ESPN: Ryan Roberts is a weakness for D-backs

Ryan Roberts won over Diamondbacks fans with his fire and
hustle in 2011.

A career journeyman, Roberts posted a .249 batting average
with 19 home runs, 65 RBI, 86 runs scored and 18 stolen
bases, and was the primary third baseman for the NL West
champs.

Filling that role again in 2012, though, could prove
costly for the Diamondbacks. According to Ben Lindbergh of ESPN Insider, Roberts is
Arizona’s biggest weakness, as he noted in a story titled
Contender black holes.

Last season, D-backs third baseman Ryan Roberts hit
.313/.413/.594 in April but slumped to .239/.329/.402
during the season’s final five months. PECOTA projects
more of the same — .246/.330/.393 — from him in 2012.
Remember, he is basically a minor league journeyman who,
last year, at the age of 30, surpassed 500 plate
appearances in a season for the first time in his career.
Not much upside here.

As important as Roberts was to the D-backs’ success last
season, lost in the excitement of the season was the fact
that his numbers simply were not that good.

While no one is saying the team should cut the guy,
does anyone really think the D-backs will win the West
again with a third baseman who hits .250 with fewer than
20 home runs and 70 RBI?

Maybe Roberts will be better than last year. It was the
first time he saw more than 500 at bats in his career, and
it’s possible the best is yet to come from one of the
team’s emotional leaders.

But, more likely, Roberts is what he is: the type of
player every team needs on the roster, but not an everyday
third baseman on a championship team.

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