Diamondbacks NewsDiamondbacks Sign Michael Soroka to Bolster 2026 Rotation by Michael McDermott [Dbacks Under Review]While it was pretty obvious upon signing, Arizona Sports insider John Gambadoro reported that Soroka will join the rotation. The signing simply improves the floor of their rotation, rather than their ceiling. He profiles more as a No. 4/5 starter than the future top of the rotation arm he was in his time in Atlanta.It gives the D-backs a plug-and-play arm, albeit one with a very scary injury history, for 2026. Soroka should give Arizona some solid innings when he’s healthy. The issue is projecting how many innings he’ll record.Why Michael Soroka Signing was Smart Move for D-backs by Alex D’Agostino [SI]Granted, his numbers haven’t been of the elite variety. He pitched to a 4.52 ERA in 2025 with the Nationals and Cubs, and was relegated to a long-relief role with Chicago after just one start.But it’s worth noting Soroka’s expected ERA was much lower — a 3.45 figure. He’s also struck out north of nine batters per nine innings in back-to-back seasons, and put together an All-Star campaign in 2019 with the Braves.His fastball is not a soft offering, sitting 93-94, and his hard-breaking slider-curve hybrid pitch was unhittable, posting a .118 opposing average in 2025 — the lowest figure of any qualified pitch in MLB.Soroka to Maricopa on One-Year Deal by Davy Andrews [FanGraphs]If anybody out there thought Soroka could turn into the 2019 version of himself, his contract would contain a lot more years and a lot more zeroes. Still, it’s an intriguing possibility, especially for a pitcher whose home mound will now be in front of one of the league’s largest outfields. Statcast’s park factors have Chase Field as the most triples-happy and second-most doubles-happy park in the game. Finding out whether Soroka can regain the groundball magic isn’t just intriguing; it could be the key to whether he’s able to succeed in Arizona. If he can’t, though, the Diamondbacks can always just move him back to the bullpen. That usually works out.Diamondbacks SS Geraldo Perdomo to represent Dominican Republic in World Baseball Classic by Alex Weiner [Arizona Sports]Perdomo is from Santo Domingo, his home country’s capital, out of which he signed with the D-backs as a teenager in 2016.The Dominican Republic will play a pair of exhibition games ahead of the tournament on March 3-4 against the Detroit Tigers in Santo Domingo before taking on Nicaragua on March 6 to begin group play.Jake Lamb retires, will rejoin Diamondbacks as coach by Nick Piecoro [AZ Central]Lamb will work with position players in the minors and majors with an emphasis on the mental side of the game, general manager Mike Hazen said.“I think he’ll do the majority of his work in player development, but he’ll definitely touch the major leagues at points in time,” Hazen said. “He’ll be mostly working with younger position players on the mental side of things, from a process standpoint, a routine standpoint, I think he’s very passionate about approach from offensive standpoint, and then infield, like, prepping to be major league infielder-type stuff.”Red Sox Reportedly Discussing Names In Potential Diamondbacks Blockbuster by Jackson Roberts [SI]“To date, the talks have included some exchanges of names by the two teams with Arizona intent on acquiring controllable starting pitching, preferably with some major league experience. …The source cautioned that no deal is close and estimated that the Red Sox are, at the same time, conducting trade talks with “three or four other” teams in an effort to improve their roster.” If any team is perfectly positioned to trade for Marte, it’s Boston. That doesn’t guarantee a thing, but the Diamondbacks want starting pitching, the Red Sox have as much high-end depth spanning the majors to High-A as anyone in the sport. Plus, the Red Sox are probably expecting to cut bait with either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu, and either would become the D-backs’ second-best outfielder instantly.Around the LeagueNo ‘untouchables’ on roster says Tigers president of baseball ops by Jason Beck [MLB]“Two, I’ve been pretty clear since I’ve been here: I don’t believe in untouchables at any level, anyone in our organization. It’s not a commentary on Tarik specifically, [but] sort of a blanket team-building approach. I can’t do my job without listening. I can’t do my job without exploring anything that may or may not have legs. Some are going to be very likely moves and some are going to be extremely unlikely, but you can’t actually fully vet those opportunities unless you are willing to listen. …Cooper Hummel To Sign With NPB’s Yokohama BayStars by Charlie Wright [MLB Trade Rumors] {Ed. Note: Former Snake farmhand is heading to the Land of the Rising Sun. Fun fact, I was stationed in the Tokyo area for a few years and only made it to one NPB game while there, but it was a Yokohama BayStars home game and I’ve had a soft spot for them ever since.}Hummel hit just .170 with three home runs and a stolen base at the big-league level last year. He now has a 58 wRC+ across 119 career games. Hummel debuted with the Diamondbacks in 2022. He came to the organization from the Brewers in a trade headlined by Eduardo Escobar. Hummel slashed .176/.274/.307 in 201 plate appearances with Arizona, his most extensive MLB work to date. He also had brief stretches with Seattle in 2023 and Houston in 2024.Hall of Fame chair: Steroids Era still hurting Bonds, Clemens [ESPN]“I’m not surprised because I think there’s overlap and obviously discussions among the writers and we have writers represented on that committee,” Hall chairman Jane Forbes Clark said Monday following a news conference with Kent at the winter meetings.Under a change announced by the Hall last March, candidates who received fewer than five votes from the 16-person panel are not eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle. A candidate who is dropped, later reappears on a ballot and again receives fewer than five votes would be barred from future ballot appearances.That means if Bonds and Clemens reappear on the contemporary era ballot in 2031 and fail to get five votes, they would be barred from future appearances unless the rules are changed.The Contemporary Committee Tabs Kent While Moving Towards Burying bonds, Clemens, and Sheffield by Jay Jaffe [FanGraphs]Astute readers of my coverage will note that those four candidates were the ones from this ballot whom I endorsed for election. I argued that Valenzuela, who barely made a dent in two years on the BBWAA ballot (2003–04), should be considered primarily as a modern-day pioneer for serving as a beloved global ambassador and international icon who brought generations of Mexican American and Latino fans to baseball. That’s on top of a very good — but not Hall-caliber — playing career which included six All-Star selections and four top-five finishes in the Cy Young voting, highlighted by his incredible age-20 season, in which he won the NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards, led the Dodgers to their first championship in 16 years, and emerged as the centerpiece of a cultural phenomenon, Fernandomania. As for Bonds, Clemens, and Sheffield, this was an extension of the support I gave them during their tenures on the BBWAA ballot, first virtually and then once I joined the voting pool starting with the 2021 cycle. All three were among the very best of their day, with Bonds and Clemens perhaps the best position player and pitcher of all time — period. As for their connections to PEDs, I’ve long drawn a distinction between PED use that dated to the time before testing and penalties were in place, when a complete institutional failure prevented the league and the union from adopting a coherent drug policy. This isn’t a fringe view within the BBWAA electorate, either. Particularly once Bud Selig, who as commissioner presided over the game’s steroid mess, was elected to the Hall via the 2017 Today’s Game election, all three received support from a substantial majority of Hall voters, climbing to at least 63% by the end of their runs on the ballot (2022 for Bonds and Clemens, 2024 for Sheffield).