The Los Angeles Dodgers owning the NL West and recent emergence of the San Diego Padres has made things difficult for the Diamondbacks, but Arizona will be one of the teams who benefits from the balanced schedule that will see the number of games against those powerhouse teams drop from 18 or 19 to 13. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly lead a rotation of young arms. Hopes are especially high for Gallen, who threw 44 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings last year, which was the seventh-longest such streak in MLB history. The big move on offense was trading Daulton Varsho to Toronto for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and top-25 catching prospect Gabriel Moreno. Big things are also expected from Jake McCarthy and Cobin Carroll, both of whom got some playing time in the second half of last season.
Leaders from the Diamondbacks organization said they were willing to spend “hundreds of... MORE