From the bullpen http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , same way as we talk about Arizona’s relievers last week. We start today by listing the potential candidates and asking you to rank them in order of quality, then on Wednesday., we’ll discuss the results and ask you to tell us who you think actually will make the Opening Day roster in those roles. No shortage of candidates to discuss, though I’m going to assume for the purposes of this exercise that Ketel Marte will indeed be moving to the outfield as our cernter-fielder. The team has been increasingly stating that’s the case. Maybe it’s just a feint.... Anyway. he’ll be discussed in the outfielder category down the road.The candidatesHere are the players on the 40-man roster along with the non-roster invitees who’ll be showing up at Salt River Fields this week (the NRIs don’t have a number). Nick Ahmed (13)Alex Avila (31)Jazz ChisholmKevin Cron (68)Eduardo Escobar (5)Wilmer Flores (41)Tyler HeinemanCarson Kelly (18)Jake Lamb (22)Domingo Leyba (74)Wyatt MathisenJohn Ryan Murphy (36)Juniel QuerecutoKelby TomlinsonIldemaro Vargas (15)Daulton VarshoChristian Walker (53)Andy YoungLink to pollYou get to drag and drop these in the order of preference., from the best at the top, down to the worst at the bottom. It’s going to be interesting to see who ends up where: now Paul Goldschmidt is no longer with Arizona, I couldn’t guarantee you who will end up on top of the chart. There are there or four possible candidates, for whom you could make a case. So I’m curious about the results here. As before, options are not to be considered an issue here, because we’ll be discussing those as a factor later in the week. However, let’s take a quick look around the diamond and see who are the leading contenders at each position, as we head into spring training.CatcherNew arrival Carson Kelly looks set to be the frontline catcher. But we’ll see whether Torey Lovullo goes with the “personal catcher” approach again: in particular, who’ll be Zack Greinke’s regular battery-mate? The other question is, will the D-backs carry three catchers on the roster again? They did last season http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , though it’s hard to see it proving effective. If not, then John Ryan Murphy could find himself on the outside. First baseReplacing Paul Goldschmidt will probably be the biggest issue the D-backs face this season. It seems that Jake Lamb will be the primary occupant - at least, against right-handed pitching. With a 281-point split in OPS, it’ll be interesting to see how many left-handers Jake gets to see this year. The team has alternatives like Kevin Cronand Christian Walker from the other side of the plate. Second basePresuming that Marte is indeed headed for an outfield role, it seems that Wilmer Flores is probably going to be the everyday starter here. But as at most spots on the infield, it does seem that flexibility is going to be key. Depending on how far Torey Lovullo wants to platoon things, we may see a very different line-up against left-handed and right-handed opposing starters. ShortstopNick Ahmed became the full-time shortstop for the first time in his career, surpassing his previous high in plate-appearances by more than a hundred. His power spiked, hitting 16 home-runs, though his on-base percentage remained disappointingly low, at below .300. Still, his defense was as good as ever, winning Ahmed his first Gold Glove, and overall, it was a very productive season. Hopefully Anthony Rizzo Jersey , he can repeat it in 2019. Third baseWith Lamb moving across the diamond, it looks like the hot corner will be manned this year by Eduardo Escobar, signed to a contract extension in an unexpected move early in the off-season. Overall, he has been mostly a shortstop in his career, but over the last couple of years, Escobar has spent more time at third. He’s a switch-hitter, slightly better from the right-hand side - but at only a 35-point OPS difference, it’s considerably smaller than Jake’s split. JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — All-Star reliever Andrew Miller wonders whether, by signing Manny Machado, the San Diego Padres are becoming the new face of “Moneyball.”“Zig when you zag, maybe that’s what the Padres are doing right now,” the St. Louis newcomer said. “Maybe that’s what other teams, the teams that do stand out, maybe they’ll find success.”The Machado signing is the second premium free agent deal in as many seasons for the Padres http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , who surprised last year by signing Eric Hosmer.In the late 1990s, Billy Beane, then Oakland’s general manager, used analytics to identify baseball skills undervalued in the free agent market — on-base percentage, at the time — to build the low-budget A’s into a contender.So many teams adopted Beane’s approach that Miller believes analytics-driven front offices have devolved into a “group think” mindset.“Really, what I remember from it, Billy Beane’s perspective is that whatever everybody else is paying for, we need to do the opposite,” Miller said. “That’s kind of not where we are right now. Right now we’re in a world where it seems like everybody likes to think alike, so they’re all paying for the same thing — or not paying for it.”In a slow-moving offseason market, the signing of proven major league talent talent to lengthy free agent deals hasn’t been near the top of most team’s priorities. Bryce Harper, Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are among the top players still without spots.Miller became one of the few high-profile free agents to sign early when he joined St. Louis on a two-year, $25 million deal in December.He understands that some free agents want to extend the free agent courting process as long as possible in search of the best deal, but Miller chose the early “comfort” of knowing where he’ll playing in 2019.“The last couple offseasons, in particular Andre Dawson Jersey , I think built to this,” Miller said of the current logjam.With spring training games set to start Thursday, dozens of free agents remain unsigned.“I think that, obviously, it was nice to see Manny come off the board yesterday, but ultimately it’s a lot more than one player,” Miller said. “Even the guys that are getting deals that they’re happy with, the timing of it is unique compared to what we saw in the past. It used to be a couple guys maybe played the long game. Now it seems like a lot of guys have no choice. The stories that we hear when guys show up to camp is that they had no offers.”Kimbrel, who saved at least 30 games in each of the past eight seasons, remains one of the most prominent free agents still in play.“I have no idea what negotiations are with him, but he makes every team better,” said Miller, a 13-year veteran whose six previous stops include a stint with the New York Yankees. “He could fit into the Yankee bullpen.”