Derrick Hall doesn’t expect D-backs to make a significant trade

As the trade deadline nears, the Arizona Diamondbacks seem more and more content with neither buying or selling.

“At this point, I would probably say no,” D-backs President and CEO Derrick Hall told 98.7 FM’s Arizona’s Sports Station’s Doug & Wolf about the prospect of a significant trade happening.

“Now anything can happen, but where we’re at, the way the market has been crawling, and the fact that the trade deadline is right around the corner, it’s going to be tough,” he said.

The team’s consistency in playing around-.500 ball plays a major factor in that.

“The beauty of where we are right now is we really don’t have to do anything. We don’t have to buy, we don’t have to sell. We’ve talked about maybe us doing both. We like most of the aspects of our team,” Hall said.

Outfielders Adam Jones and Jarrod Dyson, along with pitchers Robbie Ray and Zack Greinke have had their names thrown around in trade rumors.  David Peralta has been named as someone possibly on the move as well.

Hall spoke wonders about Greinke.

“This guy is so valuable to our team,” he said. “We’re not where we are without him without a doubt. We get excited every fifth day when we know he’s going to pitch.”

Greinke’s large salary, this year and in future ones, has generated speculation about whether the D-backs would pay help pay some of it in a potential trade, easing the team getting Greinke books.

“If you ask JP [assistant GM Jared Porter], if you ask Amiel [assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye], if you ask Mike [GM Mike Hazen], you know how they feel: he’s worth every penny of that contract,” Hall said. “There are only a handful of aces like him in baseball. He’s unique. I can’t imagine our team without Zack Greinke.”

Hall’s insistence that a deal happening in the next week or so was unlikely ramped up with the Greinke talk.

“There has been absolutely no discussion yet with other teams,” he said.

If a deal does happen, it’d have to be one similar to the Paul Goldschmidt trade last December.

“If we get to the point where we want to move one or two of our pieces for more assets like we did in the Goldy trade, you’re improving your club now and you’re doing it with five years in mind,” Hall said.

That’s the goal of the front office, according to Hall.

“They want to put a competitive product out there while still eyeing the future,” he said.