Diamondbacks in middle of pack in ESPN’s trade deadline re-grades

Although the Arizona Diamondbacks were buyers at the trade deadline, their moves haven’t exactly panned out, according to ESPN.

In Brandon Doolittle of ESPN’s article re-grading the 2018 trade deadline, he gave the D-backs a C+, noting inconsistencies from the players picked up at the deadline.

At the deadline, Arizona acquired right-handed pitcher Matt Andriese, infielder Eduardo Escobar, left-handed pitcher Jake Diekman and right-handed pitcher and former D-back Brad Ziegler.

In spite of these deadline moves, the D-backs are just four games over .500 since the All-Star break and currently lead the NL West by just half a game.

Eduardo Escobar has been productive since joining the team, but according to the article, not productive enough.

The deal for Escobar has paid off well enough. He has hit .278/.336/.474 for Arizona, not quite what he’d been doing for Minnesota but still above his career baseline. Still, the Diamondbacks ranked 21st in third base bWAR (Baseball-Reference.com WAR) at the break; they now rank 22nd. Nevertheless, with Jake Lamb done for the year, things probably would be much worse had Escobar not been acquired.

Before his season-ending shoulder injury, Jake Lamb was batting .222 with six home runs, so Escobar’s .278 average is still a significant upgrade.

Perhaps the production out of the newly-acquired relievers has been more disappointing than Escobar’s contributions at the plate.

Andriese, Diekman and Ziegler have combined for an ERA of 4.82, and Andriese is now in Single-A Visalia. Since the break, the D-backs are a measly 4-8 in one-run games and rank 26th in win probability added from its bullpen.

Arizona’s level of play has been solid, as the team has gone from a plus-42 run differential at the break to plus-83. Yet that hasn’t paid off with a leap in the standings, and the bullpen woes have been a big part of that.

Despite the new pieces underperforming, the D-backs have fared better than some of their NL West foes. Doolittle graded the Rockies’ and Dodgers’ deadline moves with a D and D+, respectively.

The Cubs were given the best grade in the entire league as a result of Daniel Murphy’s, Jesse Chavez’s and Cole Hamels’ success since arriving in the Windy City. On the other hand, the Pirates earned an F, the worst grade in the article, due to Chris Archer’s 6.45 ERA since joining the team.

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