Diamondbacks acquire former No. 6 overall pick from Marlins

The Arizona Diamondbacks were known to be looking for help in their bullpen, with Buster Olney from ESPN stating that the Diamondbacks were looking for left-handed relievers. Arizona may have gotten their man on Thursday night.

Jeff Passan from ESPN reported that the Diamondbacks have acquired reliever A.J. Puk from the Miami Marlins. In exchange, the Marlins will receive a pair of prospects in corner infielder Deyvison De Los Santos and center fielder Andrew Pintar.

The 2024 season has been a tale of two halves for Puk. The Marlins made the ill-fated decision to move him into the rotation to start the year, a move that proved disastrous. The No. 6 pick in the 2016 draft posted a 9.22 ERA and a 2.634 WHIP in his 13.2 innings over four starts, striking out 12 batters while issuing 17 walks. He landed on the injured list with shoulder fatigue on April 20, missing approximately four weeks. 

The Marlins returned Puk to the bullpen once he was healthy where he blossomed once again. Puk posted a 2.08 ERA and a 0.758 WHIP over 30.1 innings out of the Marlins bullpen, striking out 33 batters with just six walks. He should provide another high-leverage arm to a Diamondbacks team fighting to earn one of the wild-card spots.

De Los Santos was ranked as the Diamondbacks’ 14th-best prospect per MLB.com. The 21-year-old has been lauded for his plus raw power and impressive exit velocities thus far in the minors. De Los Santos does have his warts as he still hits too many balls on the ground and needs to improve his approach. However, with a .289/.338/.588 batting line with 14 homers and 14 doubles in 210 Triple-A plate appearances, he could get a look in Miami by the end of the season.

Pintar barely cracked the Diamondbacks’ top prospect list, ranked as their 30th-best prospect by MLB.com. The 23-year-old has seen action at three levels this season and had been at Double-A at the time of the trade. 

He has struggled in his first look at the upper minors, producing a .184/.289/.237 batting line with just one double in his 46 plate appearances. Pintar is considered a plus runner and is aggressive on the basepaths, making him a possible power/speed threat as he develops.

This is a trade that helps both sides immediately. The Diamondbacks get a needed power arm with several years of team control while the Marlins add pieces that could be part of their future lineup. With that deal, trade season may have officially begun.