Hazen: D-backs 'in a pretty good spot' ahead of Deadline

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CHICAGO -- There are 10 days to go before the Trade Deadline, and D-backs GM Mike Hazen and his staff have been working the phones.

We caught up with Hazen in the visitors' dugout at Wrigley Field before Friday’s 5-2 win over the Cubs to talk about the Deadline. You can read about how he’s looking at the pitching side of the ledger in my story from Friday.

Here are some other things you need to know about what Hazen had to say:

The D-backs are still getting a feel for the market, which is taking time to develop.
“Slow,” Hazen said. “Nothing, really. Same as always. There’s phone calls kind of gauging who is going to be available, who could be available. There are teams that are not quite sure what they’re doing yet -- ‘Check back in 10 days.’ The teams that are sure what they’re doing, it’s more, ‘Here’s the guys we’re going to talk about. Here’s the guys we’re not going to talk about.’ We’re just gathering all that info. I’ve probably talked to a half-dozen teams in the past [several] days. I’m sure we’ll wrap up the rest of the league here in the next couple of days.”

If the D-backs don’t go after a starter, they could look to add to the bullpen, but other needs are harder to define.
“I think this team, in all honesty, beyond if we could make a sizeable upgrade somewhere, I feel like this team is -- if everybody comes back -- is in a pretty good spot,” Hazen said. “I look around the diamond, and there are elite defenders out there -- that we want to get going a little more offensively. We’re strong up the middle, we have some power in the middle of our lineup, we have good hitters in the middle of our lineup. Obviously, Ketel [Marte] is pushing toward an MVP-type season. And on the mound, if health comes back, I think strengthening the bullpen and protecting against injury is probably the one main area I’m focused on.”

When it comes to making a trade, Hazen is very aware of making sure whomever he brings in will fit in the clubhouse, and he is also concerned about the impact of removing someone from it.
“I’ve talked to [manager] Torey [Lovullo] and [bench coach Jeff Banister] almost every day about this,” Hazen said. “I talk to some players every now and again, but I try not to cross that line too much. That’s hard. They all want to make upgrades, but they don’t want me to trade their teammates, so it’s a hard position to put them in. Sometimes I’ll ask, 'What do you think this team needs?' The clubhouse dynamic, the makeup of the team that is going to try to fight and win together is important. That’s something we’re very cognizant of.”

The addition of the third Wild Card spot, as well as the number of teams competing for the postseason this year -- particularly in the National League -- has changed the trade calculus a bit.
“The way I feel like the Deadline has moved more recently, with the number of teams that are in contention, near contention or just outside of contention, is the prioritization of acquiring Major League-ready players as opposed to prospects in A-ball. There will still be trades we can make with prospects in A-ball, but teams come and ask who we would take off of our team. If we were to do something like that, I wouldn’t take it lightly. I think it’s a little tighter than it’s been in the past. Yes, we have some depth, but I also want to be cognizant of what the team looks like and what we’re ultimately trying to get to.”