A.J. Puk trade grades: Diamondbacks get thumbs up in deal with Marlins

By most accounts, it’s a near toss-up whether the Diamondbacks or Marlins got the best of a trade that shipped reliever A.J. Puk to Arizona while Miami added two prospects in infielder Deyvison De Los Santos and outfielder Andrew Pintar.

Both teams helped their current situation.

The rebuilding Marlins gained a 21-year-old slugger in De Los Santos, who comes with a red-hot Triple-A resume this season but questions about his defense and swing-happy approach. Pintar has some upside value, too.

Meanwhile, the D-backs made sure to improve their team immediately by adding Puk, a lefty, who despite a bad start to the year has been dealing out of the bullpen in the past few months. His strikeout-to-walk ratio sits at 7.50 over June and July, while this month over 30 plate appearances he’s only allowed a single hit.

Here’s a review of baseball analysts’ opinions on the deal, which generally were positive for each team.

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ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle gives D-backs’ A.J. Puk trade a B+

D-backs grade: B+

Marlins grade: C+

Assuming (Paul) Sewald retains the bulk of the save opportunities, Torey Lovullo can unleash a nasty lefty-righty set-up combo of Puk and smoke-throwing Justin Martinez, slotting Ryan Thompson, Joe Mantiply, Kevin Ginkel and the rest according to matchups. As a recent starter, Puk has the flexibility to work more than one inning when needed, which will help the Snakes shorten games.

Puk has two more arbitration seasons left after 2024, making him more than a short-term pickup, so he should be a core part of the Arizona bullpen over the next few years. For Arizona, he’s more than worth the prospect cost …

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The Athletic staff likes Puk deal for the D-backs

Tim Britton

D-backs grade: A-

Marlins grade: B

While the ill-fated move to the rotation drags down Puk’s overall numbers this year, his relief numbers since the start of last season are strong: a 3.31 ERA and 31.2 percent strikeout rate. He comes with two more years of team control, meaning he can be a central figure late in games for a while for Arizona — in the mix with Kevin Ginkel to replace impending free agent Paul Sewald. It’s a move that helps the present and future.

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Chad Jennings

D-backs grade: B+

Marlins grade: B

Lefties have never hit Puk much, and that’s big for the Diamondbacks, who currently have only one left-handed reliever in Joe Mantiply. Arizona solves one short-term issue and gets to keep Puk under control for two more seasons.

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Britt Ghiroli

D-backs grade: A

Marlins grade: B-

While Marlins closer Tanner Scott has dominated trade rumors, Puk is another solid lefty option whose reputation was perhaps most hurt by a terrible start to the season as a starter. Puk as a reliever, though, has been excellent. He’s throwing harder, his walk-to-strikeout ratio is among the best in baseball and he has seemingly gotten better as the season has progressed, with nine scoreless outings in July.

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