Arizona Diamondbacks Worry About Wins, Status Of Home Ballpark

The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking forward to the trade deadline. That’s when they can trade veterans for prospects and start the long-term climb back to respectability in the National League West.

After posting a 52-110 record, a .321 winning percentage that tied the Baltimore Orioles for worst in baseball, the D’backs didn’t do much roster tinkering.

Closer Mark Melancon, a four-time All-Star who led the league with 39 saves while pitching for San Diego, signed a two-year, $14 million contract as a free agent but could have commanded more from a contender if he had waited. The pact is packed with a third-year option or a $2 million buyout.

Melancon’s 244 saves rank fourth among active pitchers but saves opportunities won’t come often with Arizona, which finished 55 games behind the San Francisco Giants in 2021. That’s why he’s the team’s best trade chip despite an advanced athletic age of 37.

Teammate Ian Kennedy, who saved 26 games while splitting 2021 between the Rangers and Phillies, is also 37 and another potential trade piece.

Ditto Oliver Perez, a 40-year-old lefty reliever from Mexico who signed a minor-league deal out of free agency on March 21.

Arizona’s best-paid player, 32-year-old southpaw Madison Bumgarner, will earn $18 million this year.

The next highest salary on the club belongs to versatile Ketel Marte, who got a five-year extension March 29 that will carry him through 2027.

At age 28, however, he’s in his prime. The 2021 D’backs MVP, Marte hit .318 with 14 homers and 50 runs batted in. In fact, his .319 average since 2019 ranks third in the majors, trailing only Tim Anderson’s .324 and Trea Turner’s .316.

According to Spotrac, Marte’s $8,500,000 salary is a notch ahead of David Peralta’s $8 million, while the overall team payroll of $88,563,147 ranks 24th among the 30 teams. Arizona is among eight teams that pay their players less than $100 million.

With a rookie-laden roster, manager Torey Lovullo hopes his club will benefit from the experience of losing 24 consecutive road games – a record for futility shared with the 1943 Philadelphia Athletics and 1963 New York Mets.

The 110-loss season was just one shy of Arizona’s worst, a 51-111 mark in 2004. But the team’s 2022 outlook is tough because it will play 57 games against three powerhouse clubs: the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants.

In 2021, the Giants led the majors with 107 wins, one more than the Dodgers. Even when it did well last year, Arizona couldn’t catch a break.

When Bumgarner pitched what seemed like the first no-hitter of his career in Atlanta last April, he was credited only with a shutout and complete game but not a no-hitter because it occurred in a seven-inning game that was part of a doubleheader.

In the first game that day, Zac Gallen yielded only one hit – also in a seven-inning game – to pick up one of his four wins. But he lost 10 of 23 starts and spent time on the injured list with a stress fracture of the right forearm, a sprained right elbow, and a strained right hamstring. He’s already had an injury this season too: a cut on his right thumb delayed his 2022 debut until April 16.

The D’backs dropped four of their first six before coming to New York Friday to begin the road portion of their schedule. The Mets have been a formidable foe, with 10 straight wins against Arizona entering the weekend series.

Because the 99-day lockout delayed the opening of the season, the trade deadline has been pushed back to Aug. 2 per a special agreement by owners and players. Expect the Diamondbacks to be busy.

In addition to fixing their losing ways, the D’backs have to fix their downtown ballpark. Problems with the cables used to open and close the roof of Chase Field – discovered during a routine winter inspection – will prevent the club from opening or closing the retractable roof when fans are present out of fear a cable might snap and injure one or more spectators.

After Chase Field was swamped by a rare Arizona flood in 2017, talk of a new ballpark – or even a shift to another city – began. Both Las Vegas and neighboring Henderson, NV allegedly made overtures. The team has been seeking $200 million for ballpark upgrades from Maricopa County.

Chase Field, originally called Bank One Ballpark, is less than 25 years old.