Mike Hazen’s Future May Hinge on This Trade Deadline

The next eight months could determine Mike Hazen’s tenure as general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hazen faces a difficult trade deadline and offseason ahead, as much of his 2023 World Series core is expected to reach free agency.

Following that 2023 run, the D-backs have set record payrolls pursuing another postseason bid. In 2024, they missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker despite improving their win total by five games. But in the second year following, the entire bottom has fallen out with injuries and poor performances on the pitching staff short-circuiting a club that had postseason aspirations.

For 2026 and beyond, Hazen will need to work miracles to replace holes on the pitching staff. They have five pitchers coming off elbow surgery and will likely open the season on the 60-day injured list. Their organizational pitching depth has been stretched thin, and many of their top prospects in Triple-A simply aren’t ready to face major league hitters.

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2025 Deadline Echos Similar Patterns to 2019

With the 2025 season still in limbo, the team has hovered around .500 for much of the season. They’ve never been more than five games over or four games below the break-even mark at any point of the season. That’s very reminiscent of how the team performed in the 2019 season under similar circumstances.

The story of the 2019 club offered a similar arc to this year. The D-backs won a Wild Card spot with 93 wins in Hazen’s first year as the GM, a team led by Paul Goldschmidt, A.J. Pollock, Zack Greinke, and Robbie Ray. However, they missed the postseason in 2018 with 82 wins and were hovering around .500 for much of 2019.

That year, Hazen elected to trade away ace Zack Greinke before his contract went underwater for Josh Rojas, Corbin Martin, J.B. Bukauskas, and Seth Beer. Rojas ended up being the only contributor on the 2023 club, first as a strong-side platoon third baseman and then a key trade chip for closer Paul Sewald.

At the same deadline, he picked up Zac Gallen. An underrated pitcher who was breaking out with the Miami Marlins, Hazen struck quickly to add him at the cost of Jazz Chisholm Jr., a consensus Top 100 prospect.

That decision looks great now in hindsight. Gallen was instrumental in the team’s run to the World Series, starting that year’s All-Star game. He ranks fourth in club history in bWAR at 18.2, behind Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb, and Curt Schilling. Because of the decision to go after Gallen in a clear sell season, Hazen was able to rebuild the roster to contend for a title just four seasons later.

What Does Hazen Have to Sell in 2025?

As the team faces a similar crossroads in 2025, that’s the type of deadline that Hazen needs to execute to keep the D-backs window competitive. He’s already begun the sale, sending Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. In that deal, he got a potential back-of-the-bullpen arm in Brandyn Garcia and a solid lottery ticket pitching prospect in Ashton Izzi. You can read more on the two pitchers and what they bring to the table here.

Hazen’s top remaining trade chips are Merrill Kelly and Eugenio Suárez. If he chooses to move either player, he needs to get an impactful return for each one. The alternative would be to hold onto each player and extend a qualifying offer in hopes of keeping them in Arizona one more season. Should they choose to decline the qualifying offer and sign elsewhere, the D-backs will receive draft pick compensation. However, with Suárez at 34 and Kelly at 36, they’re more likely to accept the offer.

The market for Suárez has gotten hot, with 10 teams reportedly showing interest. The New York Yankees struck a deal Friday, landing Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon for a pair of pitching prospects. Even with the Yankees and Mets reportedly out, Hazen could put himself in a good position to leverage a potential bidding war.

The goal for this deadline will be for Hazen to acquire young starting pitching that can fill in the 2026 rotation. My 2026 Opening Day roster projection has Cristian Mena as the No. 4 starter and Bryce Jarvis as the No. 5 starter, a proposition I consider unacceptable. Hazen needs to acquire either more future upside to bump Jarvis into a long relief role or add a controllable starter in a separate deal.

Could the Unthinkable Happen and Hazen Trades Ketel Marte?

Mark McClune unintentionally set the D-backs fan base into panic when he reported from the Hazen conference call that the team received calls on Ketel Marte. McClune added a key qualifier, adding that while Hazen did not rule it out, but was not inclined to do so without a haul.

On his radio show, Burns & Gambo, on Friday, Arizona Sports insider John Gambadoro added some context to the situation. Here’s the full quote of what he said.

“Ketel Marte is not untouchable. Now, are they looking to trade him? No. But if somebody called ‘Hey, I’ll trade you [Tarik] Skubal for him. I’ll trade you Paul Skenes for him.’ It would take a haul, it would take a lot to get Ketel Marte. Arizona’s very desperate for frontline starting pitching because Gallen’s a free agent, Kelly’s a free agent, you’re going to trade both of those guys. Corbin Burnes isn’t going to be here next year. They’re desperate. How do you get frontline starting pitching? You’re probably not going to get it in free agency, so you’re saying, okay, it’s going to be in a trade. You’re not trading Gallen on a rental for frontline starting pitching, or Kelly, or Suárez. You’re not trading Suárez and getting back a No. 2 starting pitcher that’s going to be in your rotation for the next five years. There’s no chance. So the only way to get frontline starting pitching would be if you traded somebody of more value. That would be a Ketel Marte. They’re not trading Corbin Carroll. But I’m not saying they’re trading Ketel Marte, I’m just telling people he is not untouchable. If somebody calls with a great offer for Ketel Marte that includes starting pitching, that’s frontline starting pitching, you’ve got to consider it. You’d be stupid not to.”

At the time, I noted that’s exactly what needs to be said regarding the possibility of trading Marte. There is no rush to make a deal, but if the perfect one comes along, they have to take it. Marte’s under contract through the 2031 season, but has maybe 2-3 years left of playing at the level of a top MVP candidate. Leveraging that, even with so many years left under contract, could be the type of deal that extends their contention window.

However, I should also note that there is a wrong way of handling this situation. Anything short of a monumental and mind-blowing return that easily justifies the deal will alienate the fan base and likely seal Hazen’s fate as the GM. The team already traded Paul Goldschmidt in his final year of control, although there’s more to that story, for a return that ultimately didn’t work out.

What Could Happen if the Team Struggles in 2026

Both Hazen and Lovullo’s seats will not be warm if they can successfully navigate the deadline and the offseason. However, if the team plays to the level I expect in 2026, it’ll get hot real quick.

Assuming the team doesn’t go on a run similar to the Detroit Tigers’ last year, they’ll have missed the playoffs in two straight years despite franchise record payrolls. It’s unclear how patient Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick will be if the team gets off to a slow start in 2026. A full-on collapse, one similar to 2010, could spell doom for Hazen.

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D-backs Under Review is Michael McDermott’s publication for deep analysis dives, game coverage, prospect coverage, and breaking down the biggest news topics involving the Arizona Diamondbacks. Michael has been writing about the D-backs since the 2015 season, with stops at AZ Snake Pit, Diamondbacks On SI, Venom Strikes, and Burn City Sports. He has covered over 40 MLB games at Chase Field and the last three Arizona Fall League seasons.