After breaking the Marlins' record for fastest ascent from expansion team to world champions, the Diamondbacks will not copy Florida's post-1997 break-up.
Because of Arizona's widely reported financial losses, some think a fire sale is imminent. But by playing a seven-game World Series, the Diamondbacks actually had a positive cash flow for 2001. And team officials have insisted all along they are only in the middle of a four- or five-year window of competing that began with free-agent signings after the 1998 season.
Even if Arizona decides to trim payroll, most of its highest-paid players have no-trade clauses. And GM Joe Garagiola Jr. said no player will be traded just for the sake of dumping salary.
"If situations present themselves that in everybody's view (within the organization) present an opportunity for this team to be better," Garagiola said, "then we're going to look at them. But those will be baseball-driven decisions." . . .
The Diamondbacks have seven free agents: reliever Russ Springer (who got a $450,000 buyout on his $2.15 million option for 2002), outfielders Reggie Sanders and Danny Bautista, lefthander Mike Mohler and righthanders Albie Lopez, Mike Morgan and Bobby Witt.
From that group, Arizona will probably push hardest to re-sign Bautista, a valuable extra outfielder who went 7-for-12 with seven RBIs in the World Series. Morgan, 42, could return, but Lopez and Sanders will probably seek too much money to fit into the D-backs' plans. . . .
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