The Diamondbacks’ path to the Trade Deadline is getting bumpier by the day, and general manager Mike Hazen isn’t pretending otherwise.
Arizona has slid after a 13-game run against the Rockies and Giants in which it went 11-2, and the problems have piled up fast. The lineup has struggled with runners in scoring position.
The pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries. Corbin Burnes won’t be back until September instead of July, A.J.
Puk is also out longer than hoped, and starters Michael Soroka and Ryne Nelson have both gone down as well.
Even with all of that, the D-backs are still hanging around. After getting swept in Tampa Bay, they bounced back Monday with a 5-4 win over the Giants in the opener of a three-game series. Arizona sits at 42-42, tied with the Nationals and 2 1/2 games back of the third NL Wild Card spot, with three teams ahead of them.
That leaves Hazen in a familiar spot: weighing whether this is a club worth reinforcing.
"What I want to do and what I'm gonna do may not work in concert with each other," Hazen said. "I want this team to make a deep run in the pennant race and into the playoffs, and we're going to need to add players to do that.
I say this every year, I don't really feel like I'm going to make that decision. I feel like that decision is going to get handed to me one way or another from the guys down there [in the clubhouse]."
The Deadline is Aug. 3, so there’s still plenty of runway before anything gets decided. Hazen, though, is already testing options and trying different combinations to keep the roster moving forward.
Top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt has been up and down. So has infield prospect Jose Fernandez.
Tommy Troy is still getting looks, and first baseman LuJames Groover remains in the mix. Hazen also went out and signed outfielder Max Kepler, who was in the middle of a PED suspension.
More changes could still come.
"If there are opportunities externally, internally, we're gonna keep fighting at this," Hazen said. "We're not gonna sit tight and just hope that things get [better]. Hope is a terrible strategy."
The clearest issue right now is the offense. The Diamondbacks are not just failing to cash in with runners in scoring position; they’re struggling to score at all.
"The middle of the lineup needs to produce in a more consistent fashion," Hazen said. "The top of the lineup has been sort of steadily marching on, and the middle to the bottom part of the lineup just hasn't produced in the way we need to to consistently score runs. We're not getting on base at the clip we need to, and we're not slugging, so that's a recipe for not scoring a lot of runs."
Hazen said the staff and players are working hard every day, but the issue is more about approach than effort. In his view, the group needs to do a better job of working counts and avoiding stubborn at-bats. Manager Torey Lovullo has already said he wants to see fewer early-count outs.
The problems haven’t stopped at the plate, either. The bullpen has been a strength, but the rotation has been less steady, and Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly have both had slow starts by their standards.
"I appreciate those guys, how hard they work, and they're disciplined to their craft," Hazen said. "They haven't gotten the results they wanted. I'm still optimistic that those two guys, given their track record, are going to figure out what needs to get done."
In Other News...
D Backs Prospect Demetrio Crisantes Just Delivered His Loudest Statement Yet
Demetrio Crisantes added a new line to his breakout season Sunday in Amarillo, where the 21-year-old shortstop for the Sod Poodles hit for the cycle in an 18-4 rout of the Frisco RoughRiders at HODGETOWN. For the Diamondbacks, who have been tracking Crisantes closely as their No. 5 prospect, it was the kind of all-fields, all-around performance that reinforces why his rise has been one of the more encouraging developments in the system this season.
The cycle also carried a bit of franchise trivia with it, marking the first home cycle for the Sod Poodles since the clubs 2019 rebranding. Crisantes has already been swinging it well this year, and the broader question now is how much louder his bat can get from here as he continues to separate himself in Double-A. [Read more 🡒]
Ketel Marte Is Suddenly The Dbacks Bat Everyone Is Watching
Ketel Marte has become the Arizona hitter to keep an eye on again as the Diamondbacks get ready for a rivalry game with the Giants on Monday. His recent stretch has been loud enough to change the conversation around Arizonas lineup, and the batting approach has matched the production, with Marte hitting .304 over the last two weeks while also driving the ball out of the park at a steady clip.
The matchup only adds to the intrigue, because San Francisco right-hander Tyler Mahle is the kind of opponent that can make one swing feel bigger than the rest. Marte has homered in three of his last four games, so even by the standards of a hot streak, this is one of those spots where Arizonas focus naturally lands on whether he can keep forcing pitchers to pay for mistakes. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Suddenly Have A Zac Gallen Problem They Can't Ignore
Zac Gallen has gone from one of the most reliable arms in the rotation to a pitcher the Diamondbacks can no longer treat as a routine answer every fifth day. The numbers are ugly, with a league-worst 6.15 ERA underscoring just how far the right-hander has fallen, and the concern in Arizona is no longer about a brief rough stretch but about a deeper erosion in effectiveness.
Opposing hitters appear to have adjusted to the way Gallen sequences his pitches, and the stuff itself is not missing bats the way it once did. Reduced spin rate and movement, especially on his knuckle curve, have made his offerings easier to pick up, leaving the Diamondbacks facing a much bigger question than simple command or confidence: whether Gallen needs a real reinvention of his arsenal, with coaching help, to get back on track. [Read more 🡒]