The trade for Taijuan Walker has further crowded the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rotation. Could one of the D-Backs’ starting pitchers soon be moved?
In a recent trade, the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired starting pitcher Taijuan Walker and shortstop Ketel Marte from the Seattle Mariners. The acquisition of Walker has given the Diamondbacks more starters than they need for a five-man rotation. According to a tweet from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Arizona is now expecting increased interest in their young starting pitchers.
Sources: #DBacks expect increased trade interest in younger SPs, with Walker joining Bradley, Corbin, Miller, Ray. All between 24 and 27.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 28, 2016
The Diamondbacks’ starting rotation ranked last in the National League with a 5.19 ERA last season. Two pitchers who surprisingly struggled were Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller.
While there has been some talk regarding the possibility of trading Greinke, he will be heading into the second year of a massive six-year, $206.5 million deal. Finding trade partners for younger, cost-controlled pitchers might be an easier task.
Although Miller is coming off a rough year, he had a great season with the Atlanta Braves back in 2015, ranking 10th in the National League with a 3.02 ERA. Miller remains under team control through 2019, and he could be an ideal bounce-back candidate. There are parks that are more pitcher-friendly than Chase Field as well.
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Archie Bradley, a former top prospect and first-round draft pick of the Diamondbacks, has posted a rather unsightly 5.18 ERA over the first two seasons of his career. At only 24 years of age, however, he still has plenty of time to figure it out. Bradley will not be eligible for free agency until 2022.
When Patrick Corbin finally returned last season after a more than year-long absence from Tommy John surgery, he looked great. Through 16 starts, the southpaw posted a solid 3.60 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He took a big step back last year, going 5-13 with a 5.15 ERA over 36 games (24 starts), but he should still have plenty of upside at only 27 years of age.
Robbie Ray, the other left-hander of the crop, was a bit of an enigma last year. Though he went just 8-15 with a 4.90 ERA last year, he had an eye-popping 11.25 K/9 and was worth 3.0 fWAR. According to Brooks Baseball, Ray’s average four-seam fastball registered at 95.25 MPH last season. Lefties who can throw that hard don’t exactly grow on trees.
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Aside from the pitchers Rosenthal mentioned, it is worth noting that the Diamondbacks have Matt Koch and Braden Shipley on the way as well. Both pitchers made their MLB debuts last season.
With a big trade having already been made, and a new general manager and skipper already in tow, a new era has begun for the Diamondbacks. Arizona clearly has trade chips to work with, and it will be interesting to see what other changes may take place down in the desert.