Following the trade of Aaron Hill to the Brewers, we wrote about the curious position of the Diamondbacks' financial position. Despite a new revenue stream coming on tap, from the Fox Sports Arizona deal, the payroll this year is looking likely to be significantly lower than it was in 2015: we're currently looking at an Opening Day figure of around $81 million, over $10m less than last year, and well short of the payroll figures we were hearing at the start of the off-season, which were closer to $100 million.
Time is obviously running out, what with pitchers and catchers now reporting in less than two weeks, but in comments today to Nick Piecoro, it appears that GM Dave Stewart is still looking to improve the bullpen, and thinks that free agency is a more likely option than trade.