The Diamondbacks’ loss to the Rockies last night pushed their losing streak to eight games, and general manager Mike Hazen offered a less optimistic outlook on the trade deadline than he did a week ago when he spoke of adding bullpen help and perhaps an upgrade at the DH spot. “We’re going to have a lot of conversations around a lot of different things, but I’m not sure how aggressive we’re going to be on the buy side,” Hazen told reporters Wednesday (link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic).
Beyond the team’s poor play over the past week-plus, Arizona also learned that right-hander Merrill Kelly, one of the team’s most effective starters, isn’t likely to return in 2020. Kelly was found to have a blood clot in his shoulder, which necessitated surgery earlier this week. For a team that has seen its starters combine for a 5.26 ERA, losing a right-hander with a 2.59 ERA through his first 31 1/3 frames on the season is a particularly impactful blow.
The D-backs have regularly blurred the lines between the conventional “buyer” and “seller” labels under the Hazen regime; they dealt prospect Jazz Chisholm to acquire a controllable young arm, Zac Gallen, while swapping out ace Zack Greinke for a four-prospect package within hours of each other in the run-up to last year’s deadline. Those moves came just months after trading away franchise cornerstone Paul Goldschmidt in a package that focused more on controllable, MLB-ready talent (Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly) than on top prospects who’d yet to debut. The 2016 Jean Segura/Mitch Haniger-for-Ketel Marte/Taijuan Walker swap focused on exchanging controllable young assets. A full rebuilding effort has never appeared particularly close under Hazen’s watch.
That’s likely still the case, although the Diamondbacks will surely have the opportunity to sell off some shorter-term asset in the days to come, should they find offers to their liking. Left-hander Robbie Ray is a free agent at season’s end, and while his control has been awful in 2020, he’s still missing lots of bats. He’s reportedly drawn some interest as a bullpen piece. Closer Archie Bradley is a free agent after the 2021 season and would hold clear appeal to contending teams.
To be clear, there shouldn’t really be much in the way of urgency to shed payroll — at least not beyond the revenue losses that all teams are facing. The Diamondbacks entered the 2020 season with a payroll sitting at about $116.5MM (prior to prorating for the shortened season). With Ray, Jake Lamb, Mike Leake, Andrew Chafin and Yasmany Tomas all coming off the books, plus options on Hector Rondon, Junior Guerra and Stephen Vogt each looking unlikely to be picked up, Arizona has just over $51MM committed to next year’s payroll.
Granted, that number will rise when club options over Starling Marte ($12.5MM) and Kelly ($4.25MM) are picked up, and Bradley would be due a notable raise in arbitration (as would Kelly and Weaver). All told, though, the D-backs’ payroll shouldn’t be expected to check in at more than $75MM with the current group. So while players like Bradley and perhaps even Starling Marte figure to draw inquiries given their status as post-2021 free agents, there should be no financial pressure to move those players.
Cleveland should make a pitch for Starling Marte or David Peralta. Start a package with a young arm like Logan Allen, CF Daniel Johnson or Bradley Zimmer, SS Gabe Rodriguez and 1B/OF Jake Bauers. They are all young, controllable assets.
i dont know if Marte is worth that much given he’s a rental and has a relatievely pricy option for 2021.
That Marte option is not pricey whatsoever.
It is for the Indians though.
From the Indians’ perspective, that might be too much for a year and change of Marte (although it’s not a bad offer). Allen and Zimmer could be had, but Daniel Johnson is a major league ready outfielder (which they don’t have many of), and they seem to love Gabriel Rodriguez. I doubt Arizona would move Peralta so soon into his new contract, but he’d be a good fit as the strong side of a platoon.
Also, as an Indians fan, I promise you don’t want Bauers. He could be a change of scenery guy in the right organization, but he’s pretty much a first baseman that’s being pigeonholed into an outfield spot. Considering the Diamondbacks already have Christian Walker (to say nothing of Seth Beer and Kevin Cron to be options at DH), I’m not sure there’s a fit there unless they’re really convinced he’ll hit.
Makes sense for Cleveland. They probably wont do it. In normal times Marte would fetch a lot. He recently brought back 2 top 100 guys. Now his stock is even higher. Without the benefit of boosting ticket sales, bigger trades aren’t as appealing. With fans can you imagine the positive PR and excitement if the Indians aquired Marte, came out and said Lindor isn’t going anywhere. We love our team and are going for a championship.
Agree….Marte would be a game changer in the OF that Cleveland hasn’t had in years. Even Peralta would be a poor man’s Michael Brantley. He wouldn’t platoon that’s for sure. The Tribe HAS to give up some talent and add an OF….the window is open.
Wow Tomas contract is finally over. Feels like that was forever ago he signed.
Cleveland should make a pitch for Starling Marte or David Peralta. A package with 3-4 controllable assets could do the trick.
Start with something like this….
SP – Ethan Hankins (#8)
SS – Gabriel Rodriguez (#10)
1B – Bobby Bradley (#12)
OF – Daniel Johnson (#14)
All of these guys are blocked for years in Cleveland. I could see Johnson and Bradley contributing right away.
Cleveland goes for guys with years of control in larger trades. Would be against their MO to get Marte.
They picked up Puig at last year’s deadline. Granted they got other pieces too, but he was arguably the biggest.
I’m not entirely sure why, but it still feels like a bit too rich from the Indians perspective.
I’d say probably their 7, 10, and 22 guys should be enough to get the deal done. With that being 2B/INF Aaron Bracho, SS/INF Gabriel Rodriguez, and LHP Scott Moss..Maybe the Indians could add their #24 prospect in Jose Tena as a lottery ticket with some upside..
I just think the Indians want to hang onto Daniel Johnson, and I think they’re a bit higher on him than most scouts outside their organization. I also feel like the Indians think very highly of Bradley’s ultimate ceiling offensively. With some minor adjustments, they feel Bradley could become a better all-around hitter to go along with his excellent power. There again, I just think his value is higher to Cleveland than it would be to any other team.
Send Starling Marte to Toronto. Whatever the package going back is, they can top it off with old friend Brandon Drury.
If the Yankees can get Ray without giving much up, then it may be worth it to give him an audition with the coaching staff. Guy has been pretty solid until this year, and it could be a decent sample to see if a FA is worth it (Happ replacement maybe?)
FA deal**
Yankees fans always think they’re going to get something of value back for their garbage….
Well in this case the “garbage” that the Yankees would be giving up (I assume you are referring to Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar) is off the tables in negotiations. They would be getting a handful of starts for a rental starter that might not even be good enough to make their rotation.
[Most] fans think they can get something of value for their favorite team’s spare parts, players, or their mid-tier prospects..
It’s just how it is..Every fan always overvalues their favorite team’s prospects, because they feel some attachment to them since they have followed and rooted for said prospect since he was signed or drafted…
Let’s be realistic that is just how it is for every team’s fans, not just the Yankees..Believe me, as a Braves fan, it gets nauseating hearing absurd trade proposals involving Inciarte, Camargo, and Bryse Wilson, or Touki Toussaint all the time..lol
They might be a part of a deal, but those guys certainly ARE NOT going to highlight any deal that brings the Braves back a TOR arm, but that still doesnt stop Atlanta fans from proposing those crazy, unrealistic trades..
Nah bro, you need Lance Lynn. You should also give up your entire farm system.
Ill never understand why anyone thought the dbacks would be a good team.
They finished 2nd in that division, won 85 games and added Marte and Bumgarner (who obviously hasn’t been good/healthy but he was projected to be good) without many subtractions. I don’t think anyone honestly thought they’d overtake the dodgers but 2nd place & a winning record was probable.
Damn, that’s big words from a Padres fan. The Padres have been crap the past several years. Although they are good now and look like they may be good for a good long while. Just seems kind of funny when the diamondbacks have been so much better in recent history and went out and improved the roster this offseason
Diamondback back reminds me of an old saying, you are not as good as you look when you are winning or as bad as when you are losing. The Diamondbacks are doing this for 3 or three years they play above 500 then start losing and it no hitting and bad pitching. Why does this happen every year is it bad management or leadership?
Ray would definitely be a boost to the Twins bullpen.
Bullpen? Lol! He’d be their #3
His 7.84 ERA and 31 BBs beg to differ. Unless Wes Johnson can somehow improve his control, I would rather see him in the bullpen.
The D-backs are still a good team, they are better than the Giants, Padres, and Rox, but a bad start just set them back. They should sell on guys like Ray, because you could always sign back a similar guy in the off-season, but IMO, there is no need to do a fire sale just because of a bad start to a short season.
You honestly think the Diamondbacks are better than the Padres?
Currently yes. In a year, two, three, no. They have a better rotation, and if Madbum can find out what’s wrong with him, it’d be even better. They have a great offense, they can play defense, though their bullpen is sketchy. It can be a hard argument as it which is better. The Padres definatley have more energy, which counts towards something, but both are good teams right now.
Thats just completely factually incorrect about the rotations. Arizona’s rotation is way worse than San Diego’s and the stats prove it. Padres starters have an ERA of 3.70, (7th in the league) Diamondbacks starters have an ERA of 5.26 (24th in the league). Its not even close between the two.
Zac Gallen and Dinelson Lamet are both very good, but the Padres other starters Garrett Richards, Chris Paddack and Zach Davies are all performing way better than Luke Weaver, Taylor Clarke and Robbie Ray. Neither bullpen is really anything to write home about and Padres have the more complete lineup, so its pretty clear SD is the superior team this year.
Wait, the Diamondbacks have a better rotation than the Padres? How so?
Seems the 2 teams are equal except for Padres hit more hrs? Other teams got better, dbacks got worse. Marte has been great but Ray and Bum have hurt team. They needed everything to go perfect and it didn’t.
Diamondbacks have a bad team when you compare position by position to Rockies, Giants, and Padres. The only players that are equal or better than the three teams are ss , cf, and lf that are at league average or above.
Ketel Marte at 2B isn’t above league average? Kole Calhoun in rf isn’t above league average? Come on now….
Dbacks are solid up the middle which is how you build a winning team. The foundation is in place.
Calhoun is a platoon bat.
Yo think the D-Backs are better than the Rockies that have beaten them in 3 straight? I think the scoreboard and the standings differ with your entire opinion.
Bradley has to be the most overrated prospect in D-Backs history. Flames as a starter and is basically a gas can in relief. He isn’t a closer. Closers don’t load the bases every time out and give up runs. Good riddance. Save us all a lot of stress.
Considering the tragic circumstances surrounding his wife’s death, Starling Marte’s performance has been truly incredible. I’m rooting like heck for that guy.
Make plays that can help this year and next. For example, what the NYM did with Stroman. No one could have predicted a global pandemic tho.