The Arizona Diamondbacks made one of the most surprising offseason acquisitions when ace Corbin Burnes signed a massive contract, and the reactions to that signing continue as Opening Day nears.
MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince ranked the D-backs’ pitching staff as the fifth-best in the Majors, noting the Burnes signing as a big reason why.
“The result of that unexpected, major investment is that the Snakes have too many starters, which means they probably have just enough,” Castrovince wrote.
The Diamondbacks have a potential three-headed monster between Burnes, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, to go along with the potential of a healthy Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt.
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Rodriguez had a strong outing Friday, dominating 3.2 innings while allowing no hits, and striking out six.
That group, in Castrovince’s opinion, has the potential to be the best in baseball, and an X-factor he thinks could play into it all is how the Diamondbacks use Jordan Montgomery.
What held the D-backs’ staff back in the ranking?
Castrovince had some qualms about Arizona’s bullpen, which is a fair assessment.
“I’m less sold on the Diamondbacks’ bullpen, where they’ve struggled to find the right mix in the past. But it’s worth noting that, with a full season of 2024 trade acquisition Puk, Arizona is projected by FanGraphs to have the 10th-best relief WAR in MLB,” Castrovince wrote.
The Diamondbacks have yet to name an Opening Day closer with just under two weeks until first pitch.
In addition, Arizona would prefer to rely on a closer, as opposed to a committee approach.
Who ranked ahead of the D-backs?
To the surprise of nobody, the Los Angeles Dodgers were given Castrovince’s stamp as the best pitching staff in baseball. The Dodgers already had a strong pitching staff a season ago, and got much better in the offseason.
The rest of the top four of Castronvince’s list went: the Philadelphia Phillies (second), the Atlanta Braves (third) and the Seattle Mariners (fourth).
Behind the Diamondbacks in six through 10 were the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and the San Diego Padres.
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