Diamondbacks' Mike Hazen Discusses Puk Trade, Focused on Pitching at Deadline

The D-backs' general manager spoke on the team's newest acquisition, his cost, and the rest of the deadline ahead.

Nov 8, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday, the Arizona Diamondbacks kicked off MLB's trade season, acquiring left-handed reliever A.J. Puk from the Miami Marlins, in exchange for prospects Deyvison De Los Santos and Andrew Pintar.

Today, general manager Mike Hazen spoke to the media, discussing his reasoning for acquiring Puk, the heavy-hitting prospects he gave up, and his priorities for the remainder of the Trade Deadline.

Why A.J. Puk?

As strong as Arizona's bullpen might be, for now, the D-backs could always use more relief support. But more important was bringing in a left-hander, since Arizona only had one southpaw in the bullpen before the trade.

"I think that we have been looking to supplement the back end of our bullpen, late in games. This was a target of ours for a while... trying to round out what the back end of that bullpen looks like," Hazen said.

Hazen noted that the loss of left-hander Kyle Nelson (thoracic outlet surgery), and Andrew Saalfrank (gambling suspension) hurt Arizona's pen, and put too much of a burden on left-hander Joe Mantiply to carry the southpaw relief torch. Getting a lefty reliever was a high priority for the GM.

"We can't expect to run [Mantiply] into the ground every single night. We felt like this was a good complement," said Hazen, "I know we have some guys who can attack lefties, but this was a good fit for us."

Hazen also noted that control was another contributing factor. Rather than going after a rental reliever for a high price, the D-backs will have Puk under team control through the 2026 season.

And Puk has been a dominant reliever. Although pitching to a 4.30 ERA this season due to four unimpressive turns in the starting rotation, Puk has pitched to a brilliant 2.08 ERA in 30 1/3 innings of relief.

Hazen confirmed that Puk will remain purely a reliever for the D-backs, and won't get a look as a starter.

Why Give Up Deyvison De Los Santos?

The return for Puk consisted of infield slugger Deyvison De Los Santos and outfielder Andrew Pintar.

D-backs fans are well aware of De Los Santos' dominance, and for good reason. The 21-year-old power-hitter has put forward a .325/.376/.635 slash across Double-A and Triple-A, and, in 49 games with the Reno Aces, has a .926 OPS.

On the surface, it might seem like an overpay to give up a prospect banging the ball that hard for a good, but not renowned relief pitcher. Hazen said he and the team weren't oblivious to the high potential De Los Santos showed.

"The guy dominating in Triple-A at 21 years old. We're not blind to it, he has huge power, he has become a better hitter. We believe that he was going to be a very good baseball player," Hazen said about De Los Santos.

But the general manager emphasized that in order to get a deal done, the team must be willing to part with its high performing players. A prospect with low desirability likely won't get you a solid or even decent MLB player.

"There's no way around, when you're operating as a buyer at the deadline, that you're just going to just be able to give up kids that aren't performing, or nobody's heard of, or aren't good players to get good players," Hazen said.

"It's hard, and it's not something that you run into casually. It's not that we're blind to what the upside could be in the future," Hazen said.

Not to be forgotten in the shuffle was the sweetener. Center fielder Andrew Pintar put up a .304 average and .919 in High-A Hillsboro at an older 23 years old but struggled after his promotion to Double-A. Still, his high athleticism and potential was there.

"We added him to the deal to get the deal done," said Hazen, "I think Deyvison was probably the main piece... but Andrew was also a big part of this deal, to get this deal done now."

Trade Deadline Priorities

While this move was done a full five days prior to the MLB Trade Deadline, Hazen mentioned that there is likely more in store for this team.

Starting pitching has been a nagging deficiency on Arizona's roster, although due mostly to injury and some uncharacteristically poor performances.

Hazen ultimately appeared confident that he will strive to add more pieces to the team, although it might not manifest in the form of a starter, particularly not a rental.

With Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez set to return sometime in the coming weeks, and Jordan Montgomery looking to get back to pitching up to his reputation, Hazen noted that he could "roll the dice" and look to simply cruise with the fresh arms coming back rather than shell out for a rental.

“There are not many guys on the market right now that are truly available that are better than those guys,” said Hazen, “I believe when those three guys are back if we improve the bullpen… I think we’re going to have a pretty strong team.”

Hazen did note that some of Arizona's younger arms, such as Slade Cecconi and Ryne Nelson, do factor into his decision-making concerning the pitching staff. While some of these arms might struggle in the rotation, they could become bullpen depth or even extremely effective relievers.

But the GM did clarify that the D-backs will remain engaged in the market regardless, in both the bullpen and starting rotation, although he said he felt that Arizona would be more inclined to have serious conversations about starters with more long-term control rather than a rental.

As far as position players are concerned, the general manager said that finding an impact bat would not be a priority for him and the D-backs.

"I still think pitching probably outweighs position players for us," said Hazen, "We have a pretty strong position player group that's pretty diversified in its talents."

The Trade Deadline lands on July 30th, and the D-backs could have some more moves on the way, with pitching reinforcements hopefully not far behind.