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This article is part of a series of player reviews for the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks . It was a surprising and marvelous year for the team as they won 84 games to make the postseason. They advanced all the way to Game Five of the World Series before bowing out to the Texas Rangers. There are 54 players in all that had at least one at-bat or pitched at least one inning for the team this past season. They are being presented in reverse order of their aWAR (average WAR-Wins Above Replacement) produced, which is the average of Baseball Reference and Fangraphs WAR. These are their season stories.
Peter Strzelecki started his season out of the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen. It was his second year of pitching in the MLB and he had a decent 4.54 ERA over 36 games and 35.2 innings. He allowed just 10 walks and struck out 37 batters which was good for a 3.79 FIP. This was before he was sent down to the minor leagues. However, at the trade deadline, the Brewers needed a left-handed reliever. So, they traded Strzelecki to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Andrew Chafin. Upon the D-backs announcing the trade, he was sent down to the Reno Aces.
He eventually did get called up to serve as an extra reliever for the D-backs when they had a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres in August. He pitched in one game serving as part of the bulk rotation for a bullpen game. After the game was over, he was sent back to Triple-A where he pitched for the rest of the season.
The Reno Aces ballpark and environment is not one that pitchers enjoy pitching in. It's similar to Colorado. This helps explain why Strzelecki struggled mightily in his first experience with the Reno air and mound. Over his 13 games there, he had a 8.76 ERA and went 0-1 across his 12.1 innings. He gave up 12 runs and 12 hits while walking an alarming 16. He struck out 16 batters as well. The walks were at an abnormal rate for him as he had never walked more than 4.7 per nine innings in any other minor league or MLB stop that lasted for more than a game.
2024 Status and Outlook:
Peter Strzelecki is still on the 40-man roster and isn't yet eligible for arbitration. He's entering his age-29 season and will continue to serve as depth for the bullpen. There's a decent chance he can make the MLB Opening Day roster out of Spring Training if he pitches well. The D-backs need relievers as does every team. Plus, with Strzelecki's past history of success in the MLB, never a FIP above 3.93, then the D-backs very well might have another good reliever who doesn't reach free agency until 2029. He wouldn't be into arbitration until 2026. The outlook on Peter Strzelecki is quite good, so long as those walk issues in Reno were just a byproduct of it being Reno and not a new issue. Only time will tell.
More must-reads:
- Blue Jays' Trey Yesavage is already making the rest of MLB look foolish for passing on him
- Nationals set to hire MLB's youngest manager in over 50 years
- The 'World Series walk-off home runs' quiz
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Dodgers' Mookie Betts opens up about his World Series struggles
Los Angeles Dodgers star shortstop Mookie Betts is coming off the worst offensive season of his 12-year career, hitting .258/.326/.406 with 20 home runs, posting career lows in all slash line metrics. Now in the postseason, the 2018 MVP is costing the Dodgers their shot at consecutive World Series titles. After a hot start, Betts is 15-for-64 in the playoffs. In the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, he is just 3-for-23 without an extra-base hit. So far, Betts is one of two Dodgers players with more than 11 at-bats and no home runs, the other being Andy Pages. When asked by reporters about his struggles after the Dodgers' Game 5 loss, Betts had this to say as reported by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic: “I don’t want to speak on anybody else. But for myself, I’ve just been terrible … “I wish it were from lack of effort. But it’s not. I mean, that’s all I can say.” Mookie Betts is leading the Dodgers towards their demise With their loss on Wednesday, the Dodgers are on the ropes, down 3-2, facing elimination in Toronto on Friday. Overall, the Los Angeles offense has gone through detrimental quiet spells in inopportune times, scoring three runs in the past two games. If we include parts of the 18-inning game on Monday, that’s four runs in 29 innings. These lulls have greatly harmed the team’s chances at winning the World Series this season. And while the Dodgers have more than their fair share of laggards, Betts plays a crucial role for the team. His spot towards the top of the batting order is nestled among his fellow MVPs and top-producers. But unlike the other top bats around him, Betts has only accounted for a total of one run, scoring no RBI in this World Series. Every time the Blue Jays walked Ohtani, they did so inconsequentially, experiencing no trouble from Betts hitting behind him. Needless to say, if the Dodgers are going to hop back into the driver’s seat, their offense will need to wake up. Los Angeles has seen success despite Betts’ slump; but with no room for error, this is an all-hands-on-deck situation, and they will more than likely need something from their star shortstop aside from his stellar defense.
Raiders’ Mark Davis Sends Message Every Fan Needed to Hear
The Las Vegas Raiders have the best defensive player in the National Football League, in Maxx Crosby. Crosby has been a force to deal with over the last few years. He has been all over the quarterbacks he has faced during that time. He loves to play the game and do it for the Silver and Black. That has been his team since day one, and the team that believed in him, when no one else gave him his opportunity. Crosby is the face of the Raiders franchise, and he wants to win as badly as anyone for this organization. He is having another good season in 2025 and is looking to get better and create more chaos in the backfield for the offense. He is one of a kind, and the Raiders need to do a better job of putting a good team around him to capitalize on what type of player Crosby is. Raiders Owner Mark Davis on Maxx Crosby "Asked about interest in Crosby and the team's decision not to trade him, Raiders owner Mark Davis told NFL.com he doesn't understand why people keep asking," said NFL Insider Ian Rapoport. "I don't know how many times I've got to say it," Davis said this past week following the Fall League Meeting in New York. "It's really hard to keep getting asked the same question every month or week or whatever when the answer's going to stay the same. I don't know why anybody would think I'd change my mind or the organization would." This past offseason, the Raiders signed Crosby to a three-year, $106.5 million extension through the 2029 campaign. Davis knows it's natural for teams to take a look around the league and covet what isn't theirs. However, he said "everything about Maxx is awesome" and he doesn't see him leaving. "Everybody wants to have your great players," Davis said. "It starts there, it doesn't start with us." Crosby has also made it very clear that he wants to stay with the Silver and Black and win in Las Vegas. But it is a question that is always asked because of the bad product the Raiders are putting on the field. The Raiders will get to soon if they made the right adjustments during their bye week, in Week 9 agiant the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Three NHL coaches in danger of a midseason firing
The NHL season is just about a month in, with nearly every team having played 10 games so far. While several teams, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins, Seattle Kraken and Detroit Red Wings, have exceeded expectations, many have fallen short. A disappointing start means many coaches will face the ire of fans who call for their dismissal, fair or not. Which bench bosses are actually in danger of a mid-season firing? Let's take a look at three NHL coaches on the hot seat. Andrew Brunette, Nashville Predators After a brief stint as the Florida Panthers' interim head coach in 2021-22, Brunette was hired by the Predators in May 2023. So far, his results have been less than stellar. After a first round exit in 2024, the Predators ramped up that offseason, adding big names such as Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. Brunette was unable to translate this into success, as the Predators finished with just 30 wins and the third worst record in the NHL. This season, Nashville's struggles have continued, with a 4-5-2 record, good for 26th overall. Stamkos has just one goal and two points through 11 games and goaltender Juuse Saros sports a .905 save percentage, far below his career average of .914. With a 30th-ranked goals for per game (2.45) and power play (11.8%), if the Predators don't turn things around, Brunette could be the first head coach let go. Lindy Ruff, Buffalo Sabres The Sabres currently have the NHL's longest postseason drought at 14 seasons and have hopes of turning around their fortunes for the 2025-26 season. Ruff, who coached the Sabres from 1997-2013, returned to Buffalo for the 2024-25 season, which the Sabres ended in 26th place. After a rough 0-4-1 start, the Sabres bounced back, going 4-1-2 in their next seven games. However, as of Thursday, Buffalo is still out of a playoff spot as the Thanksgiving benchmark looms. The Sabres will need to improve their 12th-worst 3.10 goals against average, which should be helped as starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has returned from injury. While Ruff may have a little bit off leeway, come mid-season, if Buffalo doesn't project to play meaningful games in March and April, the Sabres may move on from the long-time NHL coach. John Hynes, Minnesota Wild Hynes' first two seasons in Minnesota have yielded subpar results: a sixth-place finish in 2023-24 and first round loss to Vegas in 2024-25. Although the Wild have made the playoffs eight of the past 10 seasons, they've yet to make it past the first round in any of those years. With superstar Kirill Kaprizov committing to Minnesota with a record breaking eight-year, $136 million contract, the Wild and Hynes desperately need to capitalize on the winger's prime years. A 3-5-3 start sees Minnesota in seventh place in the Central Division. They've struggled to keep the puck out of their net (fourth worst GAA in the league) and score at 5v5 (15 5v5 goals, worst in the league), leaving Hynes with some work to do. If Hynes can't turn things around in the State of Hockey, a mid-season firing may need to happen to jump start the team.
Dak Prescott addresses comment from Jerry Jones that infuriated Cowboys fans
Jerry Jones made some comments in a recent interview that angered Dallas Cowboys fans, and Dak Prescott says he can understand the frustration. The Cowboys have had one of the worst defenses in the NFL through the first eight weeks of the season. They rank 31st out of 32 teams in points allowed (31.3) and total yards allowed (404.6) per game. Jones has spoken openly about trying to find ways to fix that, but he was criticized for making light of the issues during a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. In the interview, which was published on Wednesday, Jones spoke about a $1B investment he has made in natural gas company Comstock Resources. The 83-year-old made a quip about how there is so much money to be made in natural gas that it has taken his attention away from the Cowboys' defensive struggles. "There's $100B present value with natural gas out there," Jones said. "That’s why I’m talking to you on the telephone rather than trying to fix our defense with the Dallas Cowboys.” Dak Prescott understands why Cowboys fans were angry Prescott was asked on Thursday about Cowboys fans being irritated with Jones' comments. The star quarterback defended Jones but said he understands where fans are coming from. "I don’t know the full context of it. I do know a piece of it. But being a fan and you just hear that or read that, yeah, of course. ... That can definitely be frustrating," Prescott said. "But in that sense, I would just say, the guy has never really lied about who he is or what he’s trying to do. "Hopefully he was talking about in that one particular moment. Maybe in those five minutes is what he was alluding to, and having a chance at a $100B opportunity I think you might take five minutes as well to answer a call. Hopefully that’s what he means, right? But I could see how it could be frustrating." Jones, of course, is not a passive team owner. He is still the general manager of the Cowboys, and many of his recent moves have been questioned. The most obvious was his decision to trade Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers just before the start of the 2025 season. Jerry Jones has tempered trade-deadline expectations While Jones has claimed he is open to any and all moves that might improve the Cowboys ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline, he said this week that nothing notable is close. He did not sound all that confident in that changing prior to Tuesday, though that could merely be posturing. The Cowboys acquired two first-round picks in the Parsons deal. Fans want Jones to use the additional draft capital to help the 2025 Cowboys make a run, but there is no guarantee of that happening.
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