The Arizona Diamondbacks are open for business.
The club continued what is expected to be a considerable sell-off at the MLB trade deadline by sending outfielder Randal Grichuk to the Kansas City Royals, according to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. Reportedly going back to the D-backs is relief prospect Andrew Hoffman.
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Arizona made the move two days after kicking off deadline season by trading first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners.
Grichuk enjoyed a career season in 2024, his first with the D-backs, with career highs in all three slash line numbers at .291/.348/.528 in limited action as a right-handed platoon bat. He re-joined the club in free agency on a one-year, $5 million with a mutual option for 2026.
This season has been far less successful, but Grichuk’s power is still somewhat present. Mutual options are rarely exercised, so this figures to be a straightforward rental for the Royals, who have a similar record to Arizona but slightly better wild-card odds in the AL.
The D-backs look like the MLB trade deadline’s biggest seller
Grichuk’s trade is a smaller move than Naylor’s, but it strengthens the expectation that the D-backs will be a markedly different team by Aug. 1, the day after the trade deadline. With a record of 51-53 entering Saturday, the D-backs aren’t an awful team, but they are four games back from a wild-card spot and in a highly competitive NL West.
This isn’t a complete teardown for the D-backs, they’re just opting to prioritize future seasons rather than go for a miracle run this year. Several notable players hitting free agency this offseason set them up nicely as sellers, especially with seemingly every notable contender needing an upgrade somewhere.
In addition to Naylor and Grichuk, the D-backs are widely expected to trade third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who sits in a tie for fourth for most homers in MLB at 36. Despite only a few months of team control, he is likely to fetch a significant return.
There are also starting pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. Gallen has struggled this year but has competed for Cy Young Awards in the past, while Kelly has been one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball for some time. Either or both could be on the move, as could relievers Shelby Miller and Jalen Beeks.
That’s two players traded and five more players who could easily be traded. We’ll know the full return when the trade deadline hits at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.
