Rumblings about change in the Arizona Front Office are coming to a boil as the Atlanta Braves arrive in town carrying two of the three gifts from The Great Snake Robbery of 2015.
If you can believe it, the Diamondbacks looked at last December’s trade with Atlanta as the bargain compared to other options they were considering.
Once Arizona signed Zack Greinke to a six-year deal above the $200 million plateau, they were clearly in the game to win it, which meant that Greinke needed a stable-mate… a #2 to hopefully guarantee series wins all year – and then into the playoffs. The money had been spent: now a trade was the best way forward for this second starter.
Among the options they looked at were Danny Salazar (Cleveland) and Jose Fernandez (Miami). In a look at this history penned by AZCentral Sports’ writer Nick Piecoro, both Miami and Cleveland wanted A.J. Pollock – and then some. The Marlins added Patrick Corbin in their “ask” for Fernandez.
You may recall that the Braves were also asking for Pollock. But things changed dramatically at this point, according to Piecoro:
"When they arrived in Nashville, sources say the Diamondbacks told the Braves flatly they would not move Pollock, adding that they would, however, be open to discussing a deal involving Inciarte plus just about anyone else. Once the Braves realized that included Swanson, talks progressed quickly, sources say."
Well, yeah. I would have thought so.
When asked about the deal now, both Dave Stewart and Tony La Russa sound defensive, but also suggest that there were aspects of the deal that neither of them liked: La Russa wanted to keep Inciarte; Stewart said losing Swanson was the most bothersome to him.
There was a fear, too, about the trade from the Atlanta side… but it was in the realm of security. Again, from Piecoro:
"The trade floored many in the industry, the consensus being that the Diamondbacks gave up too much. The reaction was so overwhelming that, in the time between when the deal was reported to when it actually became official, some in the Braves organization were concerned the Diamondbacks might try to back out, according to sources."
Nonetheless, La Russa continues to defend himself and the organization: they wanted – needed – more pitching, and they had one of the top available, controllable young starters. They were set up for the season.
Next: Defending the Indefensible