We pour one out for those no longer with us.
The trade deadline has come and gone, and with it, the D-backs have been sellers, to a degree almost unprecedented in franchise history. Since the trade of Josh Naylor a week ago, the team has seen the departure of six players, and a total of eighteen combined seasons with Arizona. Of course, there were even more new arrivals in the organization, and it’s to be hoped that some of these will end playing just as big a part, if not more so, in the Diamondbacks’ future. Only time will tell, and we’ll get to those in due course. But for now, let’s pour one out for the players who will no longer be wearing Sedona Red. At least, for now: who knows what may happen in free-agency?
Randal Grichuk
Grichuk was technically a two-time D-back, signing separate contracts with the team, first in February 2024 and then again a year later, after declining his side of a mutual option in October 2025. He was a significant part of the team in 2024 as a platoon with Joc Pederson. appearing in 106 games, with a roughly even split between RF and the DH spot. Grichuk proved highly productive with a line of .291/.348/.528 for an OPS of .875. That’s a 139 OPS+, which trailed only Ketel Marte and Pederson among those on the team with 200+ PA. He then tested the marketplace last winter, but came back to Arizona on effectively a back-loaded deal, worth $2m this year, with a $3m buyout on a mutual option for 2026.
Unfortunately, this season was not as impressive, though his OPS+ was still a respectable 100. While his time in the field was reduced, his defense seemed to take a step back (he will turn 34 in a couple of weeks, after all) and that kept Grichuk’s overall value down below replacement level. However, he did still have his moments, not least hitting a 453-foot home-run on July 1st. Four days later, he added an inside-the-park homer. But perhaps the highlight of his time with the Diamondbacks came on April 16, 2024, when he hit a walk-off double in the 10th inning (above), to complete a wild 12-11 win for Arizona over the Chicago Cubs at Chase Field.
Merrill Kelly
While Mike Hazen’s record at signing free-agent pitchers is… spotty (and that’s being kind), there’s no doubt that getting Kelly was an absolute coup. Over seven seasons here, Arizona has paid him around $36 million, but he has been worth 16.2 bWAR – around $130 million at the standard rate. He leaves Arizona third on the franchise list for both starts and wins, trailing only Randy Johnson and Brandon Webb in those categories. Since the start of 2022, Kelly’s value of 12 bWAR makes him a top ten pitcher in all of baseball. But you’d not know that from the way he has flown under the national radar, with no All-Star appearances or mentions on any Cy Young ballots for Merrill.
He was instrumental in the team’s run to the World Series in 2023, making four starts in the post-season that year, posting a 2.25 ERA across 24 innings, with 28 strikeouts. He set the tone in our opening NLDS game, tossing 6.1 shutout innings in Game 1 against the Dodgers. But perhaps even more impressive was his World Series victory in Game 2 versus Texas, where Merrill held them to three hits and no walks over seven innings, with nine strikeouts. Not bad for a guy who, five years earlier, had been a 30-year-old coming off a season pitching for the SK Wyverns in Korea, his major-league career apparently over. The Desert Mountain High School kid done good.
Shelby Miller
As redemption arcs go… this one certainly went. Miller’s first time with the D-backs, after arriving in a much-touted deal with the Braves, was a disaster. In three seasons, he had a 6.35 ERA, a 5-18 record and was well below replacement level (-1.1 bWAR). When he hit free agency at the end of 2018, everyone was delighted to see the back of him. But Miller reinvented himself as a reliever, and an effective one at that. Still, he seemed a long shot when he signed a minor-league deal here in February. But he pitched well in spring, made the roster, and after the losses of A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, took over as closer until he too met the injury bug. Below, he discusses the first of his ten saves for Arizona, in Citi Field.
Jordan Montgomery
At the other end from Kelly, this will go down as among the worst of Hazen’s signing. It was a one-year deal for 2024 worth $25 million, and he was terrible, with a 6.23 ERA, which saw him dropped from the rotation to the pen. Worse still: it included a vesting option for 2025, price dependent on how many starts Montgomery made. That ended up coming in at $22.5 million, but he needed Tommy John surgery before Opening Day. The total cost to Arizona was therefore $47.5 million for 117 innings of comfortably below-replacement level pitching from Jordan. There really aren’t any highlights to speak of, since Montgomery never had a Game Score of better than 63. That was in his debut. It was all downhill from there…
Josh Naylor
Josh had some big shoes to fill at first, coming in the wake of Christian Walker and Paul Goldschmidt, two men who made first-base their own for the Diamondbacks. Naylor came to us just before Christmas last year, in a trade with the Guardians for Slade Cecconi. Given the Armpocalypse which befell our pitching staff this season, it’s likely a trade we’d like to have back. Though that’s no reflection on Naylor, who’s hard-nosed attitude made him something of a fan anti-hero during his brief stay in Arizona. A couple of early gaffes in the field weren’t a good first impression, and the expected power never quite materialized, Naylor hitting only 11 home-runs before being traded to Seattle.
However, other aspects of his game proved a pleasant surprise. He hit .292 overall, and his K:BB ratio of 49:37 was significantly better than his time in Cleveland. He was also a bit of a sneaky thief on the base-paths, stealing a career high eleven bases in just 93 games as a Diamondbacks, while being caught only twice. Only Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo have had more for the team this season. No question about what was Naylor’s highlight during the four months in the desert. It would be the walk-off grand-slam he hit on June 9th. Ironically, it gave the D-backs victory over the Mariners, the team with whom Naylor will spend the rest of the season.
Eugenio Suarez
There’s a case to be made that Suarez had one of, if not the greatest seasons in franchise history. Ok, technically it was more like two of the greatest half-seasons, but if you put them together, you get a phenomenal amount of production. From July 7th last year through July 21st this season, Eugenio played in 170 games, with a slash of .280/.337/.614, for a .950 OPS. Over that time he hit SIXTY home-runs and drove in 153 runs. Those numbers would stand with any full season – or two half-seasons, I suspect – by a Diamondback player. It’s all the more remarkable, considering there was a point in the 2024 season where serious consideration was being given simply to letting Suarez go. He was that bad.
Eugenio came to Arizona from Seattle, in a salary dump which cost Arizona little besides money (sorry, Carlos Vargas + Seby Zavala). But initially, even that seemed like an overpay, Suarez reaching half-way in 2024 batting .192, with a .586 OPS. That sparked rumors of his departure: perhaps only the lack of a credible replacement stopped Arizona from making a move. I’m glad we didn’t. Because from July last season, it was as if he had become a completely different player, culminating in the four-homer game against the Braves on April 26 (above). He won NL Player of the Week honors FOUR times this season, and is tied for fifth on AZ’s single-season HR list – despite playing only 106 games this season for us.