Arizona Diamondbacks Must Consider Trading Archie Bradley In 2016

By Nick Vorholt

With the signing of Zack Greinke and the trades for Shelby Miler and Jean Segura, the Arizona Diamondbacks boldly proclaimed that their time is now. Now, they have an injured All-Star center fielder and no real replacement for him. In order to compete while Greinke is still around, the Diamondbacks need to trade top prospect Archie Bradley for a top-notch outfielder.

Bradley was the Diamondbacks’ top draft pick in 2011. He’s made nine MLB starts over the past two seasons with a 2-3 record, including a victory over Clayton Kershaw in his debut last season. In his minor league career he has struck out 440 batters in 415 innings. In his big league starts, however, his strikeout rate has fallen to 25 over 40 innings. This has led some people to recommend that Arizona convert Bradley into a reliever, but at the age of 23 it’s too early for that.

His age is why the Diamondbacks should trade him now. He needs to be on a team that can wait for him to mature, not one that calls him up as a spot starter as has already happened once this season. He is too valuable to rot on the vine in Arizona.

On top of Bradley, the Diamondbacks need outfield help. To date Arizona has been making do with Chris Owings and Ricky Weeks in center field. Yes, two middle infielders are covering center field for a World Series aspiring team. Socrates Brito was helping out in center field, but he has since been optioned out. That’s why the Diamondbacks need to make a deal.

The Diamondbacks have the pitching to make a run this year. They’ll have the prospects to rebuild after Greinke leaves. In the meantime, they need to turn Bradley into a starting outfielder.

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