Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway home — I hope your week is going well.

Plenty to come on the Diamondbacks below, but first, I wanted to take a quick moment to plug an event in the hockey community, as the Arizona Hockey Union team is hosting a charity event in Gilbert to help combat the participation decline that’s been seen since the departure of the Arizona Coyotes. It’s raising money for multiple great causes, and you all know hockey is so near-and-dear to my heart, so we need to stick together!

More details can be found in the Quick Hits section below.

On to the show!

Diamondbacks Looking Like Sellers at the Trade Deadline

I really did not anticipate having this conversation this season, but it sure looks like the Diamondbacks are going to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline.

Sure, there’s still a small window to turn things around, but the departure of closer Justin Martinez in Monday’s win over the Mariners (placed on the 15-day IL), coupled with the loss of ace Corbin Burnes to Tommy John surgery, makes the path ahead awfully uncertain for a team that had high expectations heading into the year.

The 33-34 D-backs aren’t out of it by any means — they remain 6.5 games back in the division and five from the Wild Card spot — but unless they make a meaningful run soon, 2025 will go down as another season of missed opportunities.

Also, for what it’s worth, Arizona’s 89-win team from a season ago was 32-35 after the same number of games.

Top Diamondbacks Names Already Swirling Among Contenders

As usual, the internet has gotten creative with potential trades, especially following comments from general manager Mike Hazen, who was recently on record saying he “hopes” the players can turn it around, but the reality of where the team’s standing in mid June is starting to become a harsh reality.

“We’re starting to get some calls,” Hazen told dbacks.com. “It happens when you play this way. When you’re sitting in the standings where we are, it’s inevitable, you’re going to start receiving phone calls about your players. We have a lot of good players, so I’d imagine we would get a lot of phone calls.

“It’s not something necessarily that we want to be tackling right now, but it’s not stopping anybody from calling you to ask where you’re at. I don’t know that they’re just doing it to us, but, you know, if we were 15 games over .500, they would be making the same phone call. It would just be a different tone and tenor of the phone call.”

That the D-backs are fielding so many calls adds a little salt to the wound, because you would think a team with this much talent would have gotten off to a better start.

Alas, the rumor mill is swirling, and here are some of the hottest names at the moment:

• Eugenio Suárez to the Yankees? Oof, that’s tough to think about, but that’s one hypothesis.
• Zac Gallen has had a down year, but that hasn’t stopped his name from popping up given his expiring contract.
• Josh Naylor, we hardly knew ye: The first baseman’s name is already popping up in trade rumors. But keep him in the division? No, thank you.
• Merrill Kelly’s name has floated around the Windy City lately. Could he become a Cub?

My Take: This feels too soon, even though it decidedly isn’t. At some point in the not-too-distant future, Hazen is going to have to decide whether to start dealing, or start buying, because either way the status quo is not getting it done. The Diamondbacks certainly have some solid prospects to deal should they turn things around and start buying, but that seems unlikely at this point.

If the playoff picture hasn’t improved significantly as the calendar turns into July, it’d be a waste to let so many stars on expiring deals walk without any return … so it could be a long second half of the season.

Go Figure: The Diamondbacks have already claimed the series against Seattle after Tuesday’s 10-3 win, which makes perfect sense after I dedicated an entire newsletter to how they may be sellers at the deadline. Brandon Pfaadt returned to early-season form, allowing two runs on nine hits while striking out four over five innings, and Gabriel Moreno knocked in three runs as the D-backs won their second straight.

Arizona wraps up its three-game set against the Mariners this afternoon, with the first pitch scheduled for 12:40 pm (Dbacks.tv).

Jordan Rules: New Suns head coach Jordan Ott held his introductory press conference yesterday, and by all accounts, he “won the presser.” He said all the right things, he answered all of the questions asked of him, and he didn’t even shy away from the much-maligned Michigan State connections, which, honestly, have been blown out of proportion anyways.

Catch up with everything our PHNX Suns crew had to say following Ott’s initial press conference!

It’s Getting Drafty: Make sure to check out the NBA Diehard Draft Guide — Led by ALLCITY draft analysts Derek Bodner of PHLY and Will Gottlieb of CHGO, this guide is your one-stop-shop as teams across the league gear up to reshape their rosters!

Note the Diehard draft guide is best viewed on desktop or tablet!

Closing it Down: Wildcats closer Tony Pluta was named to the ABCA/Rawlings West All-Region First Team yesterday, a feather in the pitcher’s hat following an incredible season. The righty has recorded a school-record 14 saves, three wins and 34 strikeouts while limiting the opposition to a .183 batting average.

Not to be Outdone: The Sun Devils had three players recognized by the ABCA, as outfielders Isaiah Jackson and Kien Vu were named to the Second Team, while second baseman Kyle Walker earned First Team honors. Congrats, all!

Shootout Central: As I mentioned above, I hope you are able to make it out to AZ Ice in Gilbert on June 17 to help keep hockey thriving in The Valley, all while contributing to a great cause! You can find more details about the event and how to attend on our old friend Craig Morgan’s substack — I hope you can make it out!

Tip Of The Hat By Branded Bills

More from the Suns’ new coach!