Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick expects an ‘economic windfall’
Nov 3, 2023, 7:20 AM | Updated: 10:11 am
Managing general partner Ken Kendrick of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates with the Warren C. Giles Trophy, given to the champion of the National League, after beating Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in Game Seven of the Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park on October 24, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Arizona Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick just saw a “magical month” of baseball right in front of his eyes.
As in any sport, with winning comes more ticket and merchandising sales as well as just a deepened desire for more of that success.
Kendrick understands that, and he understands the value of re-investing the money that comes from the fans back into the team, because in a way, the fans are betting on the future of the D-backs when they pay premiums for playoff tickets and other things like that.
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“I think the fans will be proud that their money is going to the right cause and that’s to building the right roster,” Kendrick said.
He didn’t want to get into specifics as to how that money will be spent; he leaves that up to general manager Mike Hazen and the baseball department, adding “In Mike We Trust.”
“We’re going to be very resourceful,” Derrick Hall, President and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks said Thursday on Arizona Sports‘ Bickley & Marotta. “(The front office) tried hard to get a starting pitcher. The cost was so high at the (trade deadline). … We’re going to be very aggressive this offseason. We just have to be very careful. We’ve been in these positions before. Where we thought we were a player or two away, we put all the chips in and we were wrong.”
Kendrick did, however, allude to some of the holes on the roster as any team has going into winter, naming pitching first.
The rotation is loaded with young pitchers in Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson, Tommy Henry and Slade Cecconi with veterans like Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. Henry is coming off the 60-day injury list with elbow inflammation in his left pitching elbow. Drey Jameson, an arm out of the bullpen, will be out for at least most of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery following an unsuccessful rehabilitation program for his injured pitching arm. The club also let go of aging veteran Madison Bumgarner who was wildly ineffective this past season (0-3 in four starts with a 10.26 ERA) and journeyman starter Zach Davies, who was ineffective and injury-plagued in 2023 (2-5 with a 7.00 ERA in 18 starts).
Overall, he expects the payroll disparity between the D-backs and the bigger spenders in Major League Baseball to narrow a bit, especially now that they’ve overcome the “900-pound gorilla” that is the big spending Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I think our fans will be proud their money will be going to the right cause and that’s to build a better and more talented roster,” Kendrick said. “It’s evermore expensive across sports … We’ll try to do our best to be better than our we were this year and be good enough to be right back where we were.”
