Dbacks and NL West Notes

The Arizona Diamondbacks will play their first game of Spring Training tomorrow against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In anticipation of that game, we bring you some news and notes from the Diamondbacks and the other teams in the NL West:

Dbacks links

-          Minorleagueball.com (a site within SBNation) released their Top 20 Prospects for the Arizona Diamondbacks this week. It’s no surprise that super-prospect Archie Bradley tops the list.      

-          In a recent post on Fangraphs, Dave Cameron presents his 10 Worst Transactions of the 2014 offseason and the Diamondbacks take up two spots on his list.

-          Dbacks beat reporter, Steve Gilbert writes about how Chris Owings has earned his way back into the conversation of “shortstop of the future” and that his future is now. In the article, Manager Kirk Gibson has high praise for the young infielder.

-          A great piece in The New York Times about Gerardo Parra and the tremendous defensive value he brings to the Diamondbacks. In the article, the author talks about when Parra was first signed out of Venezuela, some scouts saw him as a pitcher who could throw in the low 90s and held comparisons to Johan Santana.

NL West Links

-          Dodgers outfielder, Yasiel Puig, may be enjoying life in America a little too much. The explosive Cuban star known for his aggressiveness, gained 26 pounds this offseason and the Dodgers are paying attention.

-          Zack Greinke upset Australian officials and scrambled the Dodgers PR department after his negative comments about the team’s opening series down under against Arizona.

-          Buster Posey is satisfied with MLB’s new plate collision rules. Posey, who was injured in 2011 during a collision with Marlins OF Scott Cousins said, “What I take away from it is, it eliminates the malicious collision, which is a good thing.”

-          San Diego Padres third baseman, Chase Headley, may miss up to two or three weeks after straining his calf during Spring Training drills last Saturday. Headley also had minor knee surgery this offseason.

-          After months of speculation, Carlos Gonzalez will be staying put in left field for the Rockies. It was thought that Gonzalez would transition to center after Colorado traded Dexter Fowler to Houston but it now appears that Drew Stubbs will take that spot.

-          Colorado starter, Jhoulys Chacin, has been shut down for at least a week due to should inflammation. Jon Heyman reported earlier this week that the team has also reportedly checked in on free agent Ervin Santana.