MLB Trade Rumors

The Diamondbacks remain one of the most pivotal bubble teams with July underway. They’re in fourth place in the NL West entering tonight’s game against San Francisco. They’ve won two in a row to climb back above .500 at 43-42.

On Monday, general manager Mike Hazen appeared on The Show podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Hazen reiterated much of what he told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers last week but provided a little more specificity in the front office’s approach to the deadline.

“I want this team to put us in a position to buy. I want this team to put us in a position to be right beneath where we need to be,” Hazen told The Show. “We don’t have to be all the way back in (playoff position) or ahead; we just need to be within a distance that we feel like we’re being responsible in adding to this team.”

The GM suggested the upcoming two weeks are likely to be the biggest factor. The D-Backs are amidst a four-game series with the Giants. They’ll host the Royals this weekend before kicking off a crucial four-game set in San Diego. They’ll play the Angels in their final series before the All-Star Break. Arizona hosts the Cardinals for three games in their first series out of the break.

Between now and July 20, the D-Backs will take on three of the four teams directly ahead of them in the Wild Card race. Hazen’s comments came before Monday’s series opener with San Francisco. They’ve already taken the first two games in that set, while each of the Reds, Giants, Cardinals, Padres and Mets are coming off losses. On Monday afternoon, they were five games behind St. Louis for the final Wild Card position. That’s down to 2.5 back (of both San Diego and St. Louis) a little more than 48 hours later.

That all serves to highlight how quickly the picture can change this time of year. That’s particularly true for Arizona given how many direct competitors they’re facing. That gives the roster an opportunity to cement their status as deadline buyers. “I want to buy really bad, but we have a responsibility to the organization too. I can’t just blindly go in there and hope,” Hazen said. “That’s the most dangerous word this time of year. We’ve been so up-and-down this year. We have a talented team, this team is capable of playing better. … We need to start ticking off some wins here though.”

The Snakes were already receiving exploratory calls last month from teams that hope to pry some players out of the desert. The Diamondbacks have the best collection of impending free agents among teams on the buy/sell line. Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor are two of the top rental bats. Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen are quality starting pitchers, though the latter is having a down season. Relievers Shelby Miller and Jalen Beeks have performed very well on bargain salaries.

Hazen confirmed the majority of interest they’re receiving is in that group of rentals. “It’d be no surprise who everybody’s coming after. It’s fairly straightforward,” he noted. “Talking about players (under long-term contractual control) gets into a little deeper conversation that we really haven’t had yet. Most of the initial phone calls are on the players that would be expiring.”

If they play well enough to buy, their deadline outlook would be similarly straightforward. Arizona has had one of the best offenses in MLB two years running. The pitching staff has not held up. There’s still a solid rotation nucleus on paper with Kelly, Gallen and Eduardo Rodriguez. They could add a starter and consider optioning the scuffling Brandon Pfaadt, but the more obvious need is a deeper relief group.

“(Bullpen) would for sure be the biggest area of focus for us,” Hazen confirmed. Arizona lost their top two relievers, Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk, to season-ending elbow surgeries. Miller and Beeks have stepped up in bigger than anticipated roles. They’ve scrambled to try to fill out the middle relief group. John Curtiss, Anthony DeSclafani and Jake Woodford were all in Triple-A on minor league deals within the past three weeks. Kyle Backhus is a rookie with eight MLB appearances. Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson have had inconsistent seasons.

Hazen suggested the priority as buyers would be on adding one or two late-game arms. He used the 2023 deadline acquisition of Paul Sewald as an example, noting that acquiring a closer and/or setup man would permit Torey Lovullo to use Miller and Beeks in leverage spots earlier in games. David Bednar and Kyle Finnegan are established closers on non-contenders who are likely to move. Bednar, who comes with another year of arbitration control and has been dominant for the past two months, may be the prize of the relief market. Aroldis Chapman should be available if the Red Sox fall out of contention. Miami’s Anthony Bender and Calvin Faucher are setup types who’d be attainable, while the Orioles are likely to field offers on Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto.