Diamondbacks predicted to trade 25-year old pitcher to solve need originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are in that consistently tough spot known as being in the NL West Division and not being the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That means they have to do everything right to contend, and so it's never too early to think about trades.
ESPN's David Schoenfield wrote a new article on Monday in which he examined what trade needs could be for each team in MLB.
For the Diamondbacks, he wrote that they need bullpen help. And to get it, he suggested trading Yilber Diaz.
The 25-year old righty hasn't had a straight developmental path, but he has enough stuff to potentially fetch something in a deal.
"The bullpen is always a need for Arizona," Schoenfield writes. "Diaz is a hard-throwing righty who struggled with control for most of last season in the minors. Now pitching in relief, he is throwing enough strikes at Triple-A Reno and has the kind of arm that teams love to take a chance on in deadline-type deals."
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The description there actually makes it sound like Diaz himself could work as a bullpen arm, too, but that'd certainly come with some risk.
"The Diamondbacks have several potential spots they could upgrade," Schoenfield writes. "They haven't gotten expected production from two-thirds of their outfield, with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. injured and Alek Thomas a nonfactor at the plate. They'll probably ride with Nolan Arenado all season at third base, although he has sadly looked overmatched, aside from that two-homer game."
The Diamondbacks will probably have to pick and choose unless they find themselves in the think of contention for a division title when the trade deadline rolls around.
A smaller deal, like moving Diaz for a reliever, could still have some usefulness.
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