Diamondbacks sign Adam LaRoche to a 1 year contract
January 14th, 2010 | by Amit Lal |The Diamondbacks have signed former Pirate and Brave 1B Adam LaRoche to a one year contract worth around $4-5M. LaRoche hit .277/.355/.488 with 25 HR and 83 RBI in 2009, and is a career .274/.343/.491 hitter. He has been remarkably consistent over the last 4 years, hitting between .270 and .285 each season, with an OBP between .340 and .355. He has also hit at least 20 HR for 5 consecutive seasons.
This signing probably means that Brandon Allen will start the season in AAA, and that Conor Jackson will be the starter in LF. The lineup now looks like this:
C Miguel Montero
1B Adam LaRoche
2B Kelly Johnson
SS Stephen Drew
3B Mark Reynolds
LF Conor Jackson
CF Chris Young
RF Justin Upton
Bench: Chris Snyder, Tony Abreu, Augie Ojeda, Gerardo Parra (or Ryan Roberts), Eric Byrnes
(leaving Brandon Allen, Rusty Ryal, and Parra or Roberts in AAA). The team is still hoping to unload Eric Byrnes, but his contract makes him virtually untradeable.
Tags: Adam LaRoche, Brandon Allen
By newportnik on Jan 14, 2010
What do you think the batting order will be? I think Drew will lead off, but where do you see the rest of these guys falling?
By Amit Lal on Jan 14, 2010
I think Drew is the likely leadoff hitter. I would like to see Conor Jackson and his .370 OBP near the top of the order, but I think Kelly Johnson will probably get the #2 slot. Right now, my guess is:
SS Drew
2B Johnson
RF Upton
1B LaRoche
3B Reynolds
LF Jackson
C Montero
CF Young
Pitcher
By newportnik on Jan 15, 2010
I think that would be a pretty good lineup
By Jimmy S on Jan 18, 2010
You guys will just love Laroche. His glove at first is underrated and he is a great club house guy. His is noted for his slow starts, but when he reachs his stride he will be hard to handle.
As a brave fan I wish we were able to have held onto him. But our loss is your gain and I wish you guys the best.
I might mention that If Johnson is healthy you have gotten a great deal and he deserves another shot.
But one thing, I don’t think Rochie is a four hitter. He is better as a five or six guy and that is looking back at his past lineup spots.
Have a great season guys.
By Amit Lal on Jan 19, 2010
Yes, in the past LaRoche has hit much better later in the order:
Career OPS by Batting Order Position:
4th: .784
5th: .808
6th: .865
7th: .994
It’s not clear if that is the significant data, or if that is related to his huge 1st Half (.773)/2nd Half(.909)splits.
The other factor is that the big sluggers on the D’backs are mostly RH batters – Upton, Reynolds, CoJackson, CYoung, with Montero, SDrew, and KJohnson batting lefty. I think LaRoche will have to be no lower than 5th to break up the right handed hitters.
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