.
Then it was off to the GM meetings, where Byrnes will certainly talk with other teams about players, but will spend as much, if not more, continuing talks about his own players.
"We'll have a lot of internal discussions while we're there," Byrnes said. "More than you would normally have at the meetings."
That's because after three years as the assistant GM for the Red Sox, Byrnes is now in charge of trying to improve a Diamondbacks team that went 77-85 in 2005.
"I'm still in the information-gathering stage," Byrnes said. "It's important that I talk to people who know the club better than I do."
As he has those discussions, Byrnes is likely to find he has several challenges facing him this offseason, among those are:
Shoring up the bullpen: Though it improved down the stretch, the bullpen was a sore spot for the club for much of the year. Jose Valverde did a nice job as the closer in the second half and Byrnes will have to decide whether he sticks with him or goes hunting for an established veteran like Trevor Hoffman.
Even if the D-Backs go with Valverde, which is highly likely, they would like to add some veteran depth in the bullpen. Tim Worrell, who pitched well for Arizona in September, would be a good fit, and the D-Backs have already begun discussions with his agent about bringing the right-hander back.
Bucking up the backstop: The Diamondbacks got very little production offensively out of their catchers in 2005. Chris Snyder, who wound up getting the bulk of the playing time, earned manager Bob Melvin's respect for his work behind the plate and handling the staff, but hit just .202. Koyie Hill did not impress in his limited time, and while the club still has hopes that one or both will rebound, it's clear this is a position in need of an upgrade.
Ramon Hernandez and Bengie Molina are two of the higher-profile catchers on the free-agent market, but the Diamondbacks could wind up making a deal for a backstop, with Paul Lo Duca's name mentioned by some in the media.
Sorting out the outfield: The Diamondbacks have to decide what to do with the logjam they have of corner outfielders. Luis Gonzalez and Shawn Green are both under contract for next year and the club also has promising rookie Carlos Quentin. In addition, if Conor Jackson plays first, Chad Tracy would have to move to the outfield.
It's possible that Arizona would have Quentin play center with Gonzalez in left and Green in right, but then it would have to either platoon Tracy and Jackson at first (and let's not forget about 30-homer man Tony Clark) or trade one of them.
The club could also decide to play Green in center and Tracy in right, start Quentin off in the Minors and platoon Clark and Jackson at first. But that scenario really weakens the D-Backs defensively.
The many different scenarios and possible trades they would open up are certain to occupy Byrnes' mind this offseason.
"Just looking at it initially, I would say we want to improve up the middle," Byrnes said. "We'd also like to add some depth to the bullpen and inject a little speed on the team."
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
PHOENIX -- Josh Byrnes barely had time to unpack his suitcase in the Valley before he was due to head out of town again.
The newly named Diamondbacks GM spent last week back in the Boston area, gathering his family's belongings and preparing for their move to Phoenix. He was back in his Chase Field office Friday to continue his work restructuring the baseball operations staff.
Then it was off to the GM meetings, where Byrnes will certainly talk with other teams about players, but will spend as much, if not more, continuing talks about his own players.
"We'll have a lot of internal discussions while we're there," Byrnes said. "More than you would normally have at the meetings."
That's because after three years as the assistant GM for the Red Sox, Byrnes is now in charge of trying to improve a Diamondbacks team that went 77-85 in 2005.
"I'm still in the information-gathering stage," Byrnes said. "It's important that I talk to people who know the club better than I do."
As he has those discussions, Byrnes is likely to find he has several challenges facing him this offseason, among those are:
Shoring up the bullpen: Though it improved down the stretch, the bullpen was a sore spot for the club for much of the year. Jose Valverde did a nice job as the closer in the second half and Byrnes will have to decide whether he sticks with him or goes hunting for an established veteran like Trevor Hoffman.
Even if the D-Backs go with Valverde, which is highly likely, they would like to add some veteran depth in the bullpen. Tim Worrell, who pitched well for Arizona in September, would be a good fit, and the D-Backs have already begun discussions with his agent about bringing the right-hander back.
Bucking up the backstop: The Diamondbacks got very little production offensively out of their catchers in 2005. Chris Snyder, who wound up getting the bulk of the playing time, earned manager Bob Melvin's respect for his work behind the plate and handling the staff, but hit just .202. Koyie Hill did not impress in his limited time, and while the club still has hopes that one or both will rebound, it's clear this is a position in need of an upgrade.
Ramon Hernandez and Bengie Molina are two of the higher-profile catchers on the free-agent market, but the Diamondbacks could wind up making a deal for a backstop, with Paul Lo Duca's name mentioned by some in the media.
Sorting out the outfield: The Diamondbacks have to decide what to do with the logjam they have of corner outfielders. Luis Gonzalez and Shawn Green are both under contract for next year and the club also has promising rookie Carlos Quentin. In addition, if Conor Jackson plays first, Chad Tracy would have to move to the outfield.
It's possible that Arizona would have Quentin play center with Gonzalez in left and Green in right, but then it would have to either platoon Tracy and Jackson at first (and let's not forget about 30-homer man Tony Clark) or trade one of them.
The club could also decide to play Green in center and Tracy in right, start Quentin off in the Minors and platoon Clark and Jackson at first. But that scenario really weakens the D-Backs defensively.
The many different scenarios and possible trades they would open up are certain to occupy Byrnes' mind this offseason.
"Just looking at it initially, I would say we want to improve up the middle," Byrnes said. "We'd also like to add some depth to the bullpen and inject a little speed on the team."
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
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