The Diamondbacks鈥 prolonged stumble into the All-Star break likely sealed their fate when it comes to this month鈥檚 trade deadline. They appear almost certain to sell.
And, assuming they do, their ideal return in trades would be to address the same commodity that has turned them into sellers in the first place: pitching.
鈥淚 would want to pull back pitching,鈥 D-backs general manager Mike Hazen said last week when asked what he would do in the event he becomes a seller. 鈥淚鈥檓 not saying that I would pass up value if it鈥檚 that wide, but we are going to target pitching.鈥
Pitching injuries have wrecked the Diamondbacks鈥 season 鈥 and they threaten to torpedo next year, as well.
Right-hander Corbin Burnes, the club鈥檚 new $210 million starter, needed Tommy John surgery last month. Right-hander Justin Martinez and lefty A.J. Puk, the club鈥檚 top two relievers, also required season-ending elbow surgeries.
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Moreover, the club lost reliever Shelby Miller, left-hander Jordan Montgomery and depth starters Tommy Henry, Blake Walston and Cristian Mena to significant injuries.
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Cristian Mena throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning on May 9 in Phoenix.
Burnes and Martinez likely won鈥檛 be back until late next season at the earliest; they could well miss the entire season. Puk could return sometime around the midway mark. The club is hopeful Mena will be back before the end of this year 鈥 and thus should be healthy entering 2026 鈥 but he has now had shoulder issues each of the past two seasons.
But with right-hander Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly set to hit free agency, the club鈥檚 only presumably healthy rotation pieces for the start of next year are right-handers Ryne Nelson, Brandon Pfaadt and Mena and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez.
鈥淭here is clearly going to need to be additions from outside the organization,鈥 Hazen said.
If he indeed sells, Hazen is hoping some of those additions will come at the deadline, with Gallen, Kelly, third baseman Eugenio Suarez and first baseman Josh Naylor looking like potentially attractive trade chips.
The team faces even more questions in the bullpen, with its only proven relief options for next year 鈥 at least at this point 鈥 being right-handers Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel.
Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Kevin Ginkel works against the Colorado Rockies in the sixth inning June 22, 2025, in Denver.
An issue Hazen expects to encounter, however, is hesitancy from buyers to part with their major-league-ready pitching depth.
According to sources, the Diamondbacks exhibited the same hesitancy last year at the deadline. Teams inquired about the availability of right-hander Slade Cecconi, but the D-backs opted to keep him in case they suffered a pitching injury. (They eventually traded Cecconi in the offseason as part of the return for Naylor.)
鈥淯nless it鈥檚 a pitching-rich team, I think the highest level of pitching we might have access to is a Double-A pitcher,鈥 Hazen said. 鈥淚 may take cracks at those guys just because we鈥檝e got to build up the stable of pitching inventory that we have.
鈥淓ven if it鈥檚 an ETA of the second half of 2026, it鈥檚 valuable just to have that guy because you can鈥檛 get them once they reach the majors.鈥
In the event he can鈥檛 plug many of next year鈥檚 pitching holes at the deadline, Hazen does have a couple of things going for him.
For one, Arizona will have close to $70 million coming off the books with free-agent departures. While it is not clear where the payroll will land next year, it figures the Diamondbacks will have some money to spend in the winter.
Another positive, Hazen noted, is the number of position-player prospects the D-backs have accumulated over the past few seasons. They could serve as trade capital to land pitching, similar to how the club landed Mena in a deal with the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Dominic Fletcher.
