Past the midway point in the month of June, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in a precarious position.

Following an 8-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, Arizona is now 38-36 and in third place in the National League West Division behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. The good news for Arizona is that it only trails San Diego by half a game.

Nevertheless, the Diamondbacks have been an up-and-down team this season, and it has reflected in the win-loss record and other results. For general manager Mike Hazen, the difficulty exists in what decisions to make in the future.

In a recent appearance with Ron Wolfley and Kellan Olson on Arizona Sports on 98.7 FM, Hazen detailed the most arduous part about his job.

"Trying to see what's coming 30 days down the road," Hazen said. "Constantly. It's not even — you know this part of looking 30 days down the road is simple, right? What's gonna happen coming into the trade deadline, but that goes on all year round. It's 12 months a year, you know what's coming down with the draft, what's coming down when you get towards August, September? 

"What's that gonna look like, both finishing out this season in the best way possible," Hazen added. "And you can obviously boil it down to stop thinking about the future a little bit, but you still have to think about what's gonna happen when the calendar flips over on November 1st."

Hazen has served in his role since 2016, and he has been responsible for putting together multiple successful teams. The high point of his tenure came in 2023, when the Diamondbacks made it to the World Series for the first time since 2001. 

To remain successful, Hazen is challenged constantly.

 "So, that part's a struggle for me," he said. "Because we're responsible for putting the absolute best product performance every single minute of every single day. All of our training translating all of that into wins on a nightly basis. 

"And yet we're also in charge of ensuring the long-term future of the organization, which is not just long-term," Hazen added.

"It's next season or it's you know going into this offseason, right? We're also in charge of that, too, and those things conflict with each other. And so, you're making choices, but it is what it is. Everybody has to deal with it. It's a level playing field."

With the MLB Trade Deadline set for August 3 and the second half of the season beginning even sooner on July 17, Hazen certainly has more obstacles ahead to overcome.

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