Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Arizona Diamondbacks fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
We asked you earlier in the week how the D-backs should approach the trade deadline. Of course, it’s something which is very much in flux. Even since the poll took place, the D-backs unexpectedly won a pair of games on the road, against a team ahead of them in the standings. They currently sit two games out of a wild-card spot, but it’s very much in a state of flux, as I noted in the original. Going into play today, only four games cover the eight teams who occupy between fourth and eleventh place in the standings. A good week could catapult anyone into a wild-card spot. Conversely, a bad week could drop you like a stone.
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So, I’ve a feeling the answer to this question could change – probably multiple times – between now and the trade deadline on August 3. I imagine Mike Hazen and the Arizona front office will certainly wait until the All-Star break, and see how a potentially tricky section of the schedule plays out. But for now, here’s what you responded.
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Caution seems to be the order of the day, with the two “weak” options combining for 56% of the votes. “Buy” just edged out “Sell” there, though there’s a case to be made for both directions. Here are some comments from the poll thread which do just that, or go for the option in the middle.
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Sneeks – “I selected “weak sell” because I’m just not sure if we are a trade or two away from being a playoff team. I really wish we were. We show flashes, but against better teams, those flashes seem to occur fewer and fewer. … I also selected “weak sell” because… we just don’t have a lot of interesting pieces to shop?”
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LeftFieldCorNWer – “Weak buy for the right player at the right price. Not sure it makes sense to spend a lot for this season. They keep having to scramble to stay around .500. The only sustained success so far was that stretch against the cellar dwelling teams.”
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DbacksEurope – “Stand pat. Buying wouldn’t be wise. It is impossible to turn this mediocre team into a contender unless we somehow are able to get 3 ace starting pitchers, a complete new bullpen and we get 3 guys that can actually hit, and not just this season. No one is going to net a valuable return, look Suárez and Naylor. E-Rod would be a salary dump. The only situation I see is to just sit it out.”
Interestingly, enthusiasm for a strong anything was considerably more skewed towards the sell than the buy, at 24% vs. 10% (strong buy isn’t shown, but I did the math!). The fringey nature of the team’s status as a contender, plus perhaps concerns about the status of the 2027 season, may be a factor against the team pushing in all their chips right now. Which makes sense: it doesn’t feel like this team is a player or two from being a credible threat to the likes of the Yankees or Dodgers come October. Though you might have said the same thing at the start of the 2023 post-season as well…
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