The 2022 MLB trade deadline is right around the corner on Tuesday.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are coming off of a three-game sweep of their NL West division rival San Francisco Giants at Chase Field and are now 5-1 coming out of the All-Star break.
And don’t look now, but the streaking D-backs are starting to gain ground in the standings and go into Thursday 6.5 games back of the third and final Wild Card spot.
“I don’t think this changes our approach at all,” Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Thursday. “We’re trying to get this team ready for 2023 and beyond.”
“Whatever moves we might possibly make here at the deadline, it’s going to be to improve this team, this Major League roster,” he added. “It’s not about acquiring young prospects at this time. It’s about making moves that are buying and selling at the same time, which (general manager Mike Hazen) and his staff has been really good at the last couple years.”
Numerous players currently on the D-backs roster have been rumored as candidates to be dealt at the deadline for a variety of reasons, such as being at the end of their contract or being able to help a contender compete for a World Series.
Should Hazen and Co. receive a suitable offer, some of those names could include All-Star left-handed pitcher Joe Mantiply, left fielder David Peralta, first baseman Christian Walker and left-handed starter Madison Bumgarner to name a few.
“We’re getting calls on a lot of players, not just those that are rumored. We’re getting calls on players that are young, that are succeeding,” Hall said. “There’s a lot of tire kicking going on, but it is tough, especially with some of these players that we’ve moved on from in the past.
“It hurts and it’s tough on fans too. Is it the business? Yes, but it’s personal. We know their families, they know our families, they’re part of the family. That’s always the worst part of making a trade — having to say goodbye to the player.”
Hall told a story about when former D-backs GM Kevin Towers had Hall join him in telling RHP Ian Kennedy that he had been traded to the San Diego Padres in 2013, which resulted in the trio crying together.
Fortunately for Diamondbacks fans, though, Hazen was able to bring Kennedy back this past offseason via free agency for his second stint in the Valley.