Now that the dust has cleared from the Arizona Diamondbacks' trade of Justin Upton, there are some dominoes ready to fall. There's a major hole left in the middle of the lineup, in right field and at third base. Who is going to step into those spots and benefit from this trade?
The hot corner was one of the most unstable spots for the Diamondbacks in 2012. They played eight different men at third base, with Ryan Roberts getting 60 games there before being traded and Chris Johnson playing 39.
Martin Prado was acquired as part of the Upton deal and will step in as the everyday third baseman. He's a massive upgrade on the offensive end, as he hit .301 for the Braves in 156 games during the 2012 season. He also added 17 stolen bases and only struck out 69 times. He could be a great fit at the No. 2 spot in the lineup, where contact is highly important.
Defensively, Prado is a chameleon. He's played every position but catcher in his career and sports a .965 career fielding percentage at third base. With the league average at .954, the Diamondbacks have scored an above-average fielder who can fill in wherever needed.
Arizona manager Kirk Gibson has already stated that he's going with a platoon of sorts in the outfield. He's got Jason Kubel, Adam Eaton, Gerardo Parra and Cody Ross and is going to move them around in an effort to get each of them 450-to-500 at-bats.
While it's nice to have an extra outfielder to rotate in to keep each man fresh, it's also frustrating from a player's perspective. They want to see their name on the lineup card in the same spot in the order and the same position on the field. Consistency is always a good thing.
The Diamondbacks will have the "luxury" of going with matchups, which will be helpful for keeping second-year player Adam Eaton away from any prolonged slumps. A young player like Eaton needs to be handled carefully in order to keep his confidence high.
When Upton was playing well, he was a regular in the third spot. As he struggled, he was dropped to fifth, before ultimately finishing the season back in the No. 3 spot.
Kubel hit third 45 times, with Paul Goldschmidt hitting fourth 63 times. However, with news that Kubel will be in a quasi-platoon, it makes sense to move either Miguel Montero, Goldschmidt or Prado into that spot. Another possibility could be Aaron Hill.
Hill has shown the ability to hit for power, with seasons of 36 (2009), 26 (2010) and 26 (2012) home runs under his belt. He also hit .302 and struck out only 86 times in 2012.
The Diamondbacks bolstered their farm system, shed an unhappy and inconsistent player and got an everyday player who makes less money in return. The dominoes look to fall into place quite effectively and that bodes well for the 2013 season.
Check out my blog and podcast over at HoopsHabit.com! Show your support by becoming my fan here on Bleacher Report and follow me on Twitter to be the first to know when my newest articles arrive!
No comments:
Post a Comment