In Phoenix, Nick Piecoro noted the D-backs' signing this week of C Alex Avila "gives them 20 players under contract" for $117M in guaranteed payroll for '17. Factor in salaries for pre-arbitration players along with possible non-roster players and performance bonuses and the number "shoots past" $120M. The D-backs finished last season in the range of $105-110M and for '18 appear "likely to be around" $120-125M, "if not higher, which would be a club record." D-backs Exec VP & GM Mike Hazen "acknowledged it’s higher than planned." Hazen has said throughout the offseason that the team’s finances "won’t be a driving force behind moves" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/3).
COME & GET EM': In N.Y., Larry Brooks noted the Islanders are "selling 15-game partial plans for next season that feature the 12 games" at Nassau Coliseum and "three weekend matches at Barclays Center." The available seat locations are "limited -- corners only in the lower bowl, last five rows only upstairs -- and apparently the seats will be assigned by the club rather than selected by the consumer -- with the explanation that current full-season subscribers at Barclays must be accommodated first" (N.Y. POST, 2/4).
ONE-STOP SHOPPING: In Boston, Adam Himmelsbach cited a source as saying that the Celtics "will not take part" in this year’s Utah Jazz Summer League. The four-team league was revived in '15 after a seven-year break, and the Celtics had "participated in the round-robin-style event the last three summers." Each year, the Celtics "played in Utah before departing for the lengthier and bigger Las Vegas summer league." But a source said that the team "found the nearly three-week stretch to be a bit too long for players and coaches" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/4).
