Breaking News: D-backs Acquire A.J. Puk for Deyvison De Los Santos

Arizona fills a need for a left-hand reliever. Outfielder Andrew Pintar was also part of the deal.

May 31, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher A.J. Puk (35) pitches against the Texas Rangers in the seventh inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

News broke tonight that the Arizona Diamondbacks have traded the minor league home run leader Deyvison De Los Santos and outfielder Andrew Pintar to the Miami Marlins for left-hand reliever A.J. Puk. This was first reported by Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. The Diamondbacks have since confirmed the trade as well.

Puk is a 29 year old left-hand reliever with a 4.30 ERA this year but a 3.62 FIP in 44 innings pitched. His ERA is inflated by his work as a starter earlier in the year. In 30 innings of relief work this year he has a 2.08 ERA, a .159 B.A. against, and 33 strikeouts and just six walks.

For his career he has a 3.85 ERA and 3.60 FIP in 195 innings. He is a hard thrower, featuring a mid 90's fastball and has a career 10.7 K/9 ratio.

Puk was one of relievers we highlighted last week as a potential left-handed reliever trade target with multiple years of control. He is arbitration eligible and under team control for the next two and a half seasons, and will not be a free agent until after the 2026 season. He was a first round draft pick, 6th overall by the Oakland A's in 2016.

The D-backs had a need, as the only lefty in the pen is Joe Mantiply, and don't have any reliable left-hand options to call up from Triple-A. This was a necessary move to fill an obvious hole.

The price was not cheap. The 21 year old De Los Santos has been having a tremendous minor league season at the plate. In 87 games across two levels, AA and AAA, he's batted .325 with with 28 homers and 84 RBI. It should be noted that he's been playing in offensive inflated environments of Amarillo and Reno, and also is a free swinger, with 84 strikeouts and just 23 walks.

More importantly however, the D-backs had reservations about his defense and perhaps even his willingness to focus on improvement in that area. Speaking with farm director Shaun Larkin a couple of weeks ago, he said that De Los Santos has the tools to become a good defender, but he needs to do it, to put in the work.

Statcast data also indicates a chase rate over 40% at pitches outside the zone. Failure to moderate that approach may have soured the D-backs faith in his ability to hit higher level pitching. The D-backs notably left De Los Santos exposed to the Guardians in the Rule 5 draft, but he ended up back with Arizona.

Andrew Pintar is a 23 year old outfielder who was transitioned from the infield after the 2023 season. He was having a good year in Hillsboro high A, but has struggled since his promotion to AA Amarillo. He hit .304 with nine homers and a .919 OPS for Hillsboro, but just .184 with two doubles in 46 PA since being promoted.

This is a developing story. Arizona Diamondbacks on SI will report further with reaction from the team when available.