Arizona Diamondbacks: Three Possible Trade Candidates
The Los Angeles Dodgers shook up the National League West Division after recently acquiring All-Star shortstop Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles. With many intriguing trade candidates still remaining, the Arizona Diamondbacks have plenty of options to make a counter move.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are currently 1.5 games behind the Dodgers for second place in the NL West. With the Colorado Rockies breathing down their necks, and the San Francisco Giants still looming around, the Diamondbacks will look to be buyers at the trade deadline.
During the 2017 trade season, the Diamondbacks made a very significant move. They acquired J.D. Martinez from the Detroit Tigers for Sergio Alcantara, Jose King, and Dawel Lugo.
In the 62 games that Martinez played for Arizona, he hit 29 home runs and had 65 runs batted in alongside a 1.107 on-base plus slugging percentage. This performance helped propel the Diamondbacks to a first place NL Wild Card finish.
Within the dreaded one-game playoff, the Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies to advance to face the NL West leading Dodgers in the National League Division Series. Unfortunately for Arizona, their season came to an end when they were swept by their division rivals in the NLDS.
Over the offseason, the Diamondbacks lost their recently acquired superstar outfielder, Martinez, to the Boston Red Sox in free agency. They responded by trading Brandon Drury, Anthony Banda and two players-to-be-named-later in a three team trade to acquire Steven Souza Jr. from the Tampa Bay Rays and Taylor Widener from the New York Yankees.
Although Souza hit 30 home runs for the Rays through 148 games in 2017, he only has 1 home run in 2018 for the Diamondbacks through 25 games.
All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is the only Diamondbacks player with more than 20 home runs on the season. Outside of David Peralta with 16 home runs, Nick Ahmed with 12 home runs, and A.J. Pollock with 12 home runs, no other Diamondbacks have over 10 home runs on the season.
As a team, the Diamondbacks are 22nd in the MLB with a .394 slugging percentage. They are also 24th in the MLB with a .309 on-base percentage.
Due to their poor offensive numbers, let’s take a look at three players the Diamondbacks should consider prior to the trade deadline.
Adam Jones should be a top priority for the Arizona Diamondbacks at the 2018 trade deadline. He would bring a veteran presence with playoff experience. He would also help boost their offensive numbers without negatively impacting their defense.
The Baltimore Orioles are in the midst of a dreadful season. Despite being 41.5 games behind the Red Sox for last place in the American League East, they are also 32.0 games behind the Seattle Mariners for second place in the Wild Card race. As they recently decided to trade free-agent-to-be Manny Machado to the Dodgers, it makes sense to another free-agent-to-be, Adam Jones.
Although Jones only has 10 home runs on the season, he has hit 25 or more home runs in seven straight seasons. Jones currently holds a .303 on-base percentage and a .425 slugging percentage. The Diamondbacks currently get a .269 on-base percentage and a .308 slugging percentage from their right fielders this season. This poor output from the right field position is mostly due to the performance of the replacements for Souza while he has been on the disabled list.
Souza recently returned for Arizona on July 5th. In 45 at-bats since returning from his second stint on the disabled list with a right pectoral strain, Souza has 12 hits and 6 walks. During that time, his on-base percentage increased from .235 to .296 on the season and his slugging percentage increased from .174 to .330.
Even though Souza is beginning to produce, it makes sense for the Diamondbacks to acquire additional help in the outfield. Between the injury histories of Souza and Pollock, and the recent news of Jarrod Dyson landing on the disabled list, having Jones around would greatly benefit this Diamondbacks team.
Adam Jones is a 5-time All-Star, a 4-time Gold Glove recipient, and a 1-time silver slugger. He is on the last year of his contract, so he will be a free agent following the season. Jones’ combination of leadership, offense, and defense could help the Diamondbacks overcome the Dodgers in the NL West.
Even if the Arizona Diamondbacks are able to acquire Adam Jones, they should also look at Eduardo Escobar. If the Diamondbacks end up finding themselves in another Wild Card playoff, Escobar also has prior experience in that situation with the Twins.
The Minnesota Twins had higher hopes for the 2018 season after making it to the Wild Card playoff in 2017. However, they currently find themselves 9.5 games back of the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central and 14.5 games back of the Mariners in the Wild Card. Due to this, they may look to sell pieces that will soon become free agents.
Eduardo Escobar will be a free agent following the 2018 season, so he may be available as the Twins continue to fade out of contention. Escobar currently holds a .332 on-base percentage alongside a whopping .507 slugging percentage. Through 95 games, he has 36 doubles, 2 triples, and 14 home runs. This is an incredible amount of production on the offensive side.
To make Escobar even more valuable, he has a large amount of MLB experience at shortstop, third base, second base, and left field. He even has at least one game of experience in center field, right field, catcher, and pitcher. The only position he has not played in the MLB is first base.
This season, the Diamondbacks currently get a .286 on-base percentage from their shortstops to go with a .430 slugging percentage. From third base, they currently get a .328 on-base percentage and a .390 slugging percentage. As Escobar primarily plays shortstop and third base, adding him into the infield mix would be a huge addition for the Diamondbacks.
Similar to Eduardo Escobar, Whit Merrifield plays multiple positions while providing stellar offensive production. If the Arizona Diamondbacks are unable to acquire Escobar, Merrifield is the next best choice.
The main reason the Diamondbacks should pursue Escobar first is the high cost of Merrifield. Even though the Kansas City Royals are in last place in the AL Central, Merrifield is under team control through 2023. Due to this team control, the Royals may ask for a larger haul of prospects to pry him away from Kansas City.
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Nonetheless, Merrifield is the same age Escobar (29-years-old), so the Royals may want to move him while his value is sky-high. Merrifield currently holds a .375 on-base percentage and a .429 slugging percentage. Throughout his MLB career, he has experience at second base, right field, left field, center field, first base, and third base. His versatility on the field to go with his phenomenal offensive production makes Merrifield quite a ballplayer.
As the Royals unfortunately lost Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain to free agency this past offseason, they are entering a rebuild. As Merrifield is not a young player, it makes sense to go the trade route to further their rebuilding process.
The Diamondbacks current shortstop, Nick Ahmed, only played 53 games in 2017 and 90 games in 2016. The current second baseman, Ketel Marte, only played 73 games in 2017 and 119 games in 2016. Although Jake Lamb played 149 games in 2017 and 151 games in 2016, he has been limited to 52 games this season.
Merrifield would be a perfect addition to this Diamondbacks team as he would be able to play all over the field to fill in for any injury or to give regular rest to players that are not accustomed to playing full seasons.
Next: Revisiting the Shelby Miller trade
Merrifield would be an ideal fit at the top of the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup. A player with his plate discipline and ability to get on base would consistently provide Paul Goldschmidt with opportunities to drive in runs.