Diamondbacks attempted to claim waived Giolito, Moore, Lopez, Bader

The Arizona Diamondbacks were one of the teams to put waiver claims on the handful of impact players waived by the Los Angeles Angels, per Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.

Starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, left-handed reliever Matt Moore and right-handed reliever Reynaldo Lopez were the three former Angels Arizona submitted a claim on, only to come up empty on all of them. The D-backs also put a claim in on former New York Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader. All three pitchers were awarded to the Cleveland Guardians while the Cincinnati Reds got Bader.

Each individual claim comes down to the team with the worst record getting the player. Because of the thought of teams in the playoff hunt being the only ones interested given the salaries involved, the 69-65 D-backs figured to have a good chance of getting at least one of the players.

But the 64-70 Guardians, five games out from first place in the poor American League Central, were an exception that pounced on serious pitching reinforcements. The Reds at 69-66 are a half-game lower than Arizona in the standings. Thus, they got Bader.

The Angels shocked baseball after making aggressive moves at the trade deadline for some of those names, only to let a few go for salary relief after key injuries to Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports L.A. will save roughly $7 million on the moves after going 7-18 since the deadline.

Giolito and Lopez were two of the trade deadline acquisitions. Both would have been significant contributors to the D-backs.

Giolito’s numbers for the Angels were brutal, a 6.89 ERA across six starts, but he was considered one of the best starters moved at the deadline. Lopez has a 3.93 ERA out of the bullpen this year with 71 strikeouts in 55 innings.

Moore has pitched the best of all of ’em, with the converted starter sporting a 2.30 ERA in 43 innings. Bader, meanwhile, has an OPS of .643 with seven homers and 37 RBIs.

Giolito could have helped the D-backs aid the scramble they are going through in the starting rotation, one currently over-reliant on young arms. Either Lopez or Moore would have been seen as the biggest adds, though, as the Arizona bullpen has largely been a mess the last three months. A Bader arrival would have brought in another right-handed bat to an outfield that added Tommy Pham at the trade deadline.

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