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The pieces are beginning to move in the right direction for the Arizona Diamondbacks. On Wednesday, the Diamondbacks showed they are ready to go all-in on their youth by trading slugging outfielder Mark Trumbo to the Seattle Mariners. In return, the Diamondbacks received catcher Welington Castillo and pitcher Dominic Leone, along with two top prospects: outfielder Gabby Guerrero and infielder Jack Reinheimer. Guerrero was the Mariners’ fourth-overall prospect and Reinheimer the 14th.
Usually, sending a power-hitter like Trumbo is a foolish move, but not in this case. Trumbo is built to be DH on an AL team. Sure, he contributed in home runs, but his swing is unreliable, as shown by his below-average .259 batting average. In five full big league seasons, Trumbo’s average is barely at the .250 mark.
Usually the big bats are shoved at first base, but Trumbo wasn’t going to dethrone All-Star Paul Goldschmidt off the bag. The next option was to place Trumbo in right field and hope that his power could make up for his lacking defense.
Quite frankly, the Diamondbacks hadn’t gotten what they expected when Trumbo signed his contract. The player who hit 95 and 100 RBIs back in 2012 and 2013 with the Los Angeles Angels hadn’t come up to the plate in Sedona red. In one and half seasons, Trumbo’s RBI count hadn’t even matched his 2012 numbers.
What’s more important about this trade for Arizona is that it opens up the team defensively. With Jake Lamb nearing his return from the DL, the move allows the young infielder to maintain his position at the hot corner. In addition, Yasmany Tomas is swinging one of the hottest bats on the team, collecting 14 hits in his last 10 games. Tomas can take Trumbo’s position, allowing Lamb to continue his hold at third base.
While Tomas has improved, Lamb has the superior glove and was batting a whopping .414 before his departure.
These two moves keep the team’s top hitters in the game. Lamb might be a little rusty at first, but he has the capability of becoming another Goldschmidt for Arizona. This move also clears what would have been an extremely logjammed outfield, allowing the team to consistently play Ender Inciarte, one of the team’s biggest surprises this year, and A.J. Pollock, whose talents cover all aspects of the game.
Recently, the Diamondbacks lost starting catcher Tuffy Gosewisch to a season-ending ACL tear. Although they recently brought in veterans Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jordan Pacheco, adding another catcher surely doesn’t hurt. It’s also been reported that top prospect Pete O’Brien is no longer interested in fulfilling catching duties.
It’s clear that the Diamondbacks have accepted their needs to rebuild, and they are going about it the right way. The offensive and defensive parts of the puzzle are fitting together for Tony La Russa and his team, and pitching is right behind it with Patrick Corbin on his way back to the rotation and Archie Bradley and Chase Anderson having solid seasons.
