Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall discussed his organization’s upcoming trade-deadline plans — or, really, the lack thereof — in an interesting recent chat with Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (subscription link). The whole thing is essential reading for the Arizona faithful, but we’ll examine a few key bits relating to the trade deadline.
Hall made clear, first and foremost, that the organization is entering the deadline period without a scripted approach. At the moment, it’s not clear what stance the Snakes will take. “[A] lot could be cleared up over the next few weeks,” he says, as the standings shift in the run-up to July 31st.
Just when and how that’ll be resolved remains to be seen. Intriguingly, Hall even seems to hint that he might rather see the current roster declare itself in one direction or the other more decisively. Per Hall: “We haven’t played great of late, and other teams have struggled as well, which has kept us in it, which is not necessarily a good thing for us.”
It’s not surprising to hear that the Arizona outfit will operate in a flexible manner. As Hall explains, that has been the modus operandi of GM Mike Hazen and his front office. “[O]ur guys, what they like to do is a little bit of both,” Hall said when asked what a sell-oriented deadline might look like, referring to the org’s twin pursuits of acquiring “pieces that can make an impact now” and “rebuilding that farm system.”
If there’s a broader takeaway from the chat, it probably lies in this line from Hall: “I don’t think Mike is in favor of a complete rebuild, and we’re in support of whatever direction he decides.” The organization clearly has placed quite a lot of trust in Hazen’s judgment. And it is obviously interested in maintaining consistent competitiveness while perhaps also achieving inflection points of real contention.
The D-Backs’ long-term vision carries echoes of successful, low-revenue clubs. After referring to the Paul Goldschmidt swap as “a deal that we really had to make,” Hall explained:
“That’s what [the front office is] always going to look to do, bring in young talent that can help the roster now. Even though you may be making moves that are moving some of your assets that we don’t have control over for a long time, you can still bring in individuals you will have that control over but who can impact the roster now.”
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how things play out this summer and beyond. Players such as Robbie Ray and David Peralta could deliver nice returns with one year of control remaining; veteran ace Zack Greinke might finally be dealt away to clear up the team’s books. It seems fair to assume that Hazen will have an open mind on those and other assets, but it’s tough to say at present which particular players will end up being discussed in earnest over the next three weeks.
Mets will take on greinkes whole salary for Baty gimenez and Kay. Maybe throw in McNeil
There is absolutely no chance a team 10 games under .500 would be trading away young talent for a veteran starter.
True.
But the point is … it’s the Mets.
Well they did make that awful Cano deal
Cano deal was for Edwin Diaz and they had dreams of winning the division at that point. Now they have to embrace a rebuild or at least a regroup for next year.
Folks, this is sarcasm. No way DBacks make a trade they win.
The Goldschmidt deal says otherwise, as do the trades for Eduardo Escobar and J.D. Martinez.
Yeah that Ketel Marte for Mitch Haniger trade looks awful
Or an aging 2b with over $80mill left on his deal.
The Cardinals could use Peralta! Especially with the loss of Ozuna. O’Neil could be part of that trade.
Brewers Greinke reunion?
Ray and Supak for Greinke and cash?
Who in the world divulges your trade strategy to your competitors? No wonder Hall said absolutely nothing to
Let’s go AA put all that MadBum talk to rest & go out and get Greinke !!!!
Donaldson, O’Day & Gausman contracts come off the books after this year so it’s not like they can’t afford him. He can lead these young pitchers over the next couple years
what are they gonna do with all of the young pitchers on their 40 and lower down in their system then? doesn’t seem like they want to trade them.
I am sure some will find their way to the bullpen
Nothing wrong with some friendly competition
And you never have to much pitching
Here we go again with the Greinke talk. If it saves them from overspending on a SP this off-season, I’m game. We need a little peculiar in our clubhouse.
Derrick Hall needs to leave any public discussion about prospective player personnel moves or deadline plans to the baseball operations people. Crane Kenney Jr.
Moving Greinke off the books makes sense for them if they’ll settle for less return from a club willing to take on the entire salary.