Phoenix was the epicenter of the July 31 MLB trade deadline this year.
In four separate deals, a total of 16 players changed hands.
From the Arizona Diamondbacks side, the club parted ways with ace Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson, Chris Snyder and Chad Qualls.
Although the core of the Diamondbacks is still in tack, the organization over the next few years will see many new faces take the field in Phoenix.
Get to know these names, Arizona fans, you will be hearing a lot about them.
It looks like the Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t quite done with their apparent fire sale just yet.
John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR is reporting that Arizona has agreed to send beleaguered relief pitcher Chad Qualls to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.
Qualls, a 31-year-old righty in his third year with the Diamondbacks, has a 8.29 ERA with a 2.00 WHIP.
The Rays will pay the remainder of Qualls’ $4.2 million salary this season.
In a separate deal, according to multiple sources, including FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal and azcentral.com’s Nick Piecoro, commissioner approval is all that remains between the deal that would send Diamondbacks’ backup catcher Chris Snyder to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It was originally reported that the major obstacle in any deal for Snyder, are the remaining years on his current contract.
Snyder is due $5.75 million next year with a club option worth $6.75 million for 2012 that comes with a $750,000 buyout clause.
The 29-year-old is hitting .231 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in 65 games this season.
With incumbent Pirates starting catcher Ryan Doumit on the disabled list, Snyder could earn another opportunity to see everyday work again.
Snyder lost his starting role with Arizona in 2008 when Miguel Montero filled in for him during a stint on the DL with a back injury.
It is unclear who the Diamondbacks will get in return for their backup, however, what is certain is that Arizona will undoubtedly pay for the majority of Snyder’s remaining salary.
These moves mark the third and fourth trades, respectively, in six days for the last place team.
Second baseman Kelly Johnson and relief pitcher Aaron Heilman are still rumored to be on the market.
The MLB trade deadline is July 31 at 4PM EDT.
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The Los Angeles Angels aren’t ready to concede the American League West to the Texas Rangers just yet.
And Sunday, the organization made an aggressive move to help bolster its chances.
Los Angeles will send LHP Joe Saunders, LHP Patrick Corbin, RHP Rafael Rodriguez and player to be named later to Arizona in exchange for All-Star RHP Dan Haren.
According to The Arizona Republic Diamondbacks’ beat writer Nick Piecoro, the player to be named later will be LHP Tyler Skaggs (the No. 40 overall pick in the 2009 Amateur Draft).
Arizona, in addition to getting Haren’s salary off the books, get a proven major leaguer in Saunders (6-10, 4.62 ERA).
The lefty will cost the Diamondbacks $3.7 million this season and between $6-7 million next year.
Currently six games behind the division-leading Rangers, the Angels came out of nowhere to steal Haren away from a slew of other suitors that included the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.
In 2010, Haren has a 4.60 ERA to go along with a 1.35 WHIP.
His 141 strikeouts lead the National League while his 141 innings pitched ranks fifth.
Haren is under contract through 2012 with a $15.5 million club option for 2013.
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With only a week left until the July 31 MLB trade deadline, two All-Star aces have emerged as the biggest prizes to be had: Dan Haren and Roy Oswalt.
But which pitcher is better?
Is it the the hard-throwing Astro, or the deceptive Diamondback?
Most casual fans might instantly say Oswalt due to the recent struggles of Haren in 2010; however, just last season, the Astros right-hander finished the year with an ERA well above 4.00.
Here is the breakdown.
Silver linings are hard to find in the Arizona desert this summer.
First-year Diamondback Kelly Johnson provided an obvious one Friday night, when he hit for the fourth cycle in Arizona history.
Unfortunately, like most nights at Chase Field this season, his headlining efforts weren’t enough for a Diamondbacks win.
So, in an attempt to help alleviate the pain this team has caused in 2010, why not relive the other three Snakes’ cycles?
Seriously, Arizona?
I knew the team was bad, but this is a new low.
Attempting to draw a crowd by constructing 10-foot tall monstrosities that would make Frankenstein look cuddly.
I get the trying-to-relate-to-kids theme, but how is giving children nightmares going to bring them back to the ballpark?
The mascots look like Sloth from The Goonies , and personally, I don’t want to have to bring a Baby Ruth candy bar every time I go see a D-Backs game.
A message to the rest of Major League Baseball: Don’t try to emulate Milwaukee’s magic, it’s one of a kind.
Anyway, I digress. Here are my odds for the race if each player was actually running.
Randy Johnson: 7-1
After seeing The Big Unit hit a gapper on a few occasions to only end up with a single, it’s hard to give Johnson much of a shot.
Anybody else remember when he fell down in between first and second base?
Being eight feet tall ain’t easy.
Luis Gonzalez: 30-1
Hailed as the greatest sports figure in D-Backs history (thanks for the World Series win Gonzo!), I still wonder why his name never came up in the steroids talk.
Guy hit 57 home runs in 2001, and then never broke 30 ever again.
That’s a little too shady for my liking, I got Gonzalez breaking down halfway through the race.
Mark Grace: 25-1
Not exactly sure why a Cubs legend is in the Diamondbacks’ Legends Race, but who am I to judge?
Despite only playing three years in the desert, Grace has become a household name in the valley for his work on the broadcast side of the business.
The first baseman won’t even finish the race, he’ll be too busy trying to do the play-by-play and yelling “CAR!.”
Matt Williams: 2-1
An original Arizona Diamondback, Williams is often lost in the shuffle when talking about the club’s early origins.
The third baseman ranks among D-Backs’ players in home runs (99, fourth), RBI (381, third), and total bases (1,067, third).
Retired after the 2003 season, Williams returned to the organization in 2009 as a base coach.
The old man wins going away by eight lengths.
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Well that was short.
By my count, first time All-Star outfielder Chris Young had five singles and one double in Anaheim Monday.
Unfortunately for the Diamondback, it was not the well-placed-line-drive-derby.
Eliminated in the first round in last place, Young hit just one ball out of the park while frequently voicing his displeasure with himself aloud.
“In the long run, I’d much rather have my line-drive swing than my home run swing,” Young told azcentral.com.
“Nobody has to worry about my getting turned around. It was line drives the entire time.”
That’s all fine and dandy, but he might want to rethink his stance before entering another home run derby.
In the end, the young resurgent player seemed to enjoy his short-lived experience at the event and garnered high praise from the ESPN announcers.
It would have been nice to see a Diamondback go further however, since the team rarely gets any national audience.
The only Arizona player to win the derby was Luis Gonzalez in 2001.
Hopefully next season, when Chase Field plays host to the Mid-Summer Classic, a real home run hitter will be chosen from the team.
Cough, Mark Reynolds, cough.
He might swing and miss ten times, but at least he will put on a show when he connects.
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First off, I’d like to apologize to train wrecks everywhere for comparing them to Chad Qualls.
Even watching two steamers crash in slow motion isn’t as painful as watching the D-Backs’ “closer” try to actually close out a game.
The 31-year-old righty has an 8.60 ERA in 2010 thus far, but that doesn’t even begin to explain just how bad he has been.
Even in the games he actually does save, it’s never a 1-2-3 inning (hence his 2.11 WHIP).
I refuse to let my grandmother watch an Arizona ninth inning anymore, for fear that her little heart just can’t take the gruesome sights.
It’s like a bad crime show, you know who the bad guy is, but it still takes till the last five minutes of the show for everyone else to figure it out.
Duh, AJ Hinch and Kirk Gibson, how do you not realize that this guy is just downright ineffective?
Last time I checked, fastballs and cement-mixing sliders haven’t fooled anyone since Little League.
For me, I choose to take the Happy Gilmore approach and simply go to my happy place (I’ll give you a hint, it involves Jennie Finch and a Gatorade bath).
In order to become a relevant team again around baseball, the D-Backs are going to have trade away some of their few good players (aka Dan Haren) in order to reload their bullpen.
Until then, you know where to find me.
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Welcome to the Arizona Diamondbacks garage sale.
Everything must go.
Seriously, everything.
Currently last place in the National League West and over twenty games under .500, the Diamondbacks need to start rebuilding.
This team just isn’t going to win. Ever.
With the July 31 trade deadline looming, these five players are the most likely to be sent off.
The midsummer classic goes to Disneyland in 2010.
Just miles down the street from the happiest place on earth, a collection of the greatest baseball players in the world will meet for one star-studded evening.
Who’s ready for a California Adventure?
I sure am.
Here is a position-by-position breakdown of the 81st MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim, California.