ESPN: MLB executives question D-backs’ roster construction

It’s no secret the Arizona Diamondbacks haven’t lived up to expectations through the first half of 2016.

Still, the talk out of the locker room remains positive. Manager Chip Hale isn’t one to use injuries as an excuse, nor is he someone to throw his players under the bus. He maintains they’re talented and that’s not necessarily untrue.

But the fit? The roster makeup, for whatever reason, just doesn’t seem to work, according to several front office members who spoke to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

Those executives believe the Diamondbacks front office mistakenly sacrificed organizational depth over the summer in order to restructure the pitching staff and beyond.

Injuries have hurt, yes.

“But the challenge is that baseball isn’t like basketball, where you can add one or two pieces and really change the dynamic of the organization,” said Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels. “In baseball you need so much depth and balance and some luck, too. It’s hard to do all that with a handful of moves in an offseason. It takes years to build that foundation, and then you try to make one or two moves and layer them on top of what you’ve built.”

Arizona built a promising foundation last year.

A core of Paul Goldschmidt, A.J. Pollock, Ender Inciarte, David Peralta, Jake Lamb, Nick Ahmed, Brandon Drury and Yasmany Tomas wasn’t sore on the eyes. Injuries to Pollock and Peralta have hurt Arizona this year, and the trade of Inciarte to acquire pitcher Shelby Miller did as well.

But the lack of outfield depth especially has contributed to the Diamondbacks’ woes, an anonymous executive told Crasnick.

“It’s only natural to review the roster from the top down, which is fine, but you also have to view it from the bottom up,” said an NL executive. “If you’re weak in certain positions or innings or spots in your lineup, you cannot hide it over 162 games. It kills you. The top-heavy roster doesn’t succeed.”

While the signing of ace Zack Greinke only plunged into the money pool, how the D-backs’ trade activity over the last few years gutted the minor-league system — or how the franchise failed to develop or acquire ready prospects — played a role in holes developing in the outfield especially.

Crasnick reports that Arizona’s outfield tallied a plus-37 defensive runs saved in 2015. That’s gone south in 2016 to minus-30, according to Baseball Info Solutions.

Infielders Chris Owings and Brandon Drury, catcher Chriss Herrmann, and struggling big bat call-up Peter O’Brien have all seen time in the outfield, and it turns out veterans Rickie Weeks Jr. and Michael Bourn, who weren’t expected to be relied upon to this degree, have been the most steady presences.

“You hate to use the term ‘misfits toys,”‘ said an NL talent evaluator. “They have good players that other teams would like and want in most scenarios. But as a group, it wasn’t a great roster construction, from my perspective.”

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