Why the D‑backs Should Sell Smart and Build for 2026

sedonaseams
Jun 17
4 min read

By Ken Turley – June 17, 2025

The Arizona Diamondbacks are in a precarious spot. They’re 36–35, still clinging to Wild Card territory, but hamstrung by a pitching staff being held together with duct-tape and chewing gum. With July 31st bearing down, it’s time to decide: buy some rental options and hope to compete in 2025, or trade smart and build for a deeper postseason run in 2026 and beyond?

Here’s the truth: selling now—selectively and shrewdly—is the path to long-term contention.

Latest Injury Report: Pitching in Crisis

Arizona’s pitching depth is being rebuilt on the fly—and failing fast due to an insane amount of serious injuries:

Corbin Burnes and Jordan Montgomery are both out for 2025 after undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgeries
Blake Walston, while not yet contributing to the team, is also similarly shelved post-TJ surgery
Justin Martínez is now projected to miss 12–13 months after a sprained UCL
A.J. Puk was shut down mid-June with renewed elbow discomfort and taken off his throwing program after suffering a flexor strain—another red flag for a once-promising southpaw.
Meanwhile, Cristian Mena (shoulder), Kendall Graveman (hip), and Christian Montes de Oca (elbow/back) are all on the IL with uncertain timelines

That leaves a bullpen that ranks near the bottom league-wide, an overstretched rotation, and too many gaps to fill credibly at the trade deadline. We have a few guys capable of carrying us still, but for how long?!?

Sell Smart, Don’t Sell Out

The offensive core remains:

Ketel Marte. Corbin Carroll. Gabriel Moreno. Geraldo Perdomo. Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

These players form the offensive spine. But offense alone won’t carry you through playoff rotations or deep August bullpens. Instead of paying up for overpriced rentals, Arizona should sell when they can still fetch real value—and reinvest in talent that sticks and creates a sturdy foundation for 2026 - 2030

Candidates to Trade (For "GOOD" Value)

Here’s who the D-backs should listen on:

Zac Gallen (RHP) – Controlled through 2025, still an ace on most nights. Ideal trade bait for MLB-ready pitching or Top-100 prospects, especially for a desperate contender looking for a big time arm.
Josh Naylor (1B/DH) – Left-handed power bat on a one-year deal. Perfect mid-season acquisition target for clubs chasing offense. AZ could choose to resign him as he has been a rock solid contributor this season.
Merrill Kelly (RHP) – A dependable veteran with dominant steaks to him; a logical piece to flip for the right return. He is aging which limits the return but he is very dependable and a team like Detroit or Cincinnati who aren't going to swing too big may be pressured into giving up a high upside prospect to AZ.
Eugenio Suárez (3B) – Declining a bit defensively but still provides plenty of clutch power. His stats this season are exactly what teams are looking to add to their lineups.
Kevin Ginkel (LHP) – Quietly solid reliever with some rough spots this season who could still be an asset for a playoff-bound pen, but not gonna get a big return here obviously.
Shelby Miller (RHP) – A seasoned vet and has some good stuff left in that arm for a playoff contender to bolster their bullpen.

Expected Return

Turning one of these rentals into 2–3 high-upside prospects or MLB-ready arms could solidify the rotation and depth chart ahead of 2026. The key is getting the right return for these players and Hazen can't get too greedy but he has to hold out and maximize value at the same time.

Why This Matters

Pitching repair is essential — you can’t cobble together a reliable postseason rotation with rentals. When we look ahead to 2026 our rotation is gonna look bleak with Burnes most likely out til 2027...we are gonna need some FA signings or prospects to step up quick, so we may want to go get some more more pitching options and punt 2025.
Trading leverage is real — playoff teams get desperate; Arizona can extract more talent now and build the future. Yankees, Tigers, Mariners, Rays, Brewers, etc. all have valuable prospects AZ could be interested in and I think it is time.
Core remains young, cheap, and controllable — While we have spent money in recent off seasons, our core players are locked up in controllable and for the most part favorable deals. If we can flip these players and reset our farm system a bit or bring in MLB ready prospects we now have some ability to go spend in the Free Agent market again.

2026 & 2027: The Real Opening

If AZ can get high quality pitching prospects in return this rotation starts to look real good again with Burnes & Pfaadt at the top end, plus some potential big free agents hitting the market again this offseason. All while Marte continues to anchor the offense and then Carroll, Moreno, Perdomo, and maybe even Lawlar keep growing into their roles and develop even more.

That’s a team ready to make noise—not just squeak in and pray.

Final Word

Arizona must resist the temptations of this flawed pennant chase. Sell now—smartly, not desperately. Trade one or two key veterans, keep the core, reload the pitching pipeline, and get ready to compete again in 2026.