With Conor Jackson possibly starting in left field in 2009 the D-Backs may go with Chad Tracy at 1B. The 28-year old Tracy played in 88 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 73 for 273 (.267 avg, .722 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 8 homers and 39 RBIs. Tracy made 4 errors in 65 games at 1B for the D-Backs last season so he could improve in that area in 2009. Tracy was once a very promising hitter for the D-Backs before injuries derailed his last couple of seasons so it would be no surprise to see him put up some impressive numbers this season.

26-year old righty swinging Conor Jackson will likely start at either 1B or LF for the D-Backs in 2009. Where he will play will depend a lot on how well Eric Byrnes performs this spring. Jackson played in 144 games for the D-Backs last year and he was 162 for 540 (.300 avg, .822 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 12 homers, 75 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Jackson has more range than Chad Tracy at 1B but he still made 4 errors in 68 games there last season for the D-Backs.

36-year old switch hitting Tony Clark has been re-signed by the D-Backs to provide some ooomph off the bench in 2009. He played in 108 games for the Padres & D-Backs last season in which he was 34 for 151 (.225 avg, .677 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers and 24 RBIs. Clark only made 2 errors in 26 games at 1B but he doesn’t look to get much playing time in the field unless Tracy or Jackson are injured in 2009.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C

The D-Backs have designated 28-year old righty reliever Jalien Peguero for assignment to make room on the roster for Bobby Korecky. Peguero pitched in 7 games (0 starts) last season for the D-Backs in which he was 0-0 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in his career with the D-Backs and he was 1-0 with a 7.50 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. The D-Backs just felt that Korecky had a better chance to help them this season than Peguero did.

UPDATE: The D-Backs have released Jalien Peguero.

The D-Backs have claimed 29-year old righty reliever Bobby Korecky off waivers from the Twins. Korecky pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Twins last season and he was 2-0 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He also pitched in 53 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 6-5 with 26 saves, a 2.91 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. This was a decent pick up for the D-Backs who could definately use the help in the bullpen.

The D-Backs will be again going with 28-year old righty swinging Chris Snyder and 25-year old lefty swinging Miguel Montero at catcher in 2009. Snyder played in 115 games for the D-Backs last year and he was 79 for 334 (.237 avg, .800 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 16 homers and 64 RBIs. He was solid on defense last season nailing 20 of 69 (29%) basestealers last season and D-Backs’ pitchers had a 3.83 ERA with him behind the plate. His defense will earn him most of the playing time behind the plate in 2009 unless Montero improves his game in that area.

Montero played in 70 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 47 for 184 (.255 avg, .765 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 5 homers and 18 RBIs. Montero nailed only 6 of 33 (18%) basestealers last season and pitchers had a 4.58 ERA when throwing to him. The D-Backs shopped Montero around over the winter but found no takers for what they wanted for him. He’s still young so he can turn things around at any time.

23-year old lefty swinging James Skelton was selected in the Rule 5 Draft from the Tigers over the winter. He played in 86 games in A+AA ball last season and he was 89 for 295 (.302 avg, .855 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 5 homers, 34 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see how well Skelton does in spring training to see if the D-Backs see it fit to keep him on the roster the whole 2009 season or not.

28-year old switch hitting Luke Carlin was signed in the off-season but he will have a hard time making to Arizona in 2009 based on his play with the Padres in 2008. He played in 36 games with the Padres last season in which he was 14 for 94 (.149 avg, .472 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. Carlin did throw out 7 of 32 (22%) basestealers last season and Padres’ pitchers had a 3.88 ERA throwing to him so he appears to be a solid defensive catcher. Carlin also played in 31 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 23 for 88 (.261 avg, .828 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers and 19 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C

The Diamondbacks have lost Orlando Hudson and Randy Johnson, but, they made some shrewd moves in replacing them. The D-Backs have signed Felipe Lopez to take over as the starting 2B in 2009. They also re-signed Tony Clark to give them a power bat off of the bench. The D-Backs have signed Jon Garland to replace the Big Unit in the starting rotation and he will likely love the move to the National League. The D-Backs added lefty Scott Schoeneweis in a trade with the Mets to finally give them two lefties in the bullpen. The D-Backs also recently signed Tom Gordon who should help out if he can stay healthy.

OFF SEASON GRADE FOR THE DIAMONDBACKS: C