D-backs done dealing for now, out on Shields
Club does not expect to make any move before Spring Training
PHOENIX -- With 13 days left until pitchers and catchers report to Salt River Fields, it appears all is quiet on the trade and free agent front for the D-backs.
"We're quiet in our house right now," general manager Dave Stewart said. "We've taken the position that we're weeks away from Spring Training, and now we're just going to see what we have. If we need to make adjustments, we'll make adjustments after we see what we have. Right now, we're where we are with the players that we have. I think if you talk to our staff as a whole we are very, very positive and optimistic that what we're going to put on the field is going to be good."
That means that for now the catching corps will remain 40-man roster members Tuffy Gosewisch and Oscar Hernandez along with six non-roster invitees to camp in Gerald Laird, Blake Lalli, Peter O'Brien, Jordan Pacheco, Matt Pagnozzi and Mark Thomas.
It also indicates the D-backs will not be jumping back into the mix for free agent right-hander James Shields.
Salt River Fields has been busy since the start of the new year with players working out informally. The group included Yasmany Tomas, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Hill, A.J. Pollock, Chris Owings, Trevor Cahill, Daniel Hudson, David Hernandez and Rubby De La Rosa.
"There have been a ton of guys out there working and getting ready for Spring Training, which in itself is encouraging to me," Stewart said. "I'm excited and ready to get it started."