Lucas Giolito Trade to Angels Reduces Mike Hazen's Options
The Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen has made clear from the outset of the trade season that his top priority is pitching, both starting and relieving. He now has one fewer potential trade target, as Lucas Giolito has been traded by the Chicago White Sox to Los Angeles Angels tonight.
Much of the trade market was waiting to see if the Angels would trade Shohei Ohtani or keep him and continue to try and contend. A recent 7-3 stretch has allowed them to crawl back into the AL Wild card chase. Within hours of making it known that Ohtani was off the market the Angels made a trade for the soon to be free agent Giolito. The Angels also acquired reliever Reynaldo Lopez. In exchange they sent their No. 2 prospect, and No. 84 overall according to Baseball America, catcher Edgar Quero and their number four prospect, left-handed pitcher Ky Bush to the White Sox.
Back in early June Inside the Diamondbacks identified a number of top starting pitchers that will be free agents in 2024. In addition to Giolito, players on our list included Marcus Stroman and Drew Smyly, of the Cubs, Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals, Michael Lorenzen of the Tigers, Lance Lynn of the White Sox, and Rich Hill of the Pirates.
It's not clear if the Cubs will buy or sell, as they are just 4.5 games out of the Wild Card and six game behind in the division. So with Giolito off the market and the two Cubs pitchers perhaps not being available, the number of pure rentals is diminished.
Another significant ramification of this trade for Arizona is the cost the Angels paid. Giolito is a pure rental, as he is eligible for free agency at the end of the year. The Diamondbacks similarly ranked prospects to Quero are newly drafted Tommy Troy, (#86) and oft-injured Druw Jones, #96.
Mike Hazen stated earlier today in a wide ranging interview that his preference is to acquire talent that has more than just the next two months of team control. If the price to acquire Giolito and Lopez for just two months is this high however, then the cost to trade for a pitcher the D-backs could hold on to for at least 2024 will likely be even higher.
This does not mean the Diamondbacks will fail to make any trades, but it shows the difficulty for Hazen to fill out his entire shopping list of a starter, a back end reliever and a right handed bat. The costs may be just too high to meet all needs.
