Arizona Diamondbacks reportedly attempting to trade second baseman

The Arizona Diamondbacks could be clearing the way for 2B Howie Kendrick.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Arizona Diamondbacks are actively trying to move one of their second baseman. The likely follow-up target? Free agent Howie Kendrick.

If the D’backs want to deal a second baseman, they have a couple options. 23-year-old Chris Owings played 115 games at second and 35 at shortstop in 2015, but he struggled at the dish in his third big league season. He slashed .227/.264/.322 with four home runs, 43 RBIs and 16 steals. Overall he posted a negative WAR (-0.8) on the year.

However, as Ken Rosenthal notes, Arizona still likes Owings and believes he will rebound from his poor showing. At his young age, that’s not a bad bet. He did hit markedly better over 91 games in 2014, slashing .261/.300/.406 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 332 plate appearances. If he’s on the team this upcoming season, the D’backs will hope Owings moves back in that direction.

Another possibility is 33-year-old veteran Aaron Hill. He played 116 games for Arizona in 2015, 47 of them as a second baseman. Hill has also plied his trade at shortstop and third throughout his 11-season career.

Hill was also less than convincing with the bat last season, posting a .230/.295/.345 slash line with six home runs and 39 RBIs. His best days are undoubtedly behind him. Namely, an All-Star 2009 campaign for the Blue Jays in which he belted 36 homers, drove in 108 runs and even captured some MVP votes.

The D’backs would probably prefer to move Hill, as he’s due to make $12 million this season in the last year of his deal. However, he likely won’t attract very many trade suitors in light of his salary and declining performance. Since 2009, he has managed a mediocre .253/.311/.412 line while averaging 14 home runs and 59 RBIs, well below the career highs of his All-Star season. Arizona will need to eat most of the remaining money to make a deal happen.

The potential addition of Kendrick could be enough to motivate the D’backs to do that, however. A few weeks ago, GM Dave Stewart said that he had been in contact with Kendrick’s representatives though he wasn’t sure about his chances of getting him signed. Arizona had explored a trade for Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips as well.

Kendrick may be one of the more underappreciated players in the league, contributing consistently solid offense at a position not known for it. The 32-year-old owns a career .293/.333/.423 slash line and has put up an OPS+ over 100 in each of the last five seasons. 2015 was business as usual for him in his Dodgers debut, as he batted .295/.336/.409 with nine homers and 54 RBIs.

At Kendrick’s age few teams would likely be willing to offer him a long-term commitment. He has shown legitimate signs of decline by some metrics. From 2014 to last year, his WAR plummeted from 5.3 (a career best) to 1.1.

Rosenthal also points out that the D’backs are hesitant to surrender their second-round draft pick (39th overall) to sign Kendrick, who rejected the Dodgers’ qualifying offer.

However, on a one- or two-year deal you’re still likely to get some good production out of Kendrick, and his presence would bolster a rapidly improving D’backs lineup. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is a perennial MVP contender, of course, and 2015 also saw the emergence of outfielders A.J. Pollock and David Peralta.

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Arizona has already given its rotation a massive boost by adding Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller. They’re going for it in 2016, and Howie Kendrick could be a small but important piece of the puzzle.

What do you think? Should the Diamondbacks trade a second baseman to bring in Kendrick? Let us know in the comments.