MLB season preview: Will D-backs bold offseason lead to success?

Editor’s Note: With the arrival of baseball season we’re previewing each MLB team, from worst to best. We’ll look at their key offseason moves, projected lineup, best and worst possible outcomes plus examine the team’s fantasy implications with the help of friends from Roto Arcade. Our daily series continues with No. 16: The Arizona Diamondbacks.

The boldest offseason in baseball belonged to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who surprised everybody by shelling out $206.5 million to sign Zack Greinke.

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(AP) That’s what you do when you have one of the best hitters in the game — hello, Paul Goldschmidt — and recognize that your window to win is right now. So the D-backs added Greinke, traded for Shelby Miller and went into full win-now mode.

It’s a tough path ahead in the NL West, as both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants figure to be contenders. The D-backs could be too, but there can’t be many missteps if they want to keep pace. A.J. Pollock needs to follow-up his breakout year. Patrick Corbin needs a return to pre-Tommy John form. Yasmany Tomas needs to take a step forward.

If all those things happen, we could be talking about the D-backs in September. And last September, that didn’t seem so possible. That’s what a bold offseason will do. (Mike Oz)

Key additions: Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller, Jean Segura, Tyler Clippard

Key subtractions: Ender Inciarte, Dansby Swanson, Aaron Hill

Well, that was fun. The Diamondbacks went from afterthought to suddenly interesting with a shocking offseason. Greinke joined the club on a huge deal, and should lead the rotation for years. That wasn’t enough, though. The team went out and dealt some major young talent to acquire Miller. Clippard should help in the bullpen, while a change of scenery may have been the best thing for Segura. Losing Inciarte hurts now, and the prospect haul dealt for Miller will hurt the team later, but the Diamondbacks did everything possible to improve their club in the short term. It may not work, but at least the offseason was exciting. (Chris Cwik)

Rubby De La Rosa: This might be De La Rosa’s last chance to live up to his potential. He’s always been thought of as young and promising, but the now 27-year-old hasn’t lived up to expectations in the majors. The stuff has always been lauded as exceptional, but a career 4.51 ERA says otherwise. Lefties were a huge problem last season, crushing everything De La Rosa threw.

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While the Diamondbacks rotation fades after the top three, De La Rosa could be pushed by former top prospect Archie Bradley if he struggles again. The Diamondbacks are clearly in win now mode, and probably won’t hesitate to replace a struggling De La Rosa, particularly if Bradley gets off to a hot start. (Cwik)

Lineup:
1. A.J. Pollock, OF (.315/.367/.498, 111 R, 20 HR, 76 RBI, 39 SB)
2. David Peralta, OF (.312/.371/.522, 61 R, 17 HR, 78 RBI)
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B (.321/.435/.570, 103 R, 33 HR, 110 RBI)
4. Yasmany Tomas, OF (.273/.305/.401, 40 R, 9 HR, 48 RBI)
5. Wellington Castillo, C (.237/.296/.453, 42 R, 19 HR, 57 RBI)
6. Jake Lamb, 3B (.263/.331/.386, 38 R, 6 HR, 34 RBI)
7. Chris Owings, 2B (.227/.264/.322, 59 R, 4 HR, 43 RBI, 16 SB)
8. Jean Segura, SS (.257/.281/.336, 57 R, 6 HR, 50 RBI)

Rotation:
1. Zack Greinke (19-3, 1.66 ERA, 222.2 IP, 200 K)
2. Shelby Miller (6-17, 3.02 ERA, 205.1, 171 K)
3. Patrick Corbin (6-5, 3.60 ERA, 85 IP, 78 K)
4. Rubby De La Rosa (14-9, 4.67 ERA, 188.2 IP, 150 K)
5. Robbie Ray (5-12, 3.52 ERA, 127.2 ERA, 127.2 IP, 119)

-compiled by Kyle Ringo

Assuming Arizona’s additions come together and start clicking early in the season, they will pose a serious threat to both the Dodgers and Giants. But the fact is those teams won’t go away, making a push card for the wild card more realistic than the 90+ wins they’d need for a division title. (Mark Townsend)

As the San Diego Padres of 2015 can attest, sometimes aggressive offseasons don’t pan out. As many stars as the Diamondbacks now have, they could fall victim to an overall lack of depth if the injury bug bites or a couple key players regress. That means they’ll have a lower floor than the more established and deeper contenders in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but that floor should still be good enough for a winning season and third-place finish at worst. (Townsend)

Which starting pitcher should be targeted? Zack Greinke is coming off a season in which he posted a microscopic 1.66 ERA and 0.84 WHIP and would’ve won the Cy Young nearly any other season. While no one is expecting another sub-2.00 ERA (nor a .229 BABIP or 86.5 left-on-base percentage), there are other reasons to worry about Greinke’s ability to repeat as a top-flight fantasy starter. He goes from a pitcher’s park to one that favors hitters to the extreme and moves from one of the best framing catchers (Yasmani Grandal) to one of the worst (Wellington Castillo). Greinke seems like too big of a risk for his lofty price tag (32.8 ADP, SP7).

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(Getty Images) Shelby Miller is also coming off a fine season in which he posted a 3.02 ERA. His 6-17 record was unlucky, and he should see better run support in Arizona. But last year’s 6.4 HR/FB% could very well double in Chase Field, and he’s costing a top-150 pick. Patrick Corbin, meanwhile, posted impressive peripherals (1.59 groundball/flyball rate, 17.1 K-BB%, 10.8 swinging strike percentage), and he figures to be even better the further he’s removed from Tommy John surgery. Corbin’s K/BB ratio (4.59) wasn’t that far off from Greinke’s (5.00), and he’s already used to pitching in Chase Field. Corbin’s ADP is by far the cheapest (180.9), so he’s the Arizona starter to target in fantasy leagues. (Dalton Del Don)

Looking for the biggest sports fan in baseball? If it’s not Brad Ziegler, he’s definitely in the conversation. Just take a look at his Twitter feed @BradZiegler. There isn’t a sport out there the Diamondbacks reliever isn’t tweeting about. And he sure knows what he’s talking about. Ziegler does a good job of mixing it some funny, too, which makes it a pretty good bet he’s going to have a successful career in sports media once he retires. Don’t say we didn’t tell you about him when he makes it big. (Israel Fehr)

.@chevrolet‘s current commercial line always starts with “Real people. Not actors.”

Got it: actors are not real people.

— Brad Ziegler (@BradZiegler) January 10, 2016

If you choose your baseball teams based on their concessions and you like sweets, then the D-backs are your team. This is their Churro Dog.

Yep, that’s a churro desert made to look like a hot dog. It uses donuts instead of a hot dog bun and heaps some ice cream on top. It’ll run you 1,117 calories, but it’s glorious.