Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a three-year, $42 million contract with veteran outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., according to ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel.

The contract allows Gurriel to opt out after the second season, while the Diamondbacks will have a club option after the fourth year if he remains in Arizona to that point.

Gurriel's performance in the first half of the 2023 season helped catapult him to his first All-Star appearance. He had 15 home runs and a .263/.316/.493 slash line in 79 games. Across the rest of the year, he hit nine homers and slugged .425.

The 30-year-old also remained productive in the postseason, batting .273 and slugging .455 as the Diamondbacks won their first National League pennant since 2001.

While Gurriel's production can vary from month to month, he has been fairly consistent when the dust settles. He has hit double digits in home runs in all but one of his six MLB seasons, and he has never finished with an OPS+ lower than 106.

In the field, Gurriel can line up in a few different positions, which only adds to his overall value. The bulk of his time has been spent in left field (435 games), but he has also occupied shortstop (46 games), second base (33 games) and first base (24 games).

That can be a nice luxury for a manager since the normal course of a season inevitably requires making changes to the lineup.

With the way their outfield figures to shake out, Gurriel might be handling designated hitter duty more often than not, though. Reigning Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll isn't going anywhere and could be the Opening Day starter in left. Alek Thomas will be similarly penciled in at center. The question might be whether Carroll starts in right ahead of Jake McCarthy, which would pave the way for Gurriel to occupy left.

Arizona hasn't done anything transformative as it embarks on its NL title defense but signing Eduardo Rodriguez and acquiring Eugenio Suárez should generally put the roster on stronger footing. Re-signing Gurriel gives the Diamondbacks some more outfield depth and helps to balance what can be a left-handed-heavy offense.

J.D. Martinez was excellent for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2023 season, hitting .271 with 33 homers, 103 RBI, 61 runs and a .893 OPS in just 113 games.

But he spent 110 of those games serving as the designated hitter, a role that the team's new $700 million man, Shohei Ohtani, will be filling for the next decade. Martinez isn't going to be back in Los Angeles, in other words, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Sunday that the Arizona Diamondbacks are "hopeful" of signing him in free agency.

Martinez, 36, would be an upgrade in that role for Arizona. The six-time All-Star would provide more pop than the collection of players the Diamondbacks used at designated hitter in 2023, which included Pavin Smith, Tommy Pham, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Evan Longoria, among others.

Nightengale added that Justin Turner was "also in play" for Arizona, who had a bounce-back season for the Boston Red Sox (.276 with 23 homers, 96 RBI and a .800 OPS) after a tough season in 2022, his final with the Dodgers.

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed former Detroit Tigers pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez to a four-year, $80 million contract in free agency, and general manager Mike Hazen couldn't be more excited to have him on board.

"We're getting a known starting pitcher that has the upside to throw 175 to 200 innings with good stuff," Hazen said Friday, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. "I think he's someone who slots into our rotation, I don't know exactly where, but in that top four, and I feel like it gives us a fairly formidable four guys. And that five spot is likely to be the young guys competing, and I think that's good, too."

After falling to the Texas Rangers in the World Series, the Diamondbacks set out to improve their roster this winter with hopes of contending for a title in 2024.

Rodriguez figures to be a key member of Arizona's rotation next season and beyond, bolstering a group that is headlined by Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly.

However, the D-Backs aren't done adding just yet, according to Hazen. After landing an arm, Arizona has shifted its focus to adding another bat to go alongside the likes of Corbin Carroll and Christian Walker.

"We're going to focus on offense right now," Hazen said. "We're not done yet."

Rodriguez became a free agent this winter after opting out of his contract with Detroit that had three years and $49 million remaining.

Sensing that Rodriguez was going to opt out of his contract, the Tigers tried to trade him to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2023 deadline, but he invoked his 10-team no-trade clause and blocked a deal, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported at the time.

Rodriguez ended up putting together a career year in Detroit, posting a 13-9 record, 3.30 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 143 strikeouts in 152.2 innings across 26 starts. However, the Tigers finished 78-84 and missed the playoffs for the ninth straight year.

In his two seasons with the Tigers, Rodriguez went 18-14 with a 3.58 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 215 strikeouts in 243.2 innings across 43 starts.

Prior to joining the Tigers, Rodriguez spent six seasons with the Boston Red Sox, helping the team win a World Series in 2018. He went 64-39 with a 4.16 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 892 strikeouts in 856.2 innings across 153 starts.

Free-agent pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez will reportedly join the National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks, per ESPN's Jeff Passan, who provided further details:

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic provided more information:

According to Rosenthal on Wednesday, the left-hander was down to the Cincinnati Reds and Diamondbacks. MLB Network's Jon Heyman previously reported Rodríguez was deciding between two unknown teams and expected to sign with a club by Thursday.

Rodríguez spent the last two years of his career with the Detroit Tigers before opting out of the final three years and $49 million remaining on his contract to become a free agent this offseason.

The Tigers attempted to trade Rodríguez at the 2023 season's deadline but he nixed a deal to the Los Angeles Dodgers, invoking his 10-team no-trade clause. The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya reported at the time that he wanted to stay closer to his family on the East Coast.

"The restrictions, such as they were in July, aren't applying right now, so he is open-minded," Morosi said. "There were some thoughts and reports that, perhaps, the Mets were involved, but I believe, Lauren, that there are teams that are even more interested than the New York Mets in Rodríguez."

While Rodríguez isn't on the same level as Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, he's still a very reliable starter and would make a great addition to any contending team.

One of Rodríguez's best seasons came in 2019 when he was a member of the Boston Red Sox. He posted a 19-6 record with a 3.81 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 213 strikeouts in 203.1 innings across 34 starts.

While the 30-year-old isn't quite on that level anymore, he still had an impressive 2023 season with the Tigers, posting a 13-9 record with a 3.30 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 143 strikeouts in 152.2 innings across 26 starts.

With Rodriguez off the board, teams may become more desperate to land pitching help, especially if they are out on the likes of Ohtani, Yamamoto and Blake Snell.

One perk from winning the National League pennant is it's easier to tweak your look a little bit, as the Arizona Diamondbacks are doing with their jerseys in 2024.

The Diamondbacks offered a look at their "refreshed and recharged" new-look jerseys they will be wearing throughout next season.

The traditional home jersey will be primarily off-white, with the classic "A" logo in red and teal on the left side and a snakehead on the right sleeve.

The Diamondbacks' primary road jersey will be a traditional gray that features the city name in sharp red lettering across the chest and snakehead on the left sleeve. The cap is black with a red brim and the snake "D" logo.

Arizona is incorporating two alternate jerseys—one black and one red—into its rotation. The black jersey has been used by the franchise since its second season in 1999. This one will include teal piping and the red "A" logo on the chest.

The alternate red jerseys feature the Diamondbacks name in black lettering embroidered on the chest and player numbers in teal coloring. This marks the first notable uniform change for the franchise since the 2017 season.

It's a smart move for the Diamondbacks to keep drumming up interest in the team going into 2024. They went five consecutive seasons without a postseason appearance from 2018 to '22, including three straight losing years, prior to last season.

Despite having the fewest wins (84) of any team in the playoff field, the Diamondbacks defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies to reach the World Series for the second time in franchise history.

Even though the D-Backs' quest for a title ended with a loss to the Texas Rangers in the Fall Classic, their stock is skyrocketing right now.

Corbin Carroll was the unanimous choice for NL Rookie of the Year and finished fifth in NL MVP voting. Zac Gallen was third in NL Cy Young voting.

The Diamondbacks will show off their new threads starting on March 28 when they open the 2024 season at home against the Colorado Rockies.