What pitcher could the Arizona Diamondbacks trade for?
Aug 15, 2011, 7:48 PM | Updated: 9:00 pm
When Jason Marquis broke his leg on the mound at Chase Field Sunday so did the back end of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rotation.
While the pitcher had struggled in his first few starts since coming over from the Washington Nationals most believed he would settle down in his role as the team’s No. 4 starter and help solidify the rotation. Thanks to the injury, that obviously won’t happen now and it leaves the D-backs in the same spot they found themselves in prior to the trade. Trying to fill the back end of their rotation with unproven talent. Something that isn’t ideal when entering the stretch run of a pennant race.
Luckily, the injury occurred before the MLB waiver trade deadline which means Kirk Gibson’s squad still has time to trade for another pitcher if they so choose.
ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney wasted no time in compiling a list of pitchers who have already passed through waivers that he thinks the D-backs should at least look into.
The list includes Bruce Chen of Kansas City, Jason Vargas of Seattle, Rodrigo Lopez of the Cubs, Chris Capuano of Mets, Ted Lilly of the Dodgers, Chien-Ming Wang of the Nationals, Tom Gorzelanny of the Nationals, Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs and Bronson Arroyo of the Reds.
While most of those are names you’ve heard of, each of them come with their own set of issues. Most are either hasbeens (See: Chen, Vargas, Lopez, Capuano, Gorzelanny and Wang) or just too expensive (See: Lilly and Arroyo).
The most intriguing name on the list is also the craziest — literally and figuratively — in Carlos Zambrano. At one point he was the undisputed ace of the Cubs staff and has a career 3.60 ERA. Sure, he’s lost his mind and the front office in Chicago has thrown him off the team but that’s something a change of scenery could change right? OK, probably not.
While all the names are fun to throw around, in the end, if that’s the crop of starters they have to choose from, rolling the dice with guys like Micah Owings, Zach Duke, Wade Miley and Josh Collmenter might be the best option available.
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