Team news
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks depart ‘productive’ meetings hopeful trade could come together – Hazen departed Las Vegas with a better understanding of what might be possible to address his pitching needs.
Whether any of it happens, he said, remains to be seen. “We at least had an opportunity to express interest and talk about what we’d be looking to bring back. I think those things are productive. “For the 30 things we talked about, what ends up coming to fruition? Probably one or two things, if at all. I think coming out of these meetings, the next conversations that you have give you a better sense for what part of the conversations may be real and what parts are like, ‘We thought about it more and that’s not somebody we would part with.’”
[Dbacks.com] What would be the logic behind a Marte trade? – Outside of outfielder Corbin Carroll, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and catcher Gabriel Moreno, no one would bring the kind of return that Marte would. The Diamondbacks are probably going to move either outfielder Jake McCarthy or Alek Thomas, but neither figures to return top pitching. Marte, though, is still in his prime and is on an affordable contract. The extension he signed with Arizona in April runs through 2030, with a player option for ’31. All told, it is $91 million guaranteed. For the same reasons the Diamondbacks would be loath to trade Marte — he’s a superstar on a reasonable deal — teams would likely be willing to give up a lot to get him.
[SI] Why Zac Gallen Belongs on Diamondbacks’ Pitching Mount Rushmore – Always professional, willing to speak through whatever ups and downs he had, and never a whiff of controversy or trouble. He frequently displayed a good sense of humor too, willing to laugh along with and even at himself at times. He enjoyed interacting with fans and was always a quick and willing participant to engage and sign at appropriate times. Don’t allow recency bias to creep in when it comes time to evaluating Zac Gallen’s career as a Diamondback. He was a legitimate ace of the staff, and for a time, one of the best pitchers in MLB. He belong on the Diamondbacks Mount Rushmore of pitchers.
[FOX Sports] Tigers? Mariners? 3 Best Trade Fits for Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte – A veteran star complement to a Red Sox offense that has an emerging core of young players like Roman Anthony, Romy Gonzalez and Wilyer Abreu. He can hit near the top of Boston’s lineup, generating offense for the meat of the order and having the lethal swing from both sides of the plate to do damage on his own. Marte would put the Red Sox on the same wavelength as the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees in the American League East next season even without internal growth. The Red Sox could send infielder and former first-rounder Mikey Romero, right-hander Hunter Dobbins and outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia to the Diamondbacks for Marte.
And, elsewhere…
[Lookout Landing] Mariners keep their word, sign Josh Naylor to 5-year contract – Naylor’s fit with Seattle stretched back to last winter, as the lefty-swinging Canadian was a hot topic of discussion for Seattle to improve their first base position. Instead, Naylor was dealt from the Cleveland Guardians to the Arizona Diamondbacks, before becoming a Mariner just before the 2025 trade deadline and immediately making a huge impact. Naylor spent the back half of the summer cementing himself as a fan and front office favorite, swiping bags and smacking baseballs all over the yard. Now, Naylor will be in Northwest Green for the better part of his career.
[ESPN] Testimony in Skaggs family lawsuit puts Angels on the defensive – Contradictory testimony by current and former Angels representatives has sharpened scrutiny about what the Angels knew — and whether officials relayed concerns about [team employee Eric] Kay to Major League Baseball. Among the trial’s key elements in the past two weeks, Deborah Johnston, the Angels vice president of human resources, testified Monday that the team worked with MLB to address Kay’s addiction, despite her own deposition and previous testimony by other Angels officials saying they had no knowledge of any such coordination.
[MLB] Why this free-agent reliever could be an underrated pickup – There is a reliever out there who is coming off a shaky campaign that might bring his price down from what it would have been had he continued on his prior trajectory. But when you look under the hood, there’s a lot to like. That free-agent hurler is Luke Weaver, and as the right-hander enters his age-32 season in 2026, he could provide a big boost for the team that signs him if the underlying trends are any indication. Under the microscope as a Yankees pitcher, any bad outing can fuel scrutiny. And Weaver had several of them with New York in 2025. But was he really as unpredictably underwhelming as it might have seemed on the surface?
[Reddit] Your MiLB Name of the Year is: Zebulon Vermillion
Watching in a Winter Wonderland
Arizona is bigger than the whole UK, and up in the north, where the altitude can get up over twelve thousand feet, there is plenty of scope for snow. In fact, it’s possible to go skiing in the morning, and be medevac’d off Camelback Mountain, suffering from severe dehydration, in the afternoon. But in general, we have to experience winter vicariously. One option is to turn the air-conditioning down – possibly as low as 25C – and curl up on the couch with a blanket and cup of cocoa, watching movies where things unfold in chillier climes.
