Sadly, this deadline saw the Diamondbacks part ways with one of the better feel-good stories for the franchise in a number of years. Suarez’s fun, vivacious personality will be sorely missed.
If there was ever a player that was a no-brainer to be traded at this deadline, it was slugging third baseman, Eugenio Suarez. Suarez entered this deadline tied with Seattle’s Cal Raleigh for the MLB lead in RBIs. He is also the first player to ever be traded that hit 35 or more home runs prior to the deadline. Without a doubt, at least going into deadline day, Suarez represented the biggest impact bat on the market, right-handed or left. By the end of the chaotic day, that may not have been true, but it was certainly still arguable.
As deadline day approached, there was a ton of speculation as to what sort of return Suarez would bring back. Hitting a mini-slump and getting hit in the hand during the pre-deadline series in Detroit did nothing to clear things up. Adding to the uncertainty was the fact that many of the teams looking for Suarez-like help were also looking for help with pitching and role players. Arizona had some of those to trade as well. As such, many proposals were framed with the notion that Suarez might be traded as part of a larger package, one which would allow Arizona to potentially net themselves a highly coveted prospect. Alas, that was not to be the case.
Late Wednesday night, as most of the country was in bed or preparing to be, the Diamondbacks traded Suarez, by himself, back to the Seattle Mariners, the team that traded him to Arizona in the first place. The result was one that was somewhat expected, but also somewhat feared by many Arizona fans. Quite simply, Suarez being a largely one-dimensional player coming off a bad week (including a hand injury that needed imaging) simply did not have the overall appeal many were expecting. Few will ever know the offers Mike Hazen received for Suarez, but it is difficult to imagine that any of them were particularly stronger than what they received.
Eugenio Suarez (3B) to the Seattle Mariners for Tyler Locklear (1B/#21/AAA), Hunter Cranton (RHRP/#23/A), and Juan Burgos (RHRP/#25/MLB)
In some ways this deal is quantity over quality, but not by much. With Mike Hazen’s focus on getting arms in return, it is difficult to imagine that he could have done much better in overall quality of return without including some significant escalators into the trade, such as Jordan Lawlar or perhaps Ryan Waldschmidt, something no one is particularly excited to see happen at the deadline. Even adding one of those players was unlikely to move them into the sort of trade value territory to get Seattle to part with the likes of a Ryan Sloan to add to the rotation.
The book on Tyler Locklear is a mixed one. For Arizona-minded comps, Locklear ranges from being a right-handed fit for a first base platoon with Pavin Smith to being Seth Beer 2.0 (according to one of Jack’s associates). The Seth Beer comp does not feel entirely unwarranted. There are some major caveats to all of this though. The biggest caveat is that Locklear has recently made some major changes to both his swing and his approach at the plate. Seth Beer tried this too, but with no luck. If anything, Beer’s production finally fell off the table entirely once he started trying to tweak his swing. For Locklear, the swing change has been transformative. How transformative, some might ask? Nearly as transformative as the batting changes made by some guy named Luis Gonzalez after he arrived in Arizona. Now, I am in no way saying Tyler Locklear is going to hit like Gonzalez did in 2000-2003. What I am trying to point to is that the results have turned his swing from a marginal or mediocre one into a dangerous one.
After changing his swing, Locklear unlocked his light tower power and started barreling up balls with more consistency, including the problematic breaking pitches. Playing his minor league home games in Tacoma, Locklear’s entire career (including his 2024 cup of coffee) has been defined by playing in pitcher-friendly parks. Despite that, Locklear’s July was something special, possibly earning him PCL Player of the month (which will be announced soon). During the month of July, Locklear hit .422 with none home runs in 21 games, good for an .808 slugging percentage. On the season, he has brought his strikeout rate down three points while maintaining an above average walk rate. His 136 wRC+ is impressive, even for the PCL, especially given that half his games are played in Tacoma. Whether or not the changes translate over to the Majors remains to be seen. Moreover, Locklear is also positionally limited to first base and designated hitter. However, if the swing change is for real and it does carry over, the 24-year-old Locklear may just be Arizona’s first baseman of the future. If not, he could still slot in as Arizona’s full-time DH. Depending on their plans for Tristan English and a few others, Locklear could make his Arizona debut in the immediate future. Or, he may make his debut to open next season. Either way, it is entirely possible that the Diamondbacks picked up an impact bat who is still rookie eligible in exchange for two months of streaky Eugenio Suarez and the remaining $4 million of his contract. But wait, there’s more!
Hunter Cranton is a big-bodied, single-inning, right-handed reliever in A+ ball. He has only had 19 minor league appearance to date, but looked stellar in them when he was pitching. Cranton’s season was cut short when he was hit in the head with a comebacker earlier this year. Cranton throws a fastball/slider mix and can hit triple digits when he rears back and fires. His fastball averages 97-99. His slider is merely average, mostly due to the lack of high spin to help the bite. But, it still comes in at 85-88 and tunnels well off his fastball. His command is not great, but he tends to fill the strike zone, opting to allow contact over allowing walks. Throwing as hard as he does, it remains to be seen whether that strategy will continue to work for him or not. Cranton is apparently still recovering from some concussion symptoms from his liner to the head, so it would not be surprising to see Arizona shut him down until February. But, once Cranton returns, it seems quite likely that he could be ready for a call-up to the 26-man by the end of 2026, depending on how he does when he arrives in Amarillo sometime next season. Even if he needs a bit more time, he should be more than ready to be a durable righty out of the bullpen with the make-up to pitch in higher leverage situations. But wait, there is still more!
Juan Burgos is a 25-year-old Dominican reliever who can touch 98, albeit with ineffective movement. He is also MLB-ready, though he is apparently heading to Reno for the moment. Burgos is something of a backwards pitcher, pitching off his hard slider/cutter, instead of his fastball. His slider/cutter is a true above average pitch, but it plays down some as a bat-misser because he relies too heavily upon it. If there is a count in which Burgos needs the strike, the pitch can be sat on, making it tougher to get the swing-and-miss. Like the others in this trade, Burgos is also a rookie. His MLB exposure to this point is 6.2 innings across four appearance. He gets elite strikeout results from his hard stuff, but he is going to need to work with Arizona’s pitching coaches to work on finding confidence in his powerful fastball. Burgos does have a changeup in his back pocket, as well as a curve. Neither are particularly threatening at this point. But, refining either one of them to merely average could unlock an entirely new dimension of effectiveness for Burgos. Burgos is a strike thrower, another pitcher who, despite modestly average command (that has improved significantly already) that prefers throwing a hittable strike than potentially walking a batter. When you throw as hard as Burgos does, that’s not a bad approach.
In total, Arizona picked up 15 combined years of MLB control covering three players in exchange for Eugenio Suarez. The big “let down” or “disappointment” likely comes from Arizona failing to add any starter depth to their farm system in the deal. But, looking at the cost that such arms were bringing in at the deadline, it is difficult to see any scenario where it was actually possible to. Instead, Arizona may well have just solved their impending first base crisis and also added two solid relief arms to their bullpen, both with profiles that fit late-inning work. Burgos should absolutely be up in Arizona by September. Locklear very well could be as well. Cranton, mostly due to his scary concussion, is a bit further off, but not much.
Arizona saving themselves a few million dollars and adding bullpen arms from a quality pitching development pipeline, while also potentially finding an everyday starter for a position of need is quite the bit of business. While the return may feel underwhelming to many, largely due to the lack of a starter or a bigger name coming back to Arizona, the overall value seems to be fairly high and there is reason to be excited that all three players could become solid contributors. Heck, Cranton could well end up being Arizona’s reverse Jhoan Duran, a flame-throwing back-end reliever in exchange for two months of a third base rental. Time will tell, but it is nice to see Arizona getting back players with better than 50/50 odds of sticking at the MLB level.