D-backs’ front office earns kudos for pre-deadline deals

A day following the frenzy of baseball’s trade deadline, the dust is starting to settle and the grades are starting to come out as to who were the real winners and losers.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, who executed a handful of trades prior to Monday’s deadline, are receiving national praise. On July 18, Arizona acquired outfielder J.D. Martinez from the Detroit Tigers. Monday, general manager Mike Hazen swung two separate deals, getting infielder Adam Rosales from Oakland and reliever David Hernandez from the Los Angeles Angels.

According to ESPN baseball analyst Buster Olney, the Diamondbacks get an ‘A’ for their moves, considering what the team has to work with.

“They don’t have a lot of resources to work with, and it may be that the team’s success surprised the front office a little this year. Either way, the Diamondbacks set aside any plans for retooling or flipping talent and traded for lefty-killer J.D. Martinez to bolster the lineup — knowing they could face the left-hander-laden Dodgers in the division series — and then added shortstop Adam Rosales and reliever David Hernandez in the final hours before the trade deadline. Within the Diamondbacks’ context, in a year in which they have a chance to win, these moves were solid and exactly what was needed, when they were needed.”

The Diamondbacks also acquired catcher John Ryan Murphy from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for LHP Gabriel Moya on July 27. Murphy is currently playing for Triple-A Reno.

ESPN.com senior writer David Schoenfield concurred with his colleague, naming the D-backs “winners” for striking early.

The Martinez deal flew under the radar, but the Diamondbacks got him without giving up any significant prospects. He was the best bat available on the market, and even though teams always covet pitching this time of year, improving your offense can be just as valuable as improving your pitching. In nine games with Arizona, Martinez already has five home runs and 12 RBIs. If the Diamondbacks can survive the wild-card game that they’re likely headed to, they have enough top-shelf talent with the likes of Paul Goldschmidt, Martinez, Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray to pull off a first-round surprise.

Olney and Schoenfield were not the only ones singing the Diamondbacks’ praises. Bleacher Report’s Jacob Shafer gave the D-backs an ‘A’ in their trade for Martinez while giving the Tigers a ‘D’.

Meanwhile CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder said the Diamondbacks’ offense came out as winners, pointing to the Martinez deal.

They didn’t give up a lot to get J.D. Martinez’s bat into the middle of that lineup, and that’ll play huge down the stretch. Especially in a wild-card game situation, one swing of the bat could change everything.