Snake Bytes, 12/1: Do Something

[SI] Be Prepared for This Disappointing D-backs Reality – Mike Hazen may very well turn to several “reliable” veteran players, or unproven players with upside, as opposed to taking a big hack for a true ace-caliber starting pitcher, All-Star closer or top-order bat. In other words, be prepared to not be “excited” about any of Arizona’s moves. They may not acquire anyone among MLB’s elites. It’s fun to speculate about acquiring a pitcher like Hunter Greene, Joe Ryan or Freddy Peralta, it might be more within Hazen’s ability to land an arm like Brady Singer or Zack Littell in a potential trade… In reality, Arizona would likely benefit more from making smart, smaller, less-exciting and calculated moves than they would from dropping a massive trade package or free-agent contract on an elite player.

[Arizona Sports] The Athletic names Merrill Kelly as best potential free-agent deal for D-backs – McCullough named pitcher Merrill Kelly as the best potential Black Friday free-agent deal for Arizona. He noted Kelly’s ties to the D-backs and Arizona, including playing at Desert Mountain High School and Arizona State University, as key reasons why Kelly reuniting with the team would be a good fit. McCullough isn’t the only writer to name Kelly, as MLB.com’s Mark Feisand and the Athletic’s Jim Bowden also listed the veteran as a potential fit for Arizona. Bowden also noted his ties to Arizona as a good reason why he would be a good fit for the D-backs.

[Burn City Sports] Archie Bradley announces former D-backs All-Star Jake Lamb’s retirement – Archie Bradley announced on his Instagram on Wednesday that longtime teammate and former D-backs third baseman Jake Lamb has retired. “From double hot tubbing in Visalia to roommates in the league,” Bradley wrote. “We stood in each other’s weddings, and now stand by each other in retirement. … Congrats on a hell of a career.” Lamb spent 10 seasons in MLB, including seven with the Diamondbacks from 2014 to 2020. His 2017 campaign was his breakout season, hitting 30 home runs and helping Arizona secure a postseason berth. He last appeared in the majors in 2022.

[ChiCitySports] Arizona Diamondbacks make perfect trade partners – There are going to be intriguing offers that teams can make in order to acquire [Ketel Marte], but the Cubbies should be in the mix for him. Chicago has names in their minor league system that could intrigue Arizona with infielder Jefferson Rojas in Double-A or pitcher Jaxon Wiggins in Triple-A, so there are minor leaguers who can give the D-Backs the potential upside while not needing to pay as much in salaries going forward. This makes Chicago in more of a win-now mode and could even see him move positions as he has shown he has the arm to play on the left side of the infield while transitioning third baseman Matt Shaw into a utility role, or even be part of the potential deal.

[Halo Hangout] Angels’ dream trade candidate may be available as Diamondbacks “listening” to offers – The haul a team would have to send for Marte would be huge. However, he is pretty much a perfect trade candidate for any team. He is severely underpaid, with an AAV just under $20 million per year. He can play nearly any position on the diamond outside of catcher. And most importantly, Marte is one of the most elite hitters in the game. Marte is older than the Angels would likely want in any trade targets. Nonetheless, he is an absolutely perfect trade target for the organization. The package would be huge, but the team could essentially fill their biggest needs with one player while still having a good chunk of payroll to attack pitching in free agency. Marte is, without a doubt, the type of player that could come in and help end the 11-year playoff drought plaguing the Angels.

[Pinstripe Alley] Yankees Potential Trade Target: Ketel Marte – If Marte is dealt this winter, there are not many teams who line up better in terms of respective needs than the Yankees. Arizona are said to be targeting controllable, MLB-ready starting pitching, and the Yankees are one of the better stocked clubs in this regard with guys like Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Elmer Rodríguez, Carlos Lagrange, Bryce Cunningham, and Ben Hess all at or near the majors. It would likely require at least two of those pitchers to begin a conversation, but players of Marte’s star caliber are rarely made available and especially so with his current contract terms.

[MLB.com] What to expect from Tatsuya Imai? Here are 5 MLB comparisons – When it comes to how Imai deploys his pitches — on top of just what his stuff looks like — there are some other interesting MLB pitchers who take a similar approach. One of them is Scherzer. Imai is fastball-slider dominant, especially against right-handed hitters. Over 90% of Imai’s pitches vs. righties last season were four-seamers and sliders. Then he adds his offspeed pitches vs. lefties, going mainly fastball-slider-changeup (with some splitters mixed in, too). Those three pitches made up over 90% of Imai’s offerings vs. lefties, and if you include the splitter, that’s nearly everything he threw to opposite-handed hitters.

[ESPN] Orioles add reliever Helsley on two-year deal – The deal: 2 years, $28 million, player option after 2026 season. Grade: C+. Primarily a fastball-slider pitcher, Helsley reportedly began tipping his pitches at some point in 2025 and opposing batters began ambushing his heater early in counts with much success. The hope would be that Helsley fixes (or has fixed) the issue and once again is able to pair his high-speed fastball with his high-performing slider. The contract is a bit of a risk if Helsley doesn’t perform and declines to opt out, as a $14 million average annual value is what you would want to be paying a first-division closer, not a just-a-guy reliever.

[China Daily] A league of their own – Growing up playing baseball, Liang Xintong had long accepted that he would never make a living just by knowing how to throw curveballs or changeups in China, where baseball, despite its huge popularity in neighboring East Asian countries, remains a niche sport. The launch of the brand-new Chinese Professional Baseball (CPB) league, announced last week in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, has delivered Liang and many of his peers an extra inning, and a serious chance to develop a career as a full-time pro, with the new project — the first of its kind in China funded by corporate stakeholders — breathing new life into the sport’s promotion.

Junk Head (2017)

If my math is right, this stop-motion feature contains over 140,000 individual shots. Which would be impressive for a studio production, by a company like Laika. Instead, this was largely a one-man operation, as the end credits make clear. Hori worked on just about every element: writing, through puppet sculpture, to soundtrack composition and voice acting. He had no previous experience, not setting sail on the ocean of filmmaking until he was already almost forty, and learning how to do everything necessary online. Initially an interior decorator, this side-project eventually became an all-consuming passion. From starting work on the short version, to the final release of the feature edition, took over seven years. It’s an extraordinary feat of dedication and persistence.