The Diamondbacks had a 52-110 record just two seasons ago, sinking to the cellar of the NL West in ugly fashion. A couple rough seasons during a rebuild is common in baseball in these days, but Arizona’s nadir felt even worse in the sense that the franchise wasn’t even trying to tank.
Arizona occupies a middle space in today’s baseball economy — it’s not really a small-market team, but it doesn’t spend like the Mets, Yankees or Dodgers. There isn’t much room for error when doling out sizable contracts.to veteran lefty Madison Bumgarner that didn’t pan out. Smaller contracts in 2021 for veteran relievers like Joakim Soria and Tyler Clippard were essentially a sunk cost, too. Some of the team’s younger players like Ketel Marte and Christian Walker regressed.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 11: Manager Torey Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen of the Arizona Diamondbacks meet before Game Three of the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field on October 11, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.There was also personal tragedy mixed into those tough seasons. Nicole Hazen — the GM’s wife — was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2020 and fought the brain cancer for more than two years. She was 45 when she died.
"It has been long. A lot of stuff has happened," Hazen said. "There is somebody for me that is not here that was here six years ago that was a huge Diamondbacks fan. Was a huge Merrill Kelly fan. He was her favorite player."during the recently-finished NLCS, providing a gutsy road win that set the stage for the team’s Game 7 triumph. Kelly’s emergence is one of many shrewd moves Hazen made over the years that slowly started to pan out.
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