Diamondbacks equipped for stretch run after great trade deadline

A wild July is in the books. Major League Baseball’s trade deadline has expired. Mike Hazen has earned an ‘A.’ 

It stands for absolution. 

No matter what happens in the next two months and beyond, the Diamondbacks general manager is absolved from all blame and failure. He has done his share. He has delivered a championship roster, and the rest is out of his control.

Hazen gave the 2024 Diamondbacks a pair of elite free agent pitchers in the offseason, Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery. To date, neither was a good investment. 

He brought in Joc Pederson, who has been a great fit off the bench. He imported Eugenio Suarez, a slugger who is finally paying dividends. He rebuilt the bullpen on the fly, giving manager Torey Lovullo the tools to anoint a new closer, which must happen immediately. And Hazen pivoted in the nervous hours after Christian Walker’s oblique strain, signing a power-hitting first baseman (Josh Bell) to fill the void. 

The National League will be a postseason gauntlet. The Dodgers are loaded. The Phillies are on a mission, a team looking for their own atonement. The Padres are a real problem. But the impending returns of Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly will give the Diamondbacks everything they need to capture a second consecutive pennant. 

Hazen understands this is a pivotal season in the arc of our baseball franchise. The Diamondbacks must validate last year’s magical run to the World Series. They must stack postseason appearances, proving that they are building something that is special and enduring. They cannot be another one-hit wonder in a market that has seen far too many. 

For the better part of four months, the 2024 Diamondbacks have struggled to be special. They’ve been much better at survival, where strong leadership and clubhouse character have kept them resilient in the face of adversity.   

There have been a number of statement games that have skewed the statistics and hinted at the team’s offensive potential, including eight games in which the Diamondbacks have scored 12 or more runs. But every time they’ve had the chance to build real momentum, they have crawled back into a shell. 

Not anymore. The Diamondbacks notched a rare sweep of the Nationals on Wednesday, completing a series that featured the most dramatic win of the season (Corbin Carroll’s walk-off home run on Monday) and the most lopsided shutout victory in team history (a 17-0 win on Tuesday).   

It was a series played in front of shockingly paltry crowds. But it was a series that went a long way in rekindling the buzz around our baseball team, and what they might be capable of in the near future. 

Alas, Hazen’s self-torment represented the worst part of last year’s magical romp to the World Series. He is the architect of Diamondbacks baseball. He built the team that captivated the Valley in October 2023, but not before tragically losing his wife along the way. It was awful and unjust to hear him blame himself for leaving the team one player short, for exposing the Valley to that awful bullpen game in the World Series. 

Now, Hazen is free to enjoy the ride. If only that were possible. 

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