How Diamondbacks’ 2025 trade deadline played out 1 year later

Trade grades are a lot of fun to argue about, and picking winners and losers is a trade deadline tradition.

It takes time to understand the ramifications of trades, however, especially during the season, and the Arizona Diamondbacks made a series of sell moves last summer with the hope of putting the organization in a better position moving forward.

The Diamondbacks made five notable deals to send veterans away to contending teams, starting with the Josh Naylor trade to Seattle that brought in a young, left-handed reliever who has been worth more wins above replacement this year than the bigger name he was traded for, Brandyn Garcia.

Let’s review the five deals with a year of hindsight ahead of this season’s deadline on Aug. 3.

Revisiting 2025 Diamondbacks trade deadline

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Trade 1: Diamondbacks send 1B Josh Naylor to Seattle for LHP Brandyn Garcia and RHP Ashton Izzi

Looking back, this appears to be a win-win deal.

Naylor was on an expiring contract, and he just gelled with the Mariners in the second half, hitting .299 with an .831 OPS. More strikingly, he stole 19 bases without getting caught. One of the slowest players in the league by sprint speed finished the year with 30 swipes, three times more than his previous career high. It went so well that the Mariners re-signed Naylor to a five-year contract, which is off to a dubious start. Naylor owns a .681 OPS in the first year of the deal.

Garcia showed flashes for the Diamondbacks last year as a big lefty who threw hard and deployed a wipeout slider, but he struggled to throw strikes in spring training and opened the year in Triple-A. Since getting called back up, Garcia has been arguably the most effective reliever in the bullpen with a 2.17 ERA in 35 appearances.

Izzi, meanwhile, was further behind in the minor leagues but has already climbed the ladder to Triple-A as a 22-year-old. The starter has a 4.58 ERA this season despite pitching his home games in hitter-friendly environments. MLB Pipeline moved him up to No. 12 on Arizona’s prospects list, touting his simple delivery and control.

Trade 2: Diamondbacks send OF Randal Grichuk to Kansas City for RHP Andrew Hoffmann

There is not much to say about this deal. Grichuk was about to turn 34 years old and enter free agency after the season, so getting anything for him was a no-brainer.

The outfielder was not great for Kansas City (.566 OPS), but he has bounced back this year for the Chicago White Sox (.858 OPS).

Hoffmann, like Garcia, showed flashes last year with a good changeup, but walks piled up on him and he only made eight MLB appearances through the end of the season. He made the Opening Day roster this spring but was sent down after eight appearances and has been on the injured list since early June with a lat strain.

Trade 3: Diamondbacks send 3B Eugenio Suarez to Seattle for 1B Tyler Locklear, RHP Juan Burgos and RHP Hunter Cranton

This was the big trade that felt inevitable once the D-backs went down the seller’s path, both for the clubhouse and the fanbase.

The smiley fan favorite broke out of a potential career-ending slump to start the 2024 season by racking up 30 home runs and 100 RBIs by the end of the campaign. He remained sizzling hot into 2025 with a four-home run game and All-Star appearance. He hit 36 home runs before the trade deadline. No one on the Diamondbacks has hit 20 home runs this season in a similar timeframe.

Suarez went back to the Mariners for a second stint, and while his numbers took a dive in Seattle (.897 OPS to .682), he came up with one of that franchise’s iconic moments: a grand slam in Game 5 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariners did not win the series, however, but that home run may have been worth the trade alone. He went on to sign with the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent, another second stint with a franchise.

As for the D-backs, the return package has not led to much success yet.

Burgos has struggled to remain in the major leagues and has not put together a good season in Triple-A. Cranton had season-ending hip surgery, another setback for the hard-throwing reliever who dealt with injuries in the past.

Locklear looks like the most promising return piece. He was quite rough when given the opportunity to start at first base last season, hitting .175 in 31 games. He missed most of September with an elbow and shoulder injury after a collision at first base.

He came back this year and played well for Triple-A Reno with an .897 OPS and eight home runs in 54 games, winning Pacific Coast League Player of the Week before getting recalled. In the majors, he has played eight games so far and gone 6-for-23 with a home run and three walks.

Trade 4: Diamondbacks send RHP Merrill Kelly to Texas for LHP Kohl Drake, LHP Mitch Bratt and RHP David Hagaman

From simply a talent acquisition standpoint, this trade was a slam dunk for the Diamondbacks considering they signed Kelly back over the offseason.

Whether the contract ages well or not is one thing, but for two months of a pitcher the D-backs ultimately decided to bring back, the D-backs acquired three young pitchers for the pipeline, two of whom have made their MLB debuts this season.

It is not ideal that Drake and Bratt occupy two spots in Arizona’s banged-up rotation at this point, but the D-backs clearly needed the depth while certain arms work their way back.

Hagaman probably has the highest ceiling of the trio, and MLB Pipeline bumped him up to third on Arizona’s list. The right-handed starter is only in High-A Hillsboro but owns a 3.18 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 65 innings.

Kelly was okay in Texas with a 4.23 ERA in 10 starts, and the Rangers ultimately missed the postseason. They actually finished only a game better than Arizona. Kelly returned on a two-year, $40 million deal with a vesting option for a third season, and although his season numbers are not strong (5.12 ERA), he has trended in the right direction with a 1.95 ERA in five July starts.

Trade 5: Diamondbacks send RHP Shelby Miller and LHP Jordan Montgomery to Milwaukee for cash

The D-backs saved $2 million by completing this salary dump, trading one of their most effective relievers and best redemption stories of the year in Miller for no players in return.

This did not end up working out for Milwaukee, as Miller made 11 appearances with a 5.59 ERA before he suffered a UCL sprain and needed season-ending surgery. He signed with the Chicago Cubs the following offseason but is out for all of 2026.

Overall, the Diamondbacks traded away six players on expiring contracts and did decently well inserting depth into the farm system. Naylor was the only departee who played better down the stretch than in Arizona.

Garcia looks like the prize so far with Hagaman showing potential to be the biggest acquisition of the group, especially considering Arizona’s struggles to find effective starters internally.

The Suarez trade has not panned out ideally for selling high on an All-Star, but the jury is still out on Locklear.

Arizona did not find a trade for struggling pitcher Zac Gallen, and keeping him paid off when he turned his season around (re-signing him is another situation).

The front office understands what it put the team through by shaking up the roster to a degree, and the players responded by playing much better down the stretch to make the final few weeks meaningful. The 2026 Diamondbacks are trending toward adding at the deadline, as they did in 2023 and 2024.

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