The Diamondbacks spent deadline day trying to add pitching, and one of their biggest swings nearly sent Clay Holmes to Arizona.
According to the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro, the D’Backs and Mets were deep into talks on a deal for the veteran right-hander. The negotiations got far enough that the clubs exchanged medical information yesterday on the players involved, but the talks eventually stalled. Piecoro reported that the Mets had “concerns” about the medicals of one of the prospects Arizona would have sent to New York, and even after “the teams tried to rework the deal with different players involved,” they couldn’t find a new agreement.
The breakdown appears to have come around 2pm CT, roughly three hours before the 5pm deadline. While Arizona was waiting, other pitchers on its wish list came off the board.
Holmes ultimately landed elsewhere, with the Mets sending him and outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the Cubs for infield prospect Jefferson Rojas. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman first reported that trade at 3:44pm CT.
Without the details of the prospect or prospects involved, it’s tough to assign blame. Medical reviews are part of the process for a reason, and the Mets were well within their rights to pause on a player’s health history if they weren’t comfortable.
At the same time, different clubs draw different lines when it comes to medicals, so a player one team backs away from might be perfectly acceptable to another. That’s where the Diamondbacks’ frustration likely lives.
Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said the club pushed hard in its deadline talks, telling MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other media, “ we offered a lot, so all the way to the top of our farm system, etc. I had to draw the line on the Major League team on some level on some of those asks.
Taking guys off the Major League team comes with a bigger risk - taking guys out of the bullpen, taking younger players off the team that we need. But from a prospect standpoint, you know, I felt like we were very aggressive.
I wish we were able to do more, with the way the team has played.”
For now, Arizona has to make do with the pitching it already has - and hope help is on the way from the injured list. Manager Torey Lovullo said Justin Martinez will begin a minor league rehab assignment today, Michael Soroka is set to pitch in a Triple-A game today, Blake Walston is close to his own Triple-A assignment, and Drey Jameson will throw a simulated game today.
Corbin Burnes is moving too. He’ll throw a bullpen session on Tuesday as he works through a long rehab after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2025. His return had been pushed back when a teres major strain interrupted the process two months ago, but Burnes said today that “ everything’s been feeling great ” and that he hopes to be back before September 1.
To open up a 40-man spot for Lars Nootbaar, the Diamondbacks moved Zac Gallen from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. That makes September 7 the earliest possible return for Gallen, whose 15-day stay began on July 9. He’s dealing with inflammation in his right elbow, though Lovullo said Gallen has started throwing from 120-foot distances as he begins building back up.
The good news for Arizona is that the standings still give it room to breathe. The win over the Padres moved the Diamondbacks to 60-53, leaving them tied for the second NL wild card and two games clear of the playoff line. Recent work from Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt has steadied the rotation, with Eduardo Rodriguez also in the mix.
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Diamondbacks Missed A Key Rotation Upgrade After Trade Suddenly Collapsed
Arizona entered the trade conversation looking for a rotation upgrade, and Clay Holmes appeared to be part of that plan before the deal abruptly came apart. The fit made sense for a club trying to sharpen the pitching mix, but the agreement never moved forward, leaving the Diamondbacks to keep searching while the Mets re-evaluated their options.
The holdup centered on the medical side of the exchange, and once the original framework collapsed, New York quickly pivoted in a different direction. Holmes and Tyrone Taylor wound up going to the Cubs instead, and the Mets still came away with a meaningful prospect return, underscoring how fast these talks can change when one club decides to press pause. [Read more 🡒]