On the Arizona Diamondbacks Mt. Rushmore, you wouldn’t be surprised to see the face of Randy Johnson.
The Big Unit, as he’s so appropriately called, earned four of his five career Cy Young Awards with the club along with the 2001 World Series championship. To name a few of his accolades.
He also keeps tabs on what’s going on currently in the organization. Especially after being just a few months removed from a World Series appearance.
Johnson sees a bright future for the D-backs and even sees comparisons to that 2001 team.
“It’s extremely bright,” Johnson told MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. “There is a lot of special stuff here happening in Arizona, much like there was in 2001. The current team is a much younger team. I think anything is possible. I think the Dodgers were able to get a little bit better, and I think the Diamondbacks were able to get a whole lot better. They believe they can compete with anybody. I think the National League West is going to be competitive. It’s going to be possibly a three- [or] maybe four-team race.”
The NL West underwent revamping this offseason. Specifically, the Giants added lauded manager Bob Melvin to the team. He gets additional resources in the monetary value and signed outfielder Jung-hoo Lee to a six-year deal worth $113 million.
And the Dodgers, well … They spent over $1 billion this off-season. Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani signed a record-setting 10-year, $700 million deal, and right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million pact.
“The Dodgers and Padres have a [big] payroll,” Johnson said. “San Francisco has new management with Bob Melvin, and he always seems to make players play better. The Diamondbacks, like you said, are the National League champions. We are still the champs until we get knocked down. I think the young players are excited about defending the title. Spring Training is around the corner. We’ll see what happens. Without a doubt, there will be a lot of optimism based on the results last year. That’s all you can have. Everybody starts even.”
[MLB.com]