Last season wasn’t exactly the kind of follow-up the Arizona Diamondbacks hoped for after a surprising run to the 2023 World Series.
A late-season surge couldn’t compensate for a mediocre regular season as Arizona fell short of making the National League playoffs. One of the main reasons for the Diamondbacks’ shortcomings was its starting pitching, which finished 27th out of 30 Major League Baseball rotations with an ERA of 4.79.
Despite this, Will Sammon and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that Arizona is receiving “significant interest from clubs looking for starters” this offseason.
However, the rotation’s bloated ERA does not tell the entire story, as Arizona’s starters were mauled by the injury bug last season.
Staff ace Zac Gallen missed nearly a month on the injured list, while counted-on starters Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez were lost for nearly the entire season due to their respective injuries.
Jordan Montgomery, who signed with Arizona on Opening Day, appeared entirely lost for most of the season after missing Spring Training and posted his worst MLB campaign by far.
Neither of The Athletic’s reporters named who Arizona is receiving the most interest in, but it is not likely to be Rodriguez or Montgomery. Both hurlers feature onerous contracts with little reason from 2024 results to merit interest from other MLB clubs.
Teams may be more intrigued by younger Arizona starters Brandon Pfaadt, Yilber Diaz, and Ryne Nelson, who filled in for their more well-known rotation mates during the season. This trio all have promise, cost less, and are under team control for longer periods.
Young, talented, and cost-controllable pitchers are always held in high esteem in trade talks and can often bring far more value in a trade than their more well-established rotation mates.
With Arizona at risk of losing offensive standouts Christian Walker, Joc Pederson, and Randall Grichuk through free agency, the Diamondbacks may be inclined to deal from a position of pitching strength in order to fill their prospective offensive gaps.
