Predicting How Trades Will Reshape NL West

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It's difficult to predict what the D-backs front office will do. Could /

Seller: Arizona Diamondbacks

When Kirk Gibson was managing the Arizona Diamondbacks and Josh Byrnes was the team’s general manager, they collaborated to make some boneheaded decisions, which stemmed from an archaic, grit-based philosophy they applied to player personnel. That led them to trade away star player Justin Upton and top prospect Trevor Bauer (because, supposedly, Bauer was an odd dude).

Now under the leadership of Tony LaRussa and Dave Stewart, the D-backs are making even more boneheaded moves. The Shelby Miller trade is a well-documented disaster (at least for 2016), and the recent Brad Ziegler trade was bizarre; the highly effective closer was sent to Boston for very little in return, while baseball executives from other teams interested in Ziegler reportedly were ready to give up more for him.

This is all to say that it’s difficult to predict what Arizona might do. They’re unlikely to trade superstars Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb, but could they try to flip prized free-agent signing Zack Greinke? They’re about nine deep in the outfield (including injured players), so that might be an area where they try to unload. Chances are that if they do make any significant trades, they would weaken the team’s pitching in the short-term while not affecting the offense. San Francisco is already a superior team, so the Giants could have an even easier time against the D-backs the rest of the season.