A lot of talent has moved through the Arizona Diamondbacks organization over the past decade. This raises the question- Why aren’t there more “NL West Champion” pennants hanging in Chase Field? The answer is very simple- they’re Front Office has depleted this organization of some of its best talent. Under the reigns of Josh Byrnes (2005-10) and Kevin Towers (2010-present), All Stars have been virtually given away and top prospects have been given up on. You know that guy in your Fantasy Baseball league who somehow manages to get ripped off every year for his best player- he might as well be running the Diamondbacks. If you are a Diamondbacks fan, what you are about to read is going to sting so proceed with caution. You have been warned…
12/14/07- Traded Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros for Chad Qualls, Chris Burke, and J.C. Gutierrez
Valverde was coming off an All Star season in 2007 and went on to averaged 36 saves the following 5 seasons with Houston and Detroit, including 2 more All Star appearances
12/14/07- Traded Carlos Gonzales (yes that Car-Go). Brett Anderson, Chris Carter, Greg Smith, Dana Eveland, and Aaron Cunningham to the Oakland A’s for Dan Haren and Connor Robertson
Haren was an All Star in each of his 2 full seasons in Arizona but Carlos Gonzalez is a franchise 5-tool player who torments Diamondbacks pitching 19 times a year with the Colorado Rockies
12/8/09- As part of a 3 team trade with the Detroit Tigers and NY Yankees, the Diamondbacks traded Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth and received Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy
Max Scherzer showed enormous potential at the start of his career in Arizona and continued to improve as a member of the Tigers. It culminated in one of the most dominant pitching seasons in recent memory in 2013 in which Scherzer won the Cy Young award going 21-3 with an ERA of 2.90 and 240 strikeouts
12/9/11- Traded Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook, and Collin Cowgill to the Oakland A’s for Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow
Cahill has been an average SP the past 2 seasons in Arizona while Cook has been a dominant late-inning reliever in Oakland
12/11/12- As part of a 3 team trade with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, the Diamondbacks traded Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers, and Bryan Shaw and received Didi Gregorius, Tony Sipp, and Lars Anderson
Bauer entered 2012 as the Diamondbacks’ #1 prospect yet the organization gave up on him. They traded him for Gregorius, a decent Shortstop prospect, despite already having the same caliber Shortstop prospect in the minor leagues in Chris Owings
1/24/13- Traded Justin Upton and Chris Johnson to the Atlanta Braves for Randall Delgado, Martin Prado, Zeke Spruill, Nick Ahmed, and Brandon Drury
Upton has the potential to go 30-30 every season while Chris Johnson finished 2nd in the NL in batting average in 2013 while playing for the Braves. Delgado has been a huge disappointment in Arizona who, should have held out for Julio Teheran when negotiating this trade
12/16/13- Traded Matt Davidson to the Chicago White Sox for Addison Reed
Davidson, a power-hitting 3B, entered 2013 as the Diamondbacks’ #4 prospect and was traded for an above-average closer in Reed who really is a dime-a-dozen type pitcher
Let’s recap. In the past 6+ years, the Diamondbacks have traded a #1 SP in Max Scherzer, potential #3, #5, and #6 batters in the lineup to fit in around Goldschmidt in Carlos Gonzalez, Justin Upton, and Chris Johnson, and a potentially dominant closer in Ryan Cook. It’s not hard to see why the Diamondbacks lack talent on their current roster and why they have the worst record in baseball.
As history has shown, Diamondbacks fans should be scared when the calendar turns to December because they are about to lose one of their best players or prospects #LetsGoSuns
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