Diamondbacks trade deadline: Which starting pitchers could help the injured rotation?

Arizona Diamondbacks leadership has suggested multiple times that the biggest pitching additions the club could make before the end of the season may come from the injured list.

With Michael Soroka, Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen and Ryne Nelson on the road back, the Diamondbacks have to weigh their incoming arms with the present need to add starting pitching at the trade deadline on Aug. 3.

As it stands, the Diamondbacks have two rookies, Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake, in the starting rotation just getting their feet wet during critical games as Arizona competes to remain in a postseason position.

Soroka is the closest of the aforementioned group to returning, while manager Torey Lovullo said on Friday that he is hoping Burnes can be back in early September. Nelson just started throwing, and Gallen’s timeline is unclear.

All that said, the Diamondbacks could use another arm to eat innings in the meantime and then figure out the surplus later, but it could be tough to buy in a market with so few obvious sellers. Only eight teams entered Monday more than 3.5 games back of a playoff spot.

At the same time, the Diamondbacks are looking to get back to the postseason for the first time since the 2023 World Series, and their play over the past three weeks has provided urgency to help this group get over the top.

Here is a list of starting pitchers entrenched in trade rumors, playing for teams out of the race or those on the edge who could go in multiple directions.

This is also keeping in mind the luxury tax threshold of $244 million, as the Diamondbacks’ projected payroll is a projected $231.6 million, including taxes, according to FanGraphs.

Starting pitchers who could help the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline

8 potential rentals

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Giants LHP Robbie Ray – The former Diamondbacks lefty has put together back-to-back solid seasons in San Francisco after his Tommy John surgery in 2023. His ERA this season is 3.16, which would be his lowest since winning the 2021 Cy Young award (2.84). Ray has been peaking at the right time for the Giants to trade him, as he owns a 1.71 ERA over his last 10 starts.

Mets RHP Freddy Peralta – Peralta was a mainstay in Milwaukee’s rotation for years as a two-time All-Star, but he has not enjoyed the same success in Queens with a 4.99 ERA. His peripheral numbers are not stellar but suggest better results are still in there (4.47 FIP, 3.86 xERA), even with decreased strikeouts. He is less than a year removed from the most effective season of his career in 2025 (2.70 ERA).

Tigers RHP Casey Mize – Mize has spent two stints on the injured list this year with adductor issues, but he has been back for over a month and has not missed a step. He has allowed seven earned runs over his last five starts for a Tigers team pushing to get back in the race. Evaluators are on the fence as to whether the Tigers will trade Mize or staff ace Tarik Skubal at the deadline given their impending free agencies, and both would warrant a haul. Mize was an All-Star last year and is putting up All-Star-caliber numbers again this season when healthy.

Cardinals RHP Dustin May – May, the former Dodger, is on pace to setting a career high in starts and innings pitched this season after injuries impacted him earlier in his career. His 4.59 ERA is balanced by a 3.16 FIP, and if you take out his first two starts of the year (13 ER), his season ERA is a respectable 3.72. He can still hum a mid-to-upper 90s mph heater, and he has a six-pitch mix that has allowed him to be a solid contributor in the Cardinals’ rotation. St. Louis is battling to get back in the NL Wild Card bracket, but this is a young team that sold off several veterans last offseason. If they were to capitalize on their well-performing veterans, May is an obvious trade candidate before he enters free agency.

Nationals LHP Foster Griffin – The Diamondbacks just saw Griffin at Nationals Park, as he has been one of the bright stories in the league this year. A Royals first-round flameout, Griffin went to Japan to pitch for three years before coming back and making the All-Star team this season. He is a soft-throwing lefty with a deep arsenal that has kept hitters off balance. The Nationals are right in the mix with the D-backs and just made a trade for a pitcher, Connelly Early from Boston. The question is whether they would sell high on Griffin to continue bringing in controllable talent or keep the remaining core together for a pennant run.

Orioles LHP Trevor Rogers – Rogers, a hulking 6-foot-5 lefty, got off to a horrible start this season with a 6.96 ERA on May 24. Since then, he has pitched to a 2.21 ERA in 10 games. Rogers finished ninth in the AL Cy Young race last year despite making 18 MLB starts. The Orioles are still in the hunt for a Wild Card spot in the AL at 2.5 games back.

Reds RHP Brady Singer – Like Rogers, Singer has been trending in the right direction. Unlike Rogers, it seems a lot more likely Singer gets dealt by a Reds team that is five games back of the third Wild Card. Singer owns a 4.53 ERA this season, but it is a 2.92 over his past nine games. Singer has been a competent innings eater over the past several years in Kansas City and Cincinnati.

Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara – Alcantara has a $21 million team option for next season with a $2 million buyout. The right-hander has produced much better results this year than last, leading the league in innings pitched while producing a 4.01 ERA. The hard-throwing righty continues to induce strong ground ball rates while limiting his walks, even with a declining strikeout rate. The Marlins have lost 12 straight games to fall further behind in the NL Wild Card race and suggest they are trending toward being sellers.

Starters with control left

(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock (27, signed through 2030) – Hancock was the No. 6 overall pick in 2020 and took some time before finding his footing in MLB. This has been a breakout season for him with a 3.16 ERA in 19 starts. His strikeouts are up, his walks are down and he has has tweaked his arsenal to rely on a mid-90s mph four-seamer and a putaway sweeper. Seattle has not had a great season, but it is in the thick of the Wild Card race. The Mariners have a pitching surplus and a bottom-three scoring offense, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon have reported them being open to moving Hancock.

Angels LHP Reid Detmers (27, signed through 2028) – Detmers is going to be a popular name this week as a lefty who has returned to the starting rotation well this year in Anaheim after a year in the bullpen. Detmers has made 21 starts with a 4.05 ERA. In eight of those starts, he allowed one or no runs, including seven shutout innings in Arizona. His slider and curveball draw at least 35% whiffs, and his high strikeout rate and low walk rate suggest his numbers can improve through the end of the season and moving forward.

Angels RHP Jose Soriano (27, signed through 2028) – Soriano is a ground ball machine with an upper-90s mph heater and a curveball that misses a lot of bats. He started this season on an incredible run, giving up one earned run in his first six games. He has come back down to earth from there, but Soriano still sports a solid 3.43 ERA and 3.84 FIP.

Royals RHP Michael Wacha (35, signed through 2027 with club option for 2028) – Wacha is due to make $14 million next year as a 35-year-old, so there is risk in making that commitment to an older player. But Wacha made the All-Star Game this summer, as he leads the AL in innings with a 3.60 ERA. As evidence of his consistency, Wacha is one of seven pitchers in MLB with 700 innings and a sub-3.50 ERA since 2022, a group with Logan Webb, Zack Wheeler and Sonny Gray, among others.

Aces on the move?

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Twins RHP Joe Ryan – The Twins are too close to the third AL Wild Card spot and the AL Central lead to expect Ryan to get traded, especially with another full season under team control. But the Twins were four games back from a playoff spot one year ago and ended up operating the largest sell-off in the American League, if not all of baseball. Ryan’s name has been in trade rumors since then. Ryan is having another really good season as one of the more dependable top arms in the AL over the past half-decade. With a 3.38 ERA, Ryan made his second straight All-Star Game.

Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal – The Diamondbacks trading for a two-time Cy Young winner who is from Kingman would be an electric addition, but it would also be a pipe dream. So was signing Burnes, to be fair, but the Tigers have a massive decision to make on whether to trade for him at all, and every contending team will chomp at the bit to acquire him. The southpaw missed time this year to remove loose bodies from his elbow, but he has been back for over a month. In 15 starts, Skubal has a 2.70 ERA with 11 strikeouts per nine innings.

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