Halfway through the 2017 MLB season, when the Arizona Diamondbacks were hanging on in the Wild Card standings better than expected – they made a move for one of the best hitters available on the trade market, outfielder J.D. Martinez.
Martinez was excellent for the D-Backs, slashing .302/.366/.741 (172 wRC+) with 29 home runs and 13 doubles in the second half of the year, and there was a hope that, with A.J. Pollock heading into his free agent year in 2018, the team could re-sign him.
That hope was squashed a couple hours ago, when Martinez signed his long-expected contract with the Boston Red Sox (five years/$110M, two opt-outs).
The D-Backs, however, were not brooding for very long, as they immediately put themselves back out there, signing Jarrod Dyson to a two-year commitment:
Dbacks act quickly, signing jarrod dyson to two-year deal. He gives them a cf next year should pollock leave.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 19, 2018
dyson gets 7.5M over 2 yrs #dbacks
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 19, 2018
Dyson, 33, is three years Martinez’s elder and isn’t in the same class (or type) of hitter, but has been worth 5.2 WAR over the past two seasons and is a FAR greater defender. In fact, Dave Cameron called Dyson one of the biggest free agent bargains of the offseason back in November: “Few players have as extreme a skillset as Jarrod Dyson. He makes some of the weakest contact of any hitter in baseball, and is especially terrible against left-handed pitching. On the other hand, he’s also one of the best defensive outfielders in the game and, after adjusting for playing time, has been the most valuable non-Billy Hamilton baserunner in MLB the last three years.”
Honestly, you can do a lot worse than that – especially because, when Cameron was calling Dyson a “bargain” that was when he was expecting him to sign for $22 million (!!!). That’s THREE TIMES what he actually got. How’s that for a bargain?
So Dyson’s ZiPS projected 2.0 WAR might be less than J.D. Martinez’s 3.3 projection … but he’ll cost around $22 million less in 2018 alone. That’s not a bad consolation prize, Diamondbacks – so long as you put those cost-savings to work.
The DBacks will hope to challenge the Dodgers atop the NL West this year, and, if not, will once again push in the Wild Card race.