The Diamondbacks are making a big move on the relief market. Arizona announced the acquisition of A.J. Puk from the Marlins for two prospects: corner infielder Deyvison De Los Santos and center fielder Andrew Pintar. The D-Backs designated lefty reliever Joe Jacques for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot.
It’s the second consecutive season in which Arizona makes a major addition to the late innings. The Snakes brought in Paul Sewald to lock down the ninth a year ago. Sewald is still holding down the closer role despite a rough stretch this month. Puk adds a high-octane southpaw to the setup group.
A former sixth overall pick by the Athletics, Puk broke through as a high-leverage reliever in 2022. Oakland dealt him to Miami for outfielder JJ Bleday in a swap of former top draft picks the following offseason. Puk fired 56 2/3 frames of 3.97 ERA ball with excellent strikeout and walk numbers during his first season in South Florida. He held the closer role for a stretch, picking up 15 saves and finishing 31 games altogether.
Miami could have been content to leave Puk in a late-innings role. First-year president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and his front office were curious about the possibility of stretching Puk back into the rotation role he’d occupied in college and during the early part of his minor league career. While the Spring Training results were promising, the starting pitching experiment proved a short-lived blunder.
The 29-year-old opened the season in Miami’s rotation. He took the ball four times and didn’t once make it through the fifth inning. Opponents teed off for 17 runs in Puk’s 13 2/3 innings as a starter. He walked 17 and hit a batter while recording just 12 strikeouts. The Marlins placed him on the injured on April 20, citing shoulder fatigue.
When they reinstated him a few weeks later, Miami abandoned the rotation maneuver and kicked Puk back into his customary short relief role. The results since then have been exceptional. The University of Florida product has turned in a 2.08 ERA over 30 1/3 innings out of the ’pen. He has punched out 33 of 114 batters faced while walking only six. Opponents are hitting .159/.204/.252 in that time. Puk has held seven leads in front of All-Star closer Tanner Scott (who is basically a lock to move before next Tuesday’s deadline himself).
Puk’s season stats are still weighed down by his disastrous few weeks in the rotation. Excluding his starting work paints the picture of an impact reliever. Over his season and a half in Miami, Puk carried a 3.31 ERA through 86 appearances when working out of the bullpen. He punched out 31.2% of batters faced compared to a tidy 5.3% walk rate. Puk has been particularly lethal to left-handed batters. Southpaws have hit .174/.215/.287 with 45 strikeouts and four walks over 123 plate appearances when Puk has pitched in relief. Righties have had a bit more success, particularly from a power perspective, but they’ve hit .236 with a modest .283 on-base percentage.
The D-Backs had been light on left-handed relief depth. Joe Mantiply was the only southpaw in Torey Lovullo’s bullpen. He has a 3.99 ERA behind a solid 48.2% ground-ball rate, but he doesn’t throw hard or record many strikeouts. Puk averages north of 95 MPH with his fastball and has a swing-and-miss slider that more comfortably plays in the late innings. Mantiply can serve as the second lefty in the hierarchy, while Brandon Hughes is on optional assignment to Triple-A.
Puk is playing on a $1.8MM salary in his first season of arbitration. The Diamondbacks are taking on a bit less than $700K for the stretch run. He’ll go through the arbitration process twice more before hitting free agency during the 2026-27 offseason. Puk doesn’t have the gaudy save totals that arbitrators tend to value from relievers, so he should be a generally affordable bullpen piece for the next couple years.
Miami brings back a pair of mid-tier prospects in their first of what should be a handful of deadline deals. De Los Santos is the more highly-regarded of the duo. He’s a right-handed hitting infielder who has elevated his stock with a monster season in the upper minors. Baseball America’s JJ Cooper tweets that De Los Santos would have ranked eighth on the outlet’s forthcoming update of Arizona’s top 30 prospects. Pintar would’ve landed 21st on that list.
The D-Backs signed De Los Santos out of the Dominican Republic five years ago. He immediately intrigued evaluators with his power upside but struggled to make contact in the low minors. He played his way to Double-A by age 20 and connected on 20 homers there last season. Yet he also struck out at a 26% clip and only managed a .297 on-base percentage. The Diamondbacks left him unprotected for the Rule 5 draft and briefly watched him depart the organization. The Guardians snagged De Los Santos in the Rule 5 and carried him on their 40-man roster during Spring Training.
Cleveland decided at the end of camp that they couldn’t devote a bench spot to a development project. The Guards returned De Los Santos to Arizona after he cleared waivers. The Snakes sent him back to Double-A Amarillo for a second straight year. De Los Santos obliterated the level, hitting .372/.426/.696 with 14 homers in 38 games. He hasn’t tailed off much since being promoted to Triple-A Reno. De Los Santos has 14 more homers over 49 Triple-A contests, and he’s running a .289/.338/.588 slash.
There’s still a fair bit of risk with De Los Santos’ profile. Scouts have never loved his defense at third base. Arizona has used him mostly at first base this season, suggesting that’s where he projects as a big leaguer. He remains an aggressive hitter who isn’t taking many walks. That’s a difficult profile to pull off, but De Los Santos clearly has impact power that could fit in the middle of a lineup if he hits his ceiling. Miami will need to put him on their 40-man roster at the start of the offseason to keep him out of the upcoming Rule 5 draft. There’s a good chance they call him up at some point after the deadline, particularly if they manage to find a taker for Josh Bell in the coming days.
Pintar, 23, was a fifth-round pick out of BYU back in 2022. A righty-swinging center fielder, he has spent the bulk of the season in High-A. Pintar hit .304/.403/.516 with nine homers and nearly as many walks as strikeouts over 57 games. Arizona had promoted him to Double-A a couple weeks ago. Pintar has above-average speed and has improved his offensive profile with his strong showing through the season’s first few months.
As for Jacques, he’ll likely land on waivers in the next few days. Arizona claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox in April. He only pitched once for them at the MLB level. The 29-year-old southpaw has a 5.60 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in the minors this season. He made his MLB debut with Boston last season and worked to a 5.06 ERA across 26 2/3 frames.
The D-Backs could look into adding a starting pitcher and/or an offensive upgrade before Tuesday, though a high-leverage reliever has seemed their priority for weeks. Miami will certainly remain active on the trade market. Beyond Scott, they’re likely to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. and try to offload some of Bell’s contract. They could field offers on others relievers like Andrew Nardi and Calvin Faucher, starter Trevor Rogers, and outfielders Jesús Sánchez and Bryan De La Cruz. The Fish are in full rebuild mode and don’t have many players who’ll be categorically off the table.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Diamondbacks were acquiring Puk. Craig Mish of SportsGrid reported the Marlins were acquiring De Los Santos as one of two prospects. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale identified the second prospect as a position player, while Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 was first to report it would be Pintar. Alexander reported the Jacques DFA.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
TRADE! TRADE TRADE! YESSSS
I think they just misspelled “interested”
Headline:
Marlins could consider this hypothetical A.J. Puk trade to the d backs
1st of many!
bjh – Smart of the DBacks to move early, as there will be more competition in a few days when teams on the fence finally decide to buy.
Fever Pitch-I agree with you. I don’t understand why team’s don’t try and do this more often. Like you said, why wait until deadline day and have to compete with other teams offers to get a guy. If there’s a player(s) out there that you want, go out and get them, why wait?
RShore – Agreed!
Some teams like the Red Sox have a history of waiting until the last month, hoping to snag a “bargain” on whatever is left. Those players typically don’t help very much.
Puk was the 6th pick in the draft. That may be the worst draft in history.
Hyperbole much?
I just picked a draft at random, 2010.
Here’s the 6th pick: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=loux–001bar
He is much worse than Puk.
The first round of the 2010 draft has 4 potential hall of famers and a hall of very good. The first round of the 2016 draft doesn’t have a single all star. It may be the worst first round in MLB history that’s for sure.
@trespada-Will Smith(Dodgers Catcher) was a 1st Round pick in 2016 and just made his 2nd All Star Game appearance last week. Cole Ragans was also an All Star this year for the Royals.So there’s at least 2-All Stars from the 2016 1st round
Both ragans and will smith were compensation picks and technically not part of the first round even if they did come in the first 30 picks. But now we’re just splitting hairs.
Guess you didn’t read past the top of that draft (2016).
Corbin Burnes, George Kirby, Will Smith (C), Pete Alonzo, Cole Ragans, Zac Gallen, Shane Bieber, etc. etc.
2016 1st round was absolutely horrible though.
You might have a point for 1st round only. Really bad. But a very loaded draft after R1
2014? Worse at pick 6.
2015? Worse at pick 6.
2017? Worse at pick 6.
He was a mid-summer night’s dream.
“Puk was the 6th pick in the draft. That may be the worst draft in history.”
You’re really outing yourself as being more of an NFL or NBA fan when you make statements like this about the draft
Wow thought De Los Santos was their 1st Baseman of the future, guess I was wrong
BB and K rates aren’t ideal, and haven’t shown that they’ll improve, time will tell though.
Probably due in large part to the fact that he’s always been significantly younger than the competition he’s faced and the fact he’s moved quite quickly. He just turned 21 last month and is already in Triple A
They aren’t that bad considering the production line.
They left him unprotected in the Rule 5, then he got taken by Cleveland but got returned before Opening Day.
He was left unprotected due to his age not his prospect status they didn’t think anyone would take him with as little experience as he had above high A and they were really upset judging by the comments the GM made after the Rule 5 draft
Well, other teams simply don’t want 26th man on the bench of the future in trades. You have to give something to get something. And quite frankly, getting a first baseman of the future is going to be a lot easier than getting a reliever to help them now.
Yeah exactly. Guy was only 20 and you would have to keep him on roster all year.
If he was any good he would have seen action much earlier – his numbers are a mirage he swings and swings sure when he connects it might be over fence in AAA but when pitchers make adjustments based on scouting he will not be much more than free swinger with low average who does not draw much walks, therefore he is not selectively hitting good pitches
Rule 5 returnee and a Mormon for a closer? Solid deal.
…..and away we go
De Los Santos more power than JJ Bleday? (lol)
What are the dbacks doing? Puk is a bum. De Los Santos is too much to give up
De los santos could have more Ks than Puk in a season. But, this trade is a steal for the Dbacks.
They trade a guy they gave away for a potential closer. De los santos is currently a non-factor for a major league club. He’s baby franmil Reyes.
A team like the Marlins would take prime Franmil Reyes production in a heartbeat. Puk didn’t make it as a starter and the Marlins aren’t going to pay significant raises in arbitration for a reliever. The D’backs have Ivan Melendez at AA and higher on the prospect chart than De Los Santos anyways
Must have missed his work as a reliever.
It’s really brief. And he had a bum shoulder earlier this year. Like the Nats deal earlier this is a pure seller’s market deal. It might get even more friendly for sellers. Probably smart to get stuff done now for buyers.
It’s not brief when you include his history with the A’s. I grant you that his problems this year are problematic-I wouldn’t trade for him, personally. Whenever I think of Puk, I am reminded of a certain blown save a few years ago when he was with the A’s.
de Los Santos seems like a sub .300 OBP guy in MLB.
Every time I watch Puke he gets lit up. I believe he doesn’t put his head in to every pitch. Maybe later when he figures it out.
Interesting gets for the Marlins.
Snakes improving the bullpen. Smart move for the dog days and postseason.
Reds – The thought of my team facing Puk instead of Jacques in 4 weeks is not a good feeling.
@Fever I don’t follow. Arizona and Cincy have already completed their season series in 2024. Are you assuming they meet in the playoffs?
Spencer – I’m a Red Sox fan, they play each other in 4 weeks :O)
Reds was the person to whom I was responding, not a reference to my team. That’s happened before. LOL
Ah I see! M’bad!
De los santos could’ve gotten jazz or tanner scott surprised the d backs would overpay like this
This is even worse than the hunter Harvey trade kc
Santos isn’t getting anything maybe other than a salary dump. Pintar by far the better prospect and headliner. Harvey brought back more I believe.
You have no idea what you’re talking about. De los Santos is 21 in AAA with 30 HR talent. Pintar is an older college product who had a nice year in A ball. You are correct that Harvey brought more, but he should have. He’s better and healthier.
Pintar easily more valuable. Not that he is anything special.
De Los Santos has some pretty nice numbers, trade looks good for the Marlins at first glance.
Has awful numbers imo. Other than power numbers.
His defense is definitely questionable, but he’s carried a 900ish OPS into AAA and he’s only 21. Seems like he has room to improve and time to do it. They could’ve done worse, considering dbacks fans in this comment section, generally speaking, didn’t seem to want to give him up.
Anyone can improve. AAA isn’t MLB. Especially PCL. And if he hasn’t improved by now it’s rare that he will. No doubt will hit hrs. But he will strike out a ton and draw very few walks. That’s why not a single team wanted to trade for him and he went in rule 5 draft. Possible he can improve but not probable. If I was a Marlins fan I wouldn’t be happy. If I was a Arizona fan I would be high fiving my mates. If I was any other teams fan I would be saying why couldn’t we beat this and got Puk. Miami must just be looking at all those hrs and nothing else.
The only reason to be happy as a Marlins fan is they’ve finally admitted they should have done this several months ago, and at least they’re finally doing that…it’s always expected to get clown returns
Right-handed hitting, first-base only prospects are the least valuable commodity in baseball.
Donnie baseball Osbourne knows. Cards gave up a better prospect than this and 5 years of a semi proven mlb reliever for 2 months of Quintana. Nunez had less power but much better hit and approach and hasn’t came close to making it. Arizona got multiple years of a lefty setup man or closer. Going to take a lot of excellent development to make Santo’s anything you regret trading. Such a easy prospect to part with for Puk.
Always appreciate the love Don.
325 ba 82 rbi..looks great
Good to see Jimmy get a chance at a ranch in the Southwest.
fangraphs.com/players/aj-puk/19343/stats?position=…
Marlins did good on this one.
Nooooooooooooooooooooo, not De Los Santos!
Better for reliever than in rule 5 for tiny amount of $. Pintar far better prospect you should miss but well worth it for Puk.
He was exposed to rule 5 because he was so young. Dbacks knew no one would keep him. You are just spouting bs.
Age wasn’t a factor at all.
Pintar is in no way a far better prospect than.
JJ Bledayday baybay
Bleday for Puk might’ve gone down as the best challenge trade of the last 20ish years that would’ve worked out for both teams in the Marlins didn’t just sell Puk for peanuts.
Diamondbacks are known to be ornery, territorial and ultra aggressive.
Puk isnt very good so at best its a wash! But I choose lottery tickets.
Actually he is very good.
Just not as a starter. Pretty wild when he has to go more than 1 inning.
I choose established mlb relievers with multiple years of control and a 28% strikeout rate and a 8.5 walk rate over lottery tickets every single time.
They’ll need a nasty lefty like this to get guys like Ohtani/Freeman/Harper/Olson, etc out in October should they get there.
People are tending to not understand, it’s a sellers market. There will be players traded, that the return will be higher than it would be in normal trade deadline years. Hopefully the Angels can take advantage and get some good players in return
Not on this trade. This is about as cheap as you could get Puk in any year I can remember.
Trade market really depends on the buyers. Gms are much smarter these days and will only pay what they want to pay. They don’t care about supply. They will get creative. Some teams have and no doubt will over pay. Majority won’t. There will be a dozen sellers and most of them have a lot to sell. I believe we will see contender contender trades. Shouldn’t get any higher prices than any other year.
Cheap if you don’t consider it’s the Marlins, and the going rate is always 17 cents on the dollar
A dozen sellers? Name me the 12 teams. Now teams will be looking for back end relievers. Or veteran starters who can help in a teams playoff push. That eliminates the Rockies. The White Sox and Tigers, both have starters, they can move with team control. But only if a team overpays. I’m sure the Rangers will like to get rid of a couple of starters, just to get rid of bad contracts. Grey and Heaney jump to mind. But they will not be true sellers. The Marlins and Rockies are the only 2 teams out of it in the NL. The A’s don’t have many trade pieces.
Nats Cubs Giants are out of it. First 2 realize it. Reds could join them. Why majority of trades won’t happen until Sunday. Bubble teams want to see how the weekend goes. AL has 5 clear sellers. Rays probably are sellers but even if they aren’t the are because Rays Pirates are always sellers. Will trade just about anyone anytime. Pirates are trying to contend but Perez is 100% available. Chapman Gonzales readily available. Falter Priester available. Holderman Bednar available for right deal but doubtful they are traded. Tampa is in a much weaker position and will trade just about anyone. 10 to 14 teams depending on what they decide to do. Dozen nice round number. Rangers look to be contending right now. Might walk the line and move a piece or 2. Bad weekend they may sell. Jays Angels out of. Tigers A’s have lots to sell. Likely won’t sell fantasy guys the talking heads gk on about but will sell plenty. Come on now.
You say that as if this was a HUGE return when at best it’s average. Very possible both players never sniff the big leagues and if they do they turn in replacement level statlines.
Ok leading MILB in HR for Puk? That seems off.. puk has been dominant last 15 games but that seems like a super high price.
They couldn’t have gotten him cheaper. Easy win for Arizona. Pintar wasn’t untouchable and Santos was expendable.
1 sentence, 3 claimants. Gotta love the modern reporting industry…..commissions, royalties….
TRADE DEADLINE LFG!!!!!!
“He has punched out 33 of 114 batters faced”, that sounds pretty bad.
You go try to punch out 114 grown men with bats and see how well you do!
Are we still talking about baseball?
Hunter Sttickland brawl numbers.
Kickoff to trade season!
Let’s go.
Not a comment on the cost, because I don’t know anything about those prospects, but Puk is a good pickup for Arizona, he’s looked good out of Miami’s pen
Wow
Wow. If this is what teams are giving up for decent relievers this deadline, then the Rays should definitely consider trading Fairbanks.
I gave it a generous c but probably should have went d. Seems like this is something you settle for next week.
Worst part on Marlins side is that they didn’t have to settle for a sub-par offer for Puk. They had years to sit and wait for a better offer.
A for Arizona. I don’t think you could get him this early for any cheaper. Pintar is a nice prospect. ? Is can he play cf? I am guessing he can’t or they don’t make this trade. If he can the grade drops to C. Still can be a nice LF. Plus on bases. Speed can make him above average in field. Above average bat with some power. Santos is 1b. Doesn’t walm enough. Strikes out too much. Massive bat power. But unless the hit or approach improves at 1b it’s someone you can easily part with in a trade. Pintar harder to part for reliever but if they don’t see a CF it’s much easier.
Miami C. Fair return. Not blown away. But yeah it’s good enough to make the trade now and waiting might not have brought more. Don’t know what else is available. It’s a win win trade.
I should have went D. They really only got 1 prospect and he is looking like a everyday LF ceiling. Easy trade for Arizona to make.
I do my own evaluations but seen some sites had Santo’s ahead of Pintar. Some by a lot. Should be the other way around.
1st trade of deadline week so I was nice to Marlinsfanbase.
Mlbtr evaluators very few. Websites 50 percent maybe. Mlb employees. Vast majority except the ones who work for Angels Rockies and apparently the Marlins.
Did we just become best friends? Here’s my original comment on the trade…
“B for SD. They didn’t give up anything painful. Head hurts for sure but they got a look at him up close and still parted with him. No power. No pitchers is huge. Not even a ss or catcher. A likely corner outfielder and 1b. For a May trade pretty impressive. I wouldn’t challenge anyone who calls it a A.
D for Miami. Can see a C. I don’t hate it. It’s fair enough. Where’s the pitcher? Where’s the power. Where’s the launch angle? Heads interesting. pretty safe cf bet. Speed. Bat especially power is ?. ”
Where you at on the Randy Az trade? I love the return for Rays. Seattle paid the max price but it helps them and it wasn’t a massive overpay. Win win but they paid about top dollar. 2 Florida teams at different end of spectrum.
Marlins just won the Deyvison.
DDLS stock is up, but the return seems a bit light for 2.5 years of a good lefty reliever.
Puk has been good for a couple months on a no pressure team in an extreme pitcher’s park and has a dicey shoulder. He’s not a great get.
He was great in 2023.
Nice pick up for the DBacks. Puk has looked great since moving back to the pen this season.
A steal for the DBacks; DDLS was returned from the R5 (with many red flags) and Pintar was a 5th round pick a couple years ago (with a fringey offensive profile)
Just those 2 for 2.5 years of a quality LHRP? That’s an easy win for Hazen
Let’s go De Los Santos! Surprised he’s not the head line of the trade here as I think the dbacks got hosed on this one. He prolly won’t be up till September now so they get a better look at him, but man am I so excited for this kid to burst onto the big league scene and never look back.
Finally a trade
Marlins are fishing for corner bats now, and I’m cool with it…
I personally prefer to get back guys you know are big leagues in the future, but they’re desperate for some type of offensive impact
I’m still strongly disappointed/outright frustrated they didn’t trade everyone back in November, but hopefully they can get some decent talent into the organization, for once, in some of these deals
And maybe let them play when they’re performing in the minors, instead of waiting 14+ months to finally call that person up
Wait…I just realized Puk has way more team control left than I thought for some reason…in that case, in my opinion, this is once again, not enough…whatever. it’s clear the Marlins don’t understand asset management, no matter what regime, so just stay expecting that every time
I called Puk as the Dbacks top target a few days ago. Great get for a team lacking a high leverage LH reliever other than Mantiply.
I wish they traded for him before he pitched against my Orioles. He was looking pretty dominant. Made me wonder why his era was so high.
Trying to make reliever starter
Dbacks give up their #14 prospect for a pitcher with 2.5 years of control, a 2.08 ERA and 9.8 K/9 in 28 appearances as a reliever, a potential closer, and people think they gave up too much?
DDLS is an awesome pickup here.
I can’t envision any contenders being very interested in Sanchez or De la Cruz…internal options or free agents could replicate that kind of production…
High leverage, LH reliever was the only weak spot on the team. Hazen never ceases to amaze with his ability to get his man at an affordable cost. Yes, losing either or both of de Los Santos and/or Pintar hurts, but you’ve got to give up value to get value in return.
“old for level last year” Just a suggestion recommendation. I use experience instead of age. If he was healthy and played in sec acc his age would be more of a factor. He put a lot of effort into pitching in hs. Was a walk on in college. So hitting against elite pitching is something pretty new to him. I am not punishing him for his age.
Puk’s Slider and Sweeper is the Roger Beshens Football Slider.
On Center grip, Throw like Football, Stiff Wrist. Only difference between the sweeper and Football Slider is the arm angle dictating the break.
Google What is a Football Slider. Roger Beshens Football Slider.
Watch it and help elevate a pitcher so they can get a scholarship or more.
De Los Santos wasn’t even protected on the Diamondbacks 40man. Guardians didn’t see it either. Good trade for Arizona.
The reason Hazen went after Puk instead of other LH, high leverage relievers was that he was Not a rental. Two more seasons of control. Great get for Dbacks.
The Dbacks are getting healthy. They haven’t had a big winning streak, but they’ve been quietly winning series’s (sp?) over the past 8’ish weeks. When Kelly and Rodriguez return and are added to Gallen, Montgomery, Pfaadt and Nelson, the Dbacks will have a solid rotation. Adding Puk to Martinez, Ginkel, Thompson and Sewald gives them five great late inning options. When healthy, the Dbacks should have just enough pitching, speed, defense and timely hitting to grind out another Wild Card slot.
Dbacks are the scariest potential WC team to me, they’re looking pretty complete for a stretch run.
I trust Hazen. Smart move
Doesn’t De Los Santos seem like the next Yasmany Thomas?
Puk yeah they did.
I think the long run Marlins win this trade. Both of these prospects are decent players. They are almost opposite type players, one fast defensive CF and the other a slugging 1B. We’ll see.
When fans from both sides are complaining or saying they won the deal, you know it was a good deal for both sides.
Dbacks let go deyvison again!! Lol
Looking at #s only he is 2024 minor lg mvp
Going from az to miami tho sucks for future profile
When Scott goes, I guess that would make Andrew Nardi the closer in Miami. He’s been pretty darn good the past two months after a horrible start. Stepped into the closer role last year when Scott was put on the IL. Picked up 3 Saves during that time. His overall line from 2023 is quite impressive. Plus, he’s only 25-years-old.
Just happy there was a trade. This was a nice little return for the marlins considering. And the dbacks get a good relief pitcher, although I’m not sure I’d given up so much to upgrade the bullpen in their current stage. I feel like what they gave up should have been good enough to get Scott, and if you are the dbacks, might as well try to get both Puk and Scott if ur looking to upgrade that pen. But isn’t their starting pitching kinda the shaky thing? Minus 1 or 2 guys?
bravesfan
Anybody can express their opinion here, but you really shouldn’t make such uninformed comments when you obviously know absolutely nothing about the Dbacks. It just makes you look bad and no one respects your opinions afterward.
The Dbacks weren’t even considering Scott. He is worthless to the Dbacks. The Dbacks face so many excellent and tough lefthanded hitters in the NLW and from the other playoff bound teams, both last year and hopefully this year. They lost Kyle Nelson to injury for the season and Andrew Saalfrank (who was sometimes effective against those big bats last year) because of his gambling. So, the Dbacks weakness was the lack of a high leverage LH reliever alongside Mantiply. They spent their prospect capital on 2 1/2 years of control of Puk.
And your closing comment was laughable too. I guess you’ve never heard of Kelly and Rodriquez because, again, you know absolutely nothing about the Dbacks.
@Scottaz this is kinda rude. While I agree that AZ needed Puk more than Scott, the reason Scott wasn’t the choice is control. He is also a Lefty and a “reliable” late-inning arm. I’m sure if Hazen could’ve swung it, he’d have LOVED to get both Puk and Scott in the same deal. But Miami would never dilute the returns by combining those two.
Neither Kelly nor Rodriguez is a guarantee to even take the MLB mound again in 2024, let alone be effective. The Front Office has been shady and mishandled those two all year, so expecting their return is the height of optimism. If we could grab a starter tomorrow, I again expect Hazen to jump at that opportunity.
What the Puk
Hazen understands the urgency. Gallen will be lighting cigars w/ big market C-notes in 15 months or less. Walker will be seeking generational wealth from the highest bidder in 90 days. Kelly has been out for 2 months and turns 36 in 80 days. With this group, the time is now.
Walker is signable for the Dbacks. He’ll be 34 when his next contract starts, so he won’t be in huge demand. Good player, but old.
Seems like some folks think the Marlins got fleeced and some folks think the D’Backs got fleeced, so that means it’s probably a good trade both ways. I like it for Miami, Puk is a good reliever but we are not competitive so it’s time to get what we can for the future for these type of guys. Interested to see the return we get for Scott, Jazz, etc. I like this one so far.
Seems like some folks think the Marlins got fleeced
========================
Most of in here, maybe close to all, aren’t in position to judge the return. I don’t like the K/W, but the kid is too young to judge that accurately. You might need to see if his swing is fixable.
My own personal feeling is that you are probably better off dealing with Miami than other teams. I’m not impressed with their FO.
I agree, I mean we didn’t get any sure fire top of the line prospects, but Puk is just a good reliever so I didn’t expect us to get the absolute best in anyone’s system for him. DDLS is flawed, but he’s super young with a ton of power and could end up being really good if he can be developed. Pinter seems like he could be a fine bench outfielder at some point too. Maybe neither guy ever sniffs the majors for us, but in terms of what we traded, I think it was a pretty even trade for both teams and what they need. I’m withholding judgement on Bendix until he gets a couple offseasons under his belt.
Dbacks got a solid lefty for their bullpen fairly cheap. Wish the Twins would have made a deal like this. Puk is exactly what our bullpen needs. Maybe we go and get Tanner Scott instead, who will be a lot more expensive prospect wise…
I like the trade for Puk it was a real need, he has good numbers as a reliever, on giving up De Los Santos, he is not a sure thing yet in MLB. Give it a few years then you can say yes or no on this trade. Pintar is a need for the Marlins, especially if they trade Chisholm, CF has been a hole for a while for the Marlins, Pintar at least gives them one more possibility down the road for the Marlins. D’Backs get a 2.5-year lease on Puk that is what Hazen really likes instead of renting as a last resort. Now I see Hazen kicking the tires on another bat for the infield maybe a first base backup for Walker and Suarez at 3rd. Also, on the list maybe looking at another starter but not a need.
Difficult to believe the Marlins got more from this trade than the Arraez trade
Plenty of remaining minor league depth for Hazen to acquire a second controllable RP giving the Dbacks high leverage arms now and flexibility next off-season given Sewald is a free agent.
I don’t know that the DBacks necessarily NEED another controllable high-leverage arm, considering that the future bullpen isn’t exactly hurting for options.
Sure, they’ll lose Sewald this offseason, as well as Castro (there is justice in this world!), and McGough is likely bought out.
If I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty sure they’ve committed to Cecconi to the bullpen, and next season will see the readdition of Jameson to the group of: Ginkel, Jarvis, Mantiply, Martinez, Puk, and Thompson. Drey and Slade in that group would make a group of 8 RP under control for next season already; that’s not including the potential return of Nelson later in ’25, and I don’t remember whether Frias’s last option has been used.
Granted, there is absolutely still room for another controllable high-leverage arm, but that’s mainly because every other bullpen arm sticking around for next season still has options (except maybe Frias).
I doubt there is an easy way, but if Hazen could find a way to improve upon Newman’s roster spot, I think that would be the most impactful roster move as things currently stand (outside of upgrading from Geno).
Did Santos will probably end the season as a consensus top 10 prospect in baseball. Figured he’d be a keystone of a package for someone like Mason Miller. Marlins got great value here.
highheat
I’m surprised about your comment on Geno. I didn’t expect great things from him, but wanted an upgrade over Longoria/Rivera/Rojas and I think he has more than supplied that upgrade. He plays great defense, hits for power and is a productive RBI guy. He’s fifth on the team with 12 HR and surprisingly on pace to hit 20+. I was hoping for 15-18 HR from him. He’s fourth on the team in RBI and on pace for 75-80 this year. After that brutal slow start, he’s helped fuel the recent resurgence.
What do you see that you don’t like? And who do you think is available on the trade market who might be an upgrade?
I don’t think an upgrade over is Geno is very likely to happen, and it’s personal preference to say that a move in that direction would be the biggest roster upgrade. The only player I can think of that I like and would potentially be available is Luis Rengifo of the Angels.
Some drop off in defense (although, Geno is only slightly above average by the most favorable metrics), but he’s a switch-hitter with high contact rates, takes bags, isn’t a long term investment (1.5 years), and is on one of the few losing clubs.
Suarez’s cold streaks haven’t offset his hot streaks, he has a high K% without a respectable OBP to offset it (.297 OBP), and his defense isn’t making up the difference. He’s an improvement upon Longoria and Rivera for sure, but he’s still on pace to be a slightly below average player and isn’t getting younger.
More neutral about this trade than anything.
1. Puk is OK, not a needle mover. He has been great these last few weeks but has an unsustaniable BaBip for June – July (0.204), and season ERA+101.
2, Mantiply, Ginkle, Thompson, Martinez and Sewald (despite his recent failures) are all better than him.
3. Thompson has had reverse splits all his career, and this year is even better against LHH. I would trust Thompson over Puk any day, any scenario against LHH (like Ohtani, Freeman, Seager, etc).
4. The real issue with the Dbacks is outfield production. Gurriel (0.696 OPS), Carroll (0.632 OPS), Thomas (0.676 OPS) with the slugger in the group being McCarthy (0.737 OPS – but can’t hit RHP (0.695 OPS).
5. Suarez is a ‘disappointment’ but I suspected he would regress offensively anyways. At least his defense has been good. He is less of the problem than our outfield.
6. Starting pitching is an issue. I have no expectation that M Kelly and Rodriguez will pitch like they are mid season form, after a lenghtly layoff. Even if the Dbacks make the playoffs, I question the effectiveness of the starting rotation overall because they have been wildly inconsistent.
7. The only hope for the Dbacks is positive regression from Carroll, Guerriel, Gallen, and Montgomory. If that happens they will make a dent down the stretch.
Well, Puk is gone, and I’m surprised at the return. No one knows what De Los Santos and Pintar will be, but relievers usually don’t get that much of a return in prospects. I’m good with this, no matter how these two turn out. We know that very likely De Los Santos will get a shot. Not a loss for a reliever.
I can’t wait for what we get for Tanner Scott. That should be sweet no matter what, because us Marlins fans know that’s fool’s gold.
And Cronen will be a win no matter what because any warm body will do.
Let’s get Chagois out to for another young warm body.
Clean out this bullpen for what you can get. Dear goodness, this should be fun!
And let me add. We have all bashed Bendix for his early, questionable moves…such as Puk to the rotation and trading away Arraez, but this move here shows that he’s better than Mike Hill. He just got equal to or more than what Mike Hill got for Yelich. He may have equal to in return to the Marlins instead of elsewhere, what Hill got for Miggy Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Bendix got this for a reliever…a very solid one…but still a reliever.