Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen challenges his clubhouse to dictate the team’s deadline fate, warning that offensive inconsistency could force a conservative approach for the hovering National League contenders.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are currently 12.5 games back in the National League West so the question is, how aggressive will this team be?
It's no secret Arizona is worlds away from competing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but at the end of the day they know they're going to have to make a few moves if they want to stay competitive.
Fresh off a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants, the Diamondbacks are seemingly back on track after getting swept the last three days prior.
In a recent discussion with MLB.com's Steve Gilbert, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen opened up as to what his trade deadline approach is going to be.
Will the Diamondbacks be Buyers?
Sitting at 42-42, there's definitely some work that needs to be done in Arizona. This team is far from perfect, but they've shown enough potential that could make it worth Hazen's time to open up and be aggressive.
"What I want to do and what I'm gonna do may not work in concert with each other," Hazen told Gilbert. "I want this team to make a deep run in the pennant race and into the playoffs, and we're going to need to add players to do that. I say this every year, I don't really feel like I'm going to make that decision. I feel like that decision is going to get handed to me one way or another from the guys down there [in the clubhouse]."
Fans may be confused at Hazen's remarks, but he has a great point. If his current team isn't doing enough to put them in a place to compete, there's absolutely no reason for the Diamondbacks to be buyers. Baseball simply doesn't work that way, and it would just be a waste of everyone's time. There's no need to make moves just to make moves, and Hazen knows that.
"Hope is a Terrible Strategy"
That quote from Hazen is eye-opening, but again, those are just words until he actually puts pen to paper with a few trades.
Through 84 games, Hazen has pinpointed this team's strengths and where they desperately need to get better, "The middle of the lineup needs to produce in a more consistent fashion."
He added, "We're not getting on base at the clip we need to, and we're not slugging, so that's a recipe for not scoring a lot of runs."
Hazen said the top of the lineup has been "sort of steadily marching on" which isn't necessarily the best compliment in the world, but it's far better than what he said about their middle hitters.
It's not like the trade deadline is happening tomorrow, so that still gives Hazen and company time to figure out what will be the best strategy for this team not just in 2026, but also long term.
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