Derrick Hall: Diamondbacks never got close to bringing back Paul Goldschmidt
Paul Goldschmidt hit two home runs on Wednesday, the same day the Diamondbacks DFA'd Carlos Santana.
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Mere hours after the Arizona Diamondbacks designated first baseman Carlos Santana for assignment, franchise icon and current New York Yankee Paul Goldschmidt blasted his second home run of the game off two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal on Wednesday.
Goldschmidt and Santana were tied to the D-backs as free agents last winter, veterans at the end of their respective decorated careers looking for another opportunity.
Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Thursday that the club never ended up getting that close to bringing Goldschmidt back, despite internal conversations.
“They had made the decision on Santana early on and we never even had discussions with Goldy,” Hall said. “(Managing partner Ken Kendrick) and I had asked the question several times, ‘Should we bring Goldy back? Would he be interested in coming back?’
“We never even got to that point and we turned our attention to focusing those dollars … on bringing back the two starters. That was such a commitment financially that it made sense to get a little more pennywise elsewhere. But no, we never got to that point.”
The two pitchers were Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen. Kelly signed a two-year, $40 million deal, while Gallen re-upped for one season and $22.03 million, most of which is deferred.
Goldschmidt signed for $4 million with incentives up to $6 million, while Santana agreed to a $2 million deal, contributing to Arizona’s record-high payroll.
The Diamondbacks needed first base help over the offseason and “kicked the tires” on a reunion with Goldschmidt. Price and playing time were reported as holdups by Arizona Sports‘ John Gambadoro, and Goldschmidt re-upped with the Yankees for a second season.
Arizona opted to bring in Santana, a switch-hitter with a great defensive reputation.
Wednesday was a perfect encapsulation of how this season has gone for the two veteran first basemen.
Santana has had a great career that has spanned 17 MLB seasons, but he started this campaign 2-for-24 before suffering an adductor strain that ultimately ended his D-backs tenure on April 5. He nearly worked his way back, suffered a setback and really struggled in the minor leagues even after getting healthy again.
Goldschmidt has been a godsend for a Yankees lineup that is missing superstar Aaron Judge with a rib injury.
Goldschmidt’s second home run off Skubal on Wednesday was his 14th of the season, more than anyone in the Diamondbacks’ lineup. His OPS is up to .923.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks have struggled to get any production from first base since Ildemaro Vargas’ magical run in April came to a close.
Entering Wednesday, Arizona’s .579 OPS from first basemen ranked dead last in MLB by a sizable margin. The New York Mets were 29th at .654.
Sometimes the play to bring back a former franchise face can pay dividends, like the St. Louis Cardinals and Albert Pujols during his chase for 700 home runs in 2022. Sometimes it sours the connection, like the Los Angeles Clippers telling Chris Paul to go home in the middle of the night.
There’s no guarantee Goldschmidt would have been this good had he returned to Arizona. He started last season hot and cooled off in the second half, something he will have to hold off this time around.
Plus, he sounded eager to return to New York and continue to push for a championship.
“I don’t think there was a sales pitch,” Goldschmidt told MLB.com. “I just loved these guys. I enjoyed even the times last year when I wasn’t playing, and that’s not always the case.”
But in a Diamondbacks season lacking offensive punch and with injuries piling up, it’s hard not to think of what a Goldschmidt reunion would have meant for this club and fanbase.
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Comments
10 Comments
Do these guys ever make the right decision, or is it the wrong one every time? What I don't get is during the years when the D-Backs were horrible, they had tons of draft picks. Where are those young pitchers? Why do they keep wasting money on washed up re-treads like Bum Garner, Merrill Kelly, Jordan Montgomery and even Gallen? No other team would touch Gallen. What does that tell you?
“We never even got to that point and we turned our attention to focusing those dollars … on bringing back the two starters. That was such a commitment financially that it made sense to get a little more pennywise elsewhere. But no, we never got to that point.”
Looks like another case of the Dbacks being penny wise and pound foolish.
I don't know either why they keep wasting money on signing never beens and/or have-beens.
Example # 1: Pfaadt...they gave me a $45M-5Yr contract, $2M signing bonus; $21 million club option for 2031; a $25 million mutual option for 2032 and a restricted trade clause in March 2025 when he had a lifetime 5.00+ ERA...he completed the 2025 season as one of the nine worst starting pitcher in the MLB and has a 5.92 ERA for the 2026 season before he was sent down to Reno. Can someone tell me why the Dbacks gave this contract to an extremely underperforming pitcher?
Example # 2: Jordan Montgomery...he pitched well (2.78 ERA) for one season with the Rangers and did well (2.90) in the playoff including against the Dbacks in the World Series. This 2023 was outlier in my opinion...he was good but not a great pitcher. He had a 6.23 ERA with the Dbacks in the 2024 season.
It seems like the Dbacks can't wait for the results (in case of Pfaadt) or walk away from a player (in case of Montgomery). They thought that Pfaadt was going to have a breakout year and the price would have went up if they waited a year...it didn't and they are stuck paying $47M to a player that is a 5.00+ ERA pitcher.