D-backs 'open and listening' as Meetings start
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- D-backs GM Dave Stewart continued his search for pitching Monday at the Winter Meetings, but with asking prices for free agents high and the cost in terms of talent it would take to make a deal, there was little progress made.
"[We're] gathering information and making sure we do our due diligence on our end to make sure that if we decide to do something we have the right information to make the right decision," Stewart said. "We're open and we're still listening. But obviously we haven't done anything, so the right situation, the right deal is not there."
The D-backs shocked the baseball world by agreeing to terms with Zack Greinke on a six-year, $206.5 million deal last week.
• D-backs snagged Greinke in one-day deal
Ideally, they would like to acquire one more starter, and Stewart said they do have some money left to spend, but not a lot of it.
"We have to be careful, I guess is the best way to put it," Stewart said. "When you talk about financial flexibility we do have some flexibility, but we just have to be careful."
Rumors continue to link the D-backs to free agent right-hander Mike Leake, but whether the D-backs have the $15 million to $18 million a year to offer Leake right now is not clear.
What seems more likely is the D-backs would add a starter via trade.
They've inquired on just about every young starter out there, from the Marlins' Jose Fernandez to the Braves' Shelby Miller to the Indians' Carlos Carrasco.
One player whom teams continue to ask for in return is outfielder A.J. Pollock, a player the organization is extremely hesitant to part with.
"He's a big part of a team, he's a big part of what makes our club tick," Stewart said. "We hold him in very, very high regard. What we decided is what we've been doing, which is to continue to listen. To say that we would decide not to move him I don't know that that would be the right answer. I think the right answer is just to continue to listen, to take in the information, to evaluate the situations that are presented to us, but with the understanding that we're not entering any room with the intention to trade A.J. Pollock."
And if that means they are not able to come away with a starter to join Greinke, Patrick Corbin, Rubby De La Rosa and Robbie Ray, it sounds like that wouldn't bother Stewart.
"If we do nothing, that might be the best thing," Stewart said.