Do The Diamondbacks Have a Plan?

Going into the off-season the Arizona Diamondbacks didn't have many holes to fill. They had an exceptional amount of pitching depth, and five viable outfielders. Their biggest weakness was at shortstop, and with an excess of starting pitching, and outfielders it appeared that they had the pieces to make some type of deal.

They traded Chris Young to the Oakland Athletics in a three way deal that landed them Cliff Pennington, and reliever Heath Bell. They also traded Trevor Bauer to Cleveland in another three way trade, and in that trade they acquired minor league shortstop Didi Gregorius. They also received reliever Trevor Sipp, and first baseman Lars Anderson.

The Diamondbacks already had a strong bullpen, so these moves were confusing to say the least. Jeff Moore of The Hardball Times tries to figure out what the Diamondbacks were doing, and if they had any type of plan at all.

The offense is still good, but not great. The starting pitching is deep but young, and the bullpen has the typical assortment of Kevin Towers arms that should make it a strength. But the 2013 Diamondbacks look, in large part, very much like the 2012 version that was a .500 team and missed out on the playoffs.

The Diamondbacks had an opportunity to make a few specific moves to fill a few specific holes this offseason, but instead made one arbitrary move after another in a disjointed attempt to add talent without addressing the specific needs of their team.

The Diamondbacks also signed Brandon McCarthy, and Cody Ross to two year deals. The Diamondbacks already had depth at pitching, and in the outfield, so these moves definitely seem confusing.

Question for the community:

1) What do you think the Diamondbacks were thinking with these moves?

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