Diamondbacks trade deadline: Latest buzz and potential targets

The Arizona Diamondbacks are doing their due diligence on starting pitchers, reportedly scouting the most recent starts of Mets right-handers Freddy Peralta and Clay Homes.

Additionally, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro capped the latest Burns & Gambo by suggesting that Detroit Tigers starter Casey Mize was someone to keep an eye on.

The Diamondbacks could use help with the starting rotation, as they have a laundry list of injuries. Michael Soroka will make a rehab start on Tuesday as he works back, but the D-backs are awaiting the returns of Corbin Burnes, Ryne Nelson and Zac Gallen.

Arizona could use a reinforcement to help bridge that gap. The rotation is made up of three experienced arms Eduardo Rodriguez, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt and two rookies Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt.

The trade deadline is Monday at 3 p.m. MST.

Diamondbacks reportedly scouting Mets starters

The Athletic’s Mets insider Will Sammon reported that the Diamondbacks were among several teams to scout Peralta’s last start on Sunday, alongside fellow NL Wild Card contender San Diego.

Peralta was scheduled to pitch on Friday but was scratched, as the Mets are widely expected to move him as an expiring contract ($8 million for the entire season).

Mets MLB.com writer Anthony DiComo reported that the D-backs were in attendance for Holmes’ latest rehab start in Dunedin, Florida, as Holmes is working back from a fractured right fibula he suffered on a comebacker in May.

Holmes has a $12 million player option for next season at 34 years old.

The Mets are in sell mode, having already dealt from their bullpen by sending A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins.

Peralta is having his worst statistical season since he was 23 years old in 2019, pitching to a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts. He finished fifth in the 2025 NL Cy Young race, however, and there are predictive stats that suggest he will perform better down the stretch (4.46 ERA, 3.83 xERA).

His strikeouts are down this year (28% to 22%), but the Diamondbacks field a better defense than the Mets to pick up the baseball behind him. He is certainly a change-of-scenery candidate who has not worked out in Queens but boasts a quality track record.

Holmes got off to a terrific start to this season with a 2.39 ERA in nine starts, but he would be in the large camp of D-backs starters coming back from injury.

Holmes would be ahead of the others, as he threw four shutout innings in a Triple-A game on Tuesday. The former closer-turned starter is a ground ball machine who leans mostly on a sinker-sweeper-changeup combination.

What about Casey Mize?

Mize was also scratched from start on Friday, as the Tigers will be a popular team leading up to the deadline for ace starter Tarik Skubal and others.

Mize has missed some time this year with adductor issues, but he has been healthy enough to pitch for over a month and has been on a roll. In his last five starts, Mize owns a 2.20 ERA.

The 29-year-old and No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Amateur Draft is on an expiring contract. After injuries impacted the early years of his career, Mize pitched a career-high 149 innings in 2025 and made his first All-Star team.

His 2.70 ERA this season suggests he could have made a second had he remained healthy — something to keep an eye on is that Mize’s velocity was down a tick across the board in his last start. He experienced some groin tightness in his previous start.

Luis Garcia Jr. on the table?

Washington Nationals first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. fits a clear need that the Diamondbacks have: a first baseman who can mash against right-handed pitching. The 26-year-old entered Friday with a .920 OPS and 22 home runs against righties this season and a .663 OPS versus lefties. The D-backs entered Friday with a .680 OPS against righties, the lowest in MLB.

The Nationals only trailed the final NL Wild Card spot by 2.5 games entering Friday’s slate, and the industry has questioned how much they would be willing to pull from their MLB-best offense to build a more well-rounded roster moving forward.

The Athletic reported that Garcia is drawing significant interest and tied him to the Diamondbacks in multiple deadline previews, and CBS Sports’ Julian McWilliams wrote that the Nationals are looking for suitors.

Garcia has one more season under team control before he hits free agency.

Gambadoro reported that the D-backs checked in with the Nationals generally, but it was still unclear which direction they would go in.

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