Mike Hazen Addresses Media to Conclude Winter Meetings

The Diamondbacks' GM touched on a handful of topics as the Winter Meetings come to an end.

Nov 8, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks have seen the 2024 Winter Meetings come and go, without any significant moves or additions made to the major league roster.

On the final day, general manager Mike Hazen spoke to members of the media about the meetings themselves, potential moves, and the starting rotation going into 2025.

General Moves

Hazen acknowledged that nothing major came out of the Winter Meetings for the D-backs, but made sure to say that he still felt that it had been a productive week.

“A lot of meetings, didn’t really get much done. But there’s been progress made in some conversations in some areas, so we’ll see what happens. Wasn’t necessarily expecting anything to happen here. We’ll carry all these conversations forward," Hazen said.

“I feel like we have a little firmer understanding on some potential moves that we could make. It’s not anything happening right now, but I do feel like things have progressed a little bit in terms of specificity in conversation.

“There’s free agent situations and trade situations that are both out there for all the areas that we're looking at. So trying to put what combinations kind of go together in different ways is part of what we’re discussing right now,” he continued.

He did, however, note that time is of the essence with regard to making significant moves. While the D-backs might not have come to Dallas expecting major moves, the options to fill holes on the roster will dwindle as time goes on.

Hazen said there are certain moves, and roster holes that are more important to fill sooner rather than later, but that those haven't been clearly defined yet for him.

With the loss of utility infielder Kevin Newman, the D-backs are quite low on their backup shortstop options once more. Hazen said that it might be more likely to see Arizona look for an external option similarly to Newman than to see them find an internal solution, though both are on the table.

“That’s hard to say. … externally versus internally would be my guess, but we’ll see. … Not most likely, but I would say probably 60/40 externally,” Hazen said.

The Rotation

Hazen also touched on the young starters in the D-backs rotation, namely right-handers Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt.

Hazen praised the development from Nelson in 2024, as the young starter saw a major leap from a bottom-tier pitcher to one of Arizona's top arms.

"[Nelson] mixing his stuff was really good. He kept hitters guessing. He's obviously got an elite fastball. Changeup came along. I know he started mixing in a curveball.

"His pitchability, I think all that stuff has started. When you see a young starting pitcher start to put all those things together, I think you start to see the talent come together, and we saw that in the second half," Hazen said.

But it wasn't just Nelson. Young righty Brandon Pfaadt, despite pitching to a 4.71 ERA in 2024, took the heaviest load of innings, pitching a career-high 181.2 and serving as the anchor of the rotation at only 25 years old.

“Brandon's going to be fine. Brandon's going to be a really good pitcher in this league, and we're very fortunate to have him," said Hazen, "he's going to be in our rotation.”

Pfaadt's FIP and expected stats were significantly lower than the high 4.71 ERA. And it wasn't just him. The D-backs' pitching staff as a whole could be described as unlucky.

Hazen said that he maintains confidence in the rotation, and that the true talent at the core of these young arms is what makes him continue to believe in them, despite some ugly results.

"I think the raw talent of the players that we have in our rotation is what fuels my confidence that there's going to be a rebound," said Hazen, "I think we have guys competing for Cy Youngs that are in our rotation that are in the prime of their career. That's what fuels my confidence."

Roki Sasaki

Diamondbacks ON SI's Jack Sommers has written about the D-backs' chances to land Japanese phenom pitcher Roki Sasaki this month, and the topic was presented to Arizona's GM.

Notably, Hazen and his team have spent significant resources to scout Sasaki and have a presence in his camp - a move that isn't generally made if there's little to no chance of landing a player.

Hazen wouldn't clarify the extent to which the D-backs are potentially in on Sasaki, but did acknowledge his time spent in the process. He did confirm that he feels it's a worthwhile investment, and that Arizona would continue to maintain their presence internationally.

"We want to have a presence internationally. There's going to be more and more, I'm assuming, more and more players coming over. The last few years, there's been a lot of players coming in that we want to be players in that.

"I think part of your ability to sign those players is having a presence over there, including mine. Out of respect to seeing these players play and where they live and all that other stuff. I'd imagine that continues," Hazen said.

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