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NL West: Preview of the MLB Trade Deadline

By Benjamin Chase

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 28: The Los Angeles Dodgers unvail their 2013 National League West Division Championship banner before the game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on September 27, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 28: The Los Angeles Dodgers unvail their 2013 National League West Division Championship banner before the game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on September 27, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /
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Taijuan Walker leaves Friday’s game with an arm injury, An MRI revealed possible ligament damage. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images) /

NL West preview: Arizona Diamondbacks

MLB trade deadline role: Buyer
After a great season in 2017 that led to the Diamondbacks making the NLDS, the Diamondbacks wanted to be able to have more success than their 3-game sweep to their division rival. However, due to financial constraints, the Diamondbacks were restricted on the moves they could make.

They made a focus to get a top-flight catcher and targeted arguably the best veteran catcher available on the free agent market in Alex Avila. The team made moves to add a number of bullpen pieces, including trading for Brad Boxberger, signing a foreign reliever in Yoshihisa Hirano, and signing T.J. McFarland and Jorge De La Rosa, all important members of the 2018 bullpen this season.

The biggest move of the offseason was a deal for outfielder Steven Souza that cost the Diamondbacks Brandon Drury and two minor league arms and also brought back promising minor league starter Taylor Widener. Souza has missed much of the season, playing just 14 games on the year.

Already, the Diamondbacks have addressed one of their biggest need areas by acquiring outfielder Jon Jay from the Royals to improve their outfield depth behind an injury-prone outfield corps.

The biggest issue the Diamondbacks have run into in 2018 so far has been starting pitching issues. Taijuan Walker was lost after 3 starts to Tommy John surgery. Robbie Ray has only made 6 starts on the season. Zack Godley was expected to take another step forward, but instead, he’s posted a 4.64 ERA on the season due to heavy struggles with his control.

Of course, finding more relief help is always excellent, and the Diamondbacks would love to add a partner for Paul Goldschmidt in the middle of the lineup, but the financial and prospect cost could be fairly steep.

Who they could target

A big play for Manny Machado has been rumored lately, and that would be incredible for the team, but whether the team has the pieces in its farm system along with the financial flexibility to make such a move is questionable.

Instead, the Diamondbacks are most likely going to be focused on pursuing an arm, likely someone like J.A. Happ from Toronto, Cole Hamels of Texas, or Ian Kennedy of the Royals. However, it should be noted that the Diamondbacks have had a frequent trading relationship with the Tampa Bay Rays, and they could be a prime destination for Chris Archer for that purpose.

Let’s look next at their quickly approaching division rivals, the long-standing dominant team of the NL West, the Dodgers…

Next: Los Angeles

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