The Diamondbacks’ pursuit of a starting pitcher at the trade deadline hit a snag during the middle of the day on Monday, Aug. 3, when the New York Mets backed out of a potential deal that would have sent right-hander Clay Holmes to Arizona, multiple sources said.
The Mets called off the trade due to concerns they had after reviewing medical records of a Diamondbacks prospect.
The teams tried to rework the deal with different players involved but were unable to reach an agreement, sources said.
As with all deals, the sides agreed on names but needed to review medicals before finalizing the trade. During the time the Diamondbacks were waiting on an answer from the Mets — this was roughly three hours before the trade deadline on Monday afternoon — other
potential starting pitching targets came off the board in other trades, a source said. The Diamondbacks were left without the starting pitching upgrade they had hoped to land.
Holmes, 33, posted a 2.39 ERA in nine starts for the Mets before landing on the injured list with a fractured fibula in his right leg. The Mets wound up trading Holmes, along with outfielder Tyrone Taylor, to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for infield prospect Jefferson Rojas.
Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen seemed to refer to the failed trade during an appearance on the club’s broadcast on Monday night.
“This time of year, with the position this team is in, there’s an aggressiveness that’s — and we were, I mean, we laid a lot of players out there that were available, but we just didn’t get the deals done,” Hazen said. “We had some things go awry on us in the middle of the day. But there’s no excuses.”
The club made only one deal Monday, acquiring outfielder Lars Nootbaar from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for two prospects and a player to be named later.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mets nixed trade of frontline starter to Diamondbacks, sources say
