There’s no formal date yet for pitchers and catchers reporting to Salt

It still seems like there’s work to be done http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , but let’s not panic."River Fields for the Diamondbacks. But the teams which have announced their schedule are around the February 12-13 point on the calendar, which means there’s probably about four weeks left to go. Arizona still has a number of questions that need to be answered with regard to its Opening Day roster. We’ll be looking at each of these between now and P&C Report day, but it seems a good point to have a quick overview, and see where the team stands. There’s also a poll, as to which of these you consider most important, and that will decided the order in which the more detailed reports are done. However, it is worth noting that the winter movement of players, whether in trade or free-agency, has generally been slow again, as it was last year. Unlike some, I don’t regard this as an indication that baseball’s economy is “broken,” it’s just a market adjustment. That’s probably the topic for a separate, rather extended, piece, however! What I will do, is point out that Mike Hazen has been something of a late shopper over his previous winters in charge of the Diamondbacks, swooping in late to pick up a bargain from the remainder aisle. Here are the dates of the players he has signed in the last two off-seasons, which took place between now and Opening Day. January 18, 2017 - Signed Gregor BlancoJanuary 20, 2018 - Signed Fernando SalasJanuary 31, 2018 - Signed Alex AvilaFebruary 7, 2017 - Signed Daniel DescalsoFebruary 19, 2017 - Signed Jorge De La RosaFebruary 19, 2018 - Signed Jarrod DysonFebruary 20, 2018 - Traded for Taylor Widener and Steven SouzaFebruary 22, 2018 - Signed Jorge De La RosaMarch 3, 2017 - Signed T.J. McFarlandMarch 28, 2017 - Selected Christian Walker off waivers In other words, that’s 20% of our current likely Opening Day roster (Avila, Dyson, Souza, McFarland and Walker) who were signed after this point in previous off-seasons. Based on both 2017 and 2018 Hector Rondon Jersey , we should expect to see another four or five names of note added to the squad before the meaningful games get under way on April 5. What are the questions the team still needs to address? In no particular order, the ones that come to mind are:Who’s on first?We all know why this is a question, and whoever takes over at first-base for the 2019 D-backs are going to have some clown-sized shoes to fill. They’re almost certainly going to be found wanting, in comparison to the previous incumbent, making the position a bit of a poison pill for whoever takes over. Despite rumblings that the team might kick the tires on Adrian Gonzalez, the two main candidates appear to be internal. The team could go with Christian Walker, or move Jake Lamb across from third-base. We may even end up with a platoon of those two players, given Lamb’s historical struggles against left-handed pitching, Whatever happens may also have a domino effect over the rest of the infield. Bullpen rolesWith the decision to non-tender 2018 closer Brad Boxberger (one of the still unemployed), the position is open to applications. Yoshihisa Hirano took over the role after Boxberger lost it in September, but it doesn’t appear he’s the natural heir to the throne. When Torey Lovullo was asked about this at the winter meetings, he said, “I think if you were going to come up here and arm wrestle me and force me to give you a decision, I’ll probably start with Archie Bradley as the extreme back end of the equation.” However, each of the two previous winters, we’ve seen Mike Hazen go out and get a new pitcher for the role, in Fernando Rodney and Boxberger. I wouldn’t bet against him making it three in a row. Look at me... I can be... CenterfieldLittle less of a gap than at first needs to be filled in center. However, A.J. Pollock’s health issues mean he has been considerably less than ever-present: over the past five seasons, he has averaged only 85 starts a year in CF. But he still needs to be replaced. The internal options appear fine defensively: Socrates Brito and Jarrod Dyson should be able to fill in there effectively. The problem is on the offensive side, where neither man, historically, has been able to hit worth a damn. This is why, as we’ve discussed previously, the team is considering moving Ketel Marte there. As with the potential solutions at first, however, making that change could open up a hole elsewhere on the infield. Pitching depthThe starting five in the 2019 rotation seems fairly well set at the present time. Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Zack Godley, Luke Weaver and Merrill Kelly. But as we quickly saw in 2018, you won’t get very far with just five pitchers. April 20th, to be exact, was the date last year on which Arizona needed to begin dipping into their pitching depth http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , and ended the season having used 11 different starters. That’s about par: over the past decade for Arizona, the number had varied between nine and twelve. But after Kelly, things get considerably more murky for the D-backs. You have somewhat known quantities like Matt Koch, and untested prospects like Jon Duplantier, Widener or Taylor Clarke. We asked Jake Devin what makes the Evil Empire exciting this year."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Tigers AnalysisDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookDetroit Tigers Game ThreadsDetroit Tigers NewsDetroit Tigers PodcastsBehind Enemy Lines: Talking Yankees with Pinstripe AlleyNew,2commentsWe asked Jake Devin what makes the Evil Empire exciting this year.EDTShareTweetShareShareBehind Enemy Lines: Talking Yankees with Pinstripe AlleyVincent Carchietta-USA TODAY SportsWho would have thought going into a series against the much-feared AL East juggernaut Yankees, that the Tigers would actually have the better record? Sure, small sample size, and the Tigers had the benefit of a four-game series over the Yankees three-games against the Orioles, but still... let’s enjoy this while we can.That said, the Yankees won’t go gentle into a Tigers series, especially on home turf. After dropping two-of-three to the O’s — a team widely predicted to be the worst in baseball in 2019 — the Yankees will have something to prove. We took some time to chat with Jake Devin, a writer and editor for the SB Nation Yankee’s site Pinstripe Alley, about what makes the Yankees exciting this year, and which players we might not be paying enough attention to. BYB: What would you say is the biggest thing the Yankees need to focus on early this year for success?JD:This is simplistic to say, but they just have to take advantage of a light early-season schedule and not play down to the competition. This is not meant as disrespect to the likes of Detroit, Baltimore, and Kansas City! The Yankees just happen to start off the season playing teams that are currently at a different point in the cycle of success. As they saw in struggling with the Orioles last series, these games against rebuilding teams aren’t gimmies, and they need to stay focused and start strong.There’s a lot of exciting young talent on the Yankees roster. We all know Judge and Stanton, but who would you say is a player that doesn’t get enough credit?It might seem crazy to say Gleyber Torres, since he entered last season as a top-10 global prospect and finished in the top-three of Rookie of the Year voting, but I’m not sure even Yankees fans have truly appreciated how strong he’s started. He hit 24 homers in 123 games despite never hitting more than 11 in a season in the minors, and was hitting .294/.350/.555 before going down with injury last year. He’s a stud.Not to wish injury on anyone, but would you say there’s a position where the Yankees don’t have enough depth if an injury did occur?Well, since they’ve already suffered injury there, starting pitching! With Luis Severino and CC Sabathia hurt, they’re down to relying on Domingo German and Luis Cessa, and Gio Gonzalez waiting as insurance. Any more injuries and the depth falls off even further. They can ill-afford any one of Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and J.A. Happ getting hurt in the coming weeks.Who was the most exciting offseason acquisition in your opinion? I’d say Paxton pretty easily. We’ve covered at our site thoroughly his bonafides as an ace, though of course Jimmy Wynn Jersey , it comes down to staying on the field for him. But the shot at a 180+ inning season from Paxton is positively tantalizing, and he flashed his elite stuff in breezing through the Orioles lineup this weekend.What Tigers player do you think poses the biggest risk to the Yankees in this series?From a distance, it might still be Miguel Cabrera. I know he’s had a couple of miserable seasons, but his Statcast figures indicate he still puts a charge into the ball consistently. I’ll forever be wary of his bat when he’s healthy.That being said, after his start last week, maybe I should be saying Jordan Zimmermann! He’s going Tuesday, and if he looks anything like he did in his opening start, he’ll be up to the task of facing this Yankees lineup.The AL East is going to be a tough division to win this year, how many games do you think the Yankess will win, and where do you think they’ll finish in the standings?I thought they looked like clear favorites after the winter, but then Severino, Sabathia, Dellin Betances, and Aaron Hicks all ran into injury trouble during spring. That was enough to put them into a near dead-heat with Boston for me, though I still like New York’s roster just slightly better on the whole. Forced to make a prediction, I say 97 wins and the AL East title over the Red Sox by one game. What’s your favorite Yankees storyline that fans should keep an eye on this year?The Yankees publicly intimated that they were a “fully-operational death star” this offseason. While that never materialized into a vintage Yankees spending spree, I can’t wait to see if they’ll be that death star on the field this year, specifically when it comes to their lineup. A heart of the order that includes Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez should absolutely terrorize opposing pitchers, to an extent that they didn’t quite last season. Will that trio, plus the likes of Luke Voit, Miguel Andujar, and Torres, strike fear in the hearts of all challenge them? Or will Stanton’s slight decline continue from last season, will Sanchez fail to bounce back, and will the young kids suffer through a sophomore slump? There are no guarantees in either direction, but the pure monumental upside of the lineup has me thrilled.We want to thank Jake for taking the time to chat with us and giving us a little more insight into the newest version of the Yankees. You can find more of Jake’s work at Pinstripe Alley, or follow him on Twitter @JakePDevin.