The Diamondbacks did not tender contracts to Jeff Salazar, Robby Hammock and Wilfredo Ledezma making them all free agents. 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeff Salazar played in 90 games last season for the D-Backs and he was 27 for 128 (.211 avg, .675 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. He has now played in 147 games in his major league career and he is 68 for 275 (.247 avg, .725 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 4 homers, 30 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Salazar was quickly snapped up by the Pittsburgh Pirates. 31-year old righty swinging catcher Robby Hammock was also shown the door. He played in 18 games for the D-Backs this season and he was 8 for 42 (.190 avg, .506 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Hammock finished his career with the Diamondbacks having played in 180 games in which he was 122 for 479 (.255 avg, .722 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 12 homers, 48 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. 27-year old lefty reliever Wilfredo Ledezma pitched in 28 games (6 starts) with the Padres and D-Backs in 2008 and he was 15-22 with a 5.10 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. The D-Backs shouldn’t miss any of these guys in 2009.

The D-Backs have acquired 35-year old lefty reliever Scott Schoeneweis from the New York Mets for 27-year old righty reliever Connor Robertson. Schoeneweis pitched in 73 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs last year and he was 2-6 with 1 save, a 3.34 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has now pitched in 517 games (93 starts) in his major league career and he is 45-55 with 9 saves, a 4.91 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Connor Robertson only worked in 6 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs last season and he was 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has now pitched in 9 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with a 8.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. This was a good trade for the D-Backs as Robertson was a throwaway.

The D-Backs didn’t tender 28-year old righty swinging infielder/outfielder Chris Burke a contract for 2009 making him a free agent. Burke played in 86 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 32 for 165 (.194 avg, .583 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Burke has now played in 445 games in his major league career and he is 286 for 1,185 (.241 avg, .681 OPS) with 168 runs scored, 22 homers, 106 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. The D-Backs won’t miss Burke much in 2009.

The Diamondbacks selected 23-year old lefty swinging catcher James Skelton in the Rule 5 Draft. Skelton was the Tigers’ #27 prospect heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. He played in 86 games in A + AA ball last season and he was 89 for 295 (.302 avg, .885 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 5 homers, 34 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. The D-Backs might keep three catchers in 2009 if they really like what they see in spring training from Skelton.

The D-Backs have signed 28-year old switch hitting Felipe Lopez to a 1-year, $3.5 million dollar deal to play 2B in 2009. Lopez played in 143 games last season for the Nationals and Cardinals in which he was 136 for 481 (.283 avg) with 64 runs scored, 6 homers, 46 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 873 games in his major league career in which he is 838 for 3,201 (.262 avg, .725 OPS) with 448 runs scored, 71 homers, 334 RBIs and 109 stolen bases. If Lopez stays focused like he did when he joined the Cardinals last season the D-Backs might have a steal at $3.5 million bucks.