The Diamondbacks did not make a splash at the 2024 MLB trade deadline. Count general manager Mike Hazen among those who were not surprised.
“The major changes that were going to happen at this deadline,” Hazen told reporters shortly after the deadline passed, “are not what’s coming from outside, but the improvement that’s going to happen from within; the guys that we’re gonna get back from the IL and the improvement on our roster with some of our younger players continuing to progress.”
That is not to say that Hazen did nothing. After acquiring left-handed reliever A.J. Puk from the Miami Marlins in a trade on Thursday, the Diamondbacks landed both Marlins first baseman Josh Bell and Washington Nationals right-handed reliever Dylan Floro in the final hours leading up the 3 p.m. deadline on Tuesday.
In exchange for Bell, the Diamondbacks are reportedly just paying $2.25 million of his $5.5 million salary for the rest of the season, with the Marlins covering the rest. For Floro, the Diamondbacks dealt Triple-A infielder Andrés Chaparro to the Nationals.
The Floro move was hardly a shock; Hazen said after the Puk trade that he was still looking to add to the bullpen. The Bell acquisition, however, likely would not have happened had Christian Walker not hit the 10-day injured list with a low-grade left oblique strain. Walker suffered the injury during Monday night’s game; he told reporters on Tuesday that he expected to miss around three weeks.
While there’s nothing good about losing a key middle-of-the-order bat such as Walker for nearly a month, the timing was fortuitous. It happened literal hours before the trade deadline, giving the Diamondbacks an opportunity to make a trade. That led them to Bell.
What Josh Bell brings to the Diamondbacks
Hazen was quick to answer when asked what he liked about Bell.
“His long track record of getting on base,” he said. “It’s always been a huge skill.”
Bell, 31, owns a career .343 on-base percentage, although he has had less success in that regard this year. In 441 plate appearances with the Marlins, he hit just .239/.305/.394 with 14 homers and 49 RBI. Based on OPS+, he has been eight percent worse than league average offensively.
Nonetheless, Bell has looked better lately. In his final seven games in Miami, he went 12-for-28 with five homers, one double, nine RBI and a 1.515 OPS.
“We have 55 games left,” Hazen said, “and I think over any 55-game run, capitalizing on hot streaks is a thing.”
Reports surfaced on Sunday that the Marlins had placed Bell on outright waivers. Bell cleared waivers on Tuesday at 10 a.m. The Diamondbacks then moved quickly to acquire him. This marks the third consecutive trade deadline in which Bell has been dealt.
Hazen said that part of his motivation for acquiring Bell was to take pressure off Walker to return any sooner than he is ready.
“If I know his mindset,” Hazen said, “it’d be to rush back and help the team. We need him ready to go at full tilt for as long as we’re going to have for the rest of the season.”
Defensively, Bell figures to be a significant downgrade from Walker. For the season, Walker has 7 defensive runs saved and 12 outs above average — both of which lead all major-league first baseman. Compared that to Bell’s –7 and –5, respectively, which are among the worst marks in the league.
Until Bell joins the team — which could happen as soon as Wednesday — utility infielder Kevin Newman and the newly recalled Pavin Smith will serve as the club’s primary first base options.
What Dylan FLoro brings to the Diamondbacks
Floro, 33, is in the midst of his ninth season in the majors, and the Diamondbacks are his eighth team.
So far this year, he has put together one of his best seasons, tallying a 2.06 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 40 strikeouts compared to 13 walks in 52 1/3 innings of work.
“We think both Dylan and A.J. [Puk] add a lot of experience into our bullpen, consistency,” Hazen said. “[Floro]’s had a good year. He’s gonna put the ball on the plate. We like that.”
Floro throws a sinker, four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. His sinker has seen a significant downtick in velocity this year — it’s averaging just 90.1 mph compared to 92.7 mph in 2023 — but that has not held him back. Floro is missing fewer bats, but he is missing barrels at an elite rate and has issued few walks. His ERA is less than half of what it was last year (4.76).
In return, the Nationals got Chaparro, a 25-year-old corner infielder whom the Diamondbacks signed to a minor-league deal over the offseason. Chaparro had an impressive .332/.403/.564 slash line for Triple-A Reno, but did not have a clear path to playing time.
To make room for Floro, the Diamondbacks designated right-hander Miguel Castro for assignment. Castro had a 5.93 ERA in 11 appearances in 2024, and had recently returned from a shoulder injury.
Given that the Diamondbacks happened to be hosting the Nationals on trade deadline day, Floro’s journey to join his new team was a simple one; he merely walked the underground tunnels at Chase Field from one clubhouse to the other.
Did the Diamondbacks try to acquire a starter?
While Hazen never sounded confident that he would get something done, he said multiple times before the deadline that he was interested in acquiring a controllable starting pitcher. Ultimately, Hazen said that he did not wind up spending much time on the starter market at all.
“Our [farm] system wasn’t suited to line up on some of the pieces, unfortunately,” he said. “That’s work that we need to do moving into the future.”
With both Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez expected back from injury soon, the Diamondbacks set a high bar in the search for a starter. They were looking for a notable upgrade over their in-house options even after Rodriguez and Kelly returned. It proved to be too tall a task.
Last year, Hazen expressed regret over not acquiring a starter at the deadline, a decision that led to bullpen games in both the NLCS and World Series. On paper, this year’s club has significantly more rotation depth. Of course, part of that depends on Rodriguez and Kelly returning and being effective — which is not a given coming off shoulder injuries.
“We’re banking on the five to seven guys that we have going out there and giving us a quality rotation from now until the end of the season,” Hazen said.
Top photo: Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports
