D-Backs fall short in try for Machado
Manny Machado was traded on Wednesday, and not only did the Diamondbacks not get him, it was their division rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who added the slugging infielder.
The Diamondbacks, who had been trying to acquire Machado since as far as back as the offseason, “were involved the whole way,” General Manager Mike Hazen said on Wednesday.
He added, “We obviously weren’t the high bidder.”
On the surface, the trade has the potential to drastically swing the balance of power in the National League West, a division that already has begun shifting in the Dodgers’ favor in recent weeks. While the Diamondbacks have spent 97 of the season’s first 111 days in first place and haven’t trailed by more than 11⁄2 games, the Dodgers have gained nine games on them since mid-May and entered the All-Star break leading by a half-game.
It brings to mind another high-profile Manny whom the Dodgers acquired
around this time a decade ago. The Diamondbacks can only hope Machado doesn’t carry the Dodgers the same way Manny Ramirez did in 2008.
“It’s hard to say,” Hazen said, when asked the impact on the division. “They acquired a really good player. But we believe in our team and we believe in where we’re at and we’ve got to go out and play the next 21⁄2 months. And I’m sure there’s still going to be a number of changes between now and the deadline. We’ll see where everything stands in its entirety when it’s all said and done.”
It’s the third consecutive summer the Dodgers have made a significant July acquisition; they landed lefty Rich Hill in 2016 and right-hander Yu Darvish in 2017.
The Diamondbacks had a couple of things working against them in their pursuit of Machado, starting with the depleted nature of their farm system. For the past three or four years, the Diamondbacks largely have been trading away from their prospect inventory in order to strengthen their current core of players.
To land Machado, the Dodgers parted with a Top 100 prospect in outfielder Yusniel Diaz along with four other players of varying prospect pedigrees. The closest thing the Diamondbacks had to a prospect of Diaz’s caliber is Double-A righthander Jon Duplantier and High-A catcher Daulton Varsho.
And those two prospects represent another disadvantage for the Diamondbacks: They’re both hurt, which made it less likely the Orioles would want to acquire them as the centerpiece of a deal. Duplantier is out with biceps tendinitis and could be back by early August; Varsho is working his way back from a hamate surgery.
Hazen was asked if he felt the Diamondbacks’ offer was close to what the Orioles ultimately took from the Dodgers.
“I can’t answer that question,” Hazen said. “You’d have to ask the Orioles that question. We stayed engaged with it. We had quite a few conversations, but, obviously, our deal wasn’t the one that they took.”
He said he was sure there was a way the Diamondbacks could have made a deal happen, but he wasn’t willing to sacrifice the long-term pieces that might have been required – like, say, dealing certain players off the major-league roster.
“Understanding the impact of any deal you make now, in the short-term, is important and we’re focused on that, we’re trying to keep those long-term things in mind, as well,” Hazen said. “And I think we have to.”
Hazen said the Machado outcome won’t wreck the Diamondbacks’ trade deadline, and he sounded more focused on upgrading the pitching staff, whether that means adding to the bullpen, the rotation or even trying to land a pitcher with options who might provide depth in case of injury. He also did not rule out the idea of improving on the position-player side.
“We’re in the same position we were in,” he said. “I think we’ve probably been realistic about this the whole time, anyway. We’ve been looking at other things.”
As for the Dodgers, Hazen said keeping Machado away from Los Angeles had no strategic impact on his thinking, nor does he consider it more disappointing for Machado to have wound up there.
“You don’t have control over that,” Hazen said. “That’s not the evaluation point for us. It is what it is. If he ended up in the National League, it was going to have some impact on us no matter what. I kind of look at it more that way.”
Short hop
The Diamondbacks will start lefty Robbie Ray on Friday, followed by righthanders Zack Godley and Zack Greinke on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, in this weekend’s series against the Colorado Rockies.