National MLB writers praise D-backs trade deadline performance

The Arizona Diamondbacks made a flurry of moves prior to the non-waiver trade deadline that passed Tuesday afternoon.

The D-backs traded for Eduardo Escobar, Matt Andriese, Brad Ziegler and Jake Diekman prior to the deadline with the last two players being acquired just before the deadline passed.

With these moves, the D-backs caught the attention of a few prominent MLB writers, who are fond of the transactions.

Yahoo! Sports’ MLB writer Jeff Passan said on the Yahoo! Sports MLB podcast thinks the D-backs are in a good position to challenge the Dodgers in the National League West.

Passan highlighted how the D-backs were able to make their roster incrementally better, while not giving a lot up.

“I think the Arizona Diamondbacks were sneaky excellent,” Passan said. “Jake Lamb got hurt at third, they got Escobar who can play all three infield positions and they strengthened their bullpen three different ways. Matt Andriese can go multiple innings at a time and can spot start if you need him. Brad Ziegler’s been excellent and is sort of a change of pace righty, and Jake Diekman is a hard throwing lefty. Adding those pieces to a bullpen who has been very good so far only deepens a roster that can push the Dodgers for the National League West title.”

The D-backs clearly sought to add to a bullpen that has performed well for the majority of the season but stumbled a little in July, posting a 4.51 ERA.

FanCred Sports’ Jon Heyman believes the D-backs had the sixth best deadline of all MLB teams. Heyman liked the way the team recovered from not being able to acquire Manny Machado.

They didn’t get superstar Manny Machado and painfully saw him go to their main and hated divisional rival and fellow contender. But they bounced back nicely from the disappointment, adding Eduardo Escobar, who is having a career year for the disappointing Twins. Then on deadline day, the D-backs bulked up their strong bullpen with soft-tossing, side-arming veteran righty Brad Ziegler, who they had and loved for six years, and hard-throwing lefty Jake Diekman.

ESPN’s Buster Olney graded the D-backs’ deadline moves as an A-. Olney noted that the D-backs came out well given their lack of impact prospects for other teams to covet.

Within the context of their market and resources, they did well. Lacking the wealth of major league-ready prospects to land someone like Machado, they instead added Eduardo Escobar in a deal with the Twins — and Escobar is a really good player. They also improved Torey Lovullo’s bullpen depth, trading for Matt Andriese and then digging out a combination of relievers who might work in tandem — left-hander Jake Diekman and right-hander Brad Ziegler.