With the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline now firmly in the rearview mirror, it’s time to evaluate how the Arizona Diamondbacks performed. The scope of moves wasn’t high, but the Diamondbacks executed three trades, landing left-hander A.J. Puk, first baseman Josh Bell, and right-hander Dylan Floro. With the team just a game out from hosting the Wild Card series, these are the type of moves that could make a difference at the end of the season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!A.J. Puk trade your typical Mike Hazen masterstroke
When it comes to adding talent, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen has been exceptional at identifying the type of underutilized talent he can pick up from struggling clubs looking to make a significant young talent addition. On July 25, he swung a deal with the Miami Marlins for left-handed reliever A.J. Puk for slugger prospect Deyvison De Los Santos and outfielder Andrew Pintar.
Left-handed relief, especially in the late innings, has been a sore spot of late for Arizona. Joe Mantiply and Kyle Nelson, who are capable big league relievers, didn’t perform well in that role in recent seasons. Puk, who can miss bats with both a four-seamer that sits 95-98 MPH with carry and a sharp slider, would be a more ideal matchup weapon against Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson, or Bryce Harper late in games with traffic on the bases. With Puk in the fold, that allows the Diamondbacks to use Mantiply more as a middle reliever who starts with a clean inning instead of trying to make him a matchup guy.
It’s the second time he’s added a major piece in a deadline deal with the Marlins, getting Zac Gallen five years ago. Gallen has since gone on to a pair of top-5 Cy Young finishes and led the team to the 2023 World Series. Like the deal back then, Hazen included a boom/bust prospect with a high offensive ceiling. Jazz Chisholm, who is now a New York Yankee, was the return for Gallen.
The return for the Marlins has the potential to be interesting, as De Los Santos has 40-homer upside, but his overall commitment to the defensive side of the ball and his approach are major question marks. However, it’s the type of offensive upside a team like the Marlins, who lack many impact bats in their system, should try to gamble on.
Josh Bell trade born out of necessity due to Christian Walker’s oblique injury
Christian Walker left Monday’s game against the Nationals with left oblique tightness, which has since been diagnosed as a low oblique strain. Walker told reporters he expects to be back in three weeks.
In the meantime, the team has traded for Marlins first baseman Josh Bell for cash considerations. Bell, who turns 32 in August, has about $5.5 million left on his $16.5 million salary for 2024, was placed on waivers. From there, the Diamondbacks facilitated a deal, paying $2.25 million of the remaining salary.
Bell will fill in at first base until Walker returns, then will likely become a bench bat or get released. It will most likely be the former, as Arizona could use a capable backup first baseman on their roster for the stretch run.
Dylan Floro rounds out the right-handed relief in the bullpen
The Diamondbacks snuck this one in before the buzzer, acquiring Dylan Floro from the Washington Nationals for minor league third baseman Andrés Chaparro. It’s not a sexy trade by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a solid move for a pretty low cost. Floro pretty much can slot into any role in the bullpen other than the closer, although Arizona was always going to ride or die with Paul Sewald there.
What makes Floro a solid fit beyond his ability to assume any role in the bullpen is his ability to miss barrels. His 2.0% barrel rate per batted ball event ranks in the 99th percentile amongst qualified pitchers on Statcast. He is a difficult pitcher to lift due to the combination of deception in his delivery, as he hides the ball well, and his heavy arsenal of pitches. His best swing-and-miss pitch is a slider, which he can manipulate the shape to have more tilt vs. lefties and more sweep vs. righties.
Having a deep bullpen of capable arms not only makes it easier for the Diamondbacks to navigate games, but also reduces the wear and tear on their relievers. Not too long ago, any situation where two of Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson, and Paul Sewald being unavailable put the team in bad shape to win. Sometimes they can grit it out like on July 7, most of the time they haven’t. There will be a deeper dive on the bullpen and the collective skill set of the unit in the coming days.
No trade for a starting pitcher
The Diamondbacks will go to war with their current options with the starting rotation. Given the price that some of the starting pitchers in the market have fetched, it’s hard to blame them. Instead, they’ll hope that Merrill Kelly and Eduardo RodrÃguez can come back from major shoulder injuries and fill the current gap in the rotation.
While there were no Top 100 prospects dealt, if you go by Baseball America’s list, there was still a lot of talent switching teams over the last week. Jack Flaherty fetched catching prospect Thayron Lirianzo and Trey Sweeney, who rank 8th and 22nd on the Dodgers’ Top 30 prospects list according to MLB. Yusei Kikuchi netted a haul from the Astros, with Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido, and Will Wagner. That is two major league-ready players and one more not too far behind.
Instead, they elected to shore up the bullpen. That will shorten up the game and take pressure of some of the starters if they’re struggling down the stretch. In the postseason that can mitigate issues with the rotation due to built-in rest days for the bullpen during travel.
The current rotation isn’t as strong at the top as last year’s edition. Zac Gallen has battled hamstring issues and is just coming off a string of wobbly starts before writing the ship against the Pirates on Friday. They’ll need him to return back to form by the time the postseason rolls along.
Beyond Gallen, there have been some positive developments with the rotation. Brandon Pfaadt has taken the next step forward as a guy you can pencil in for six-plus innings every time he takes the mound, but can still be vulnerable to the big inning where he has a focus lapse and the inning snowballs on him. Ryne Nelson has emerged as a capable option at the back of their rotation, giving them solid if not unspectacular starts to keep them in the game. However, they only need one more starter to step up to give them a capable option for the postseason.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
