Scratch another possible starter from the Diamondbacks' wish list.
For the second time in three seasons, Arizona was rebuffed by free agent left-hander Randy Wolf when he passed on a one-year contract offer. The D-backs also courted Wolf after the 2006 season, before he signed a one-year, $7.5 million contract with the Dodgers, a figure Arizona did not want to reach because of injury concerns following Wolf's 2006 season in Philadelphia.
Wolf and Jon Garland have passed on opportunities this offseason to join a rotation that already has four locked-in members -- Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Doug Davis and Max Scherzer.
Ben Sheets is one of the top starters remaining on the free agent market, but more reasonably priced alternatives such as Braden Looper, Jason Jennings and Kris Benson may better fit the D-backs' budget.
The team is believed to have between $4.5 million and $5 million left to spend after signing catcher Chris Snyder to a three-year, $14 million extension.
Wolf's 2007 deal with Los Angeles included an $8 million option with a $500,000 buyout. The Dodgers failed to exercise the option, but the sides came together on a $4.75 million contract in 2008. Before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline last summer, the Dodgers traded Wolf to Houston, where he was 6-2 with a 3.57 ERA in 12 starts.
