The annual major league run on relievers is underway. With the July 30 trade deadline looming and contenders seeking bullpen reinforcements, the Arizona Diamondbacks jumped into the market by acquiring left-hander A.J. Puk late Thursday.
Puk, who settled well into a relief role with the Florida Marlins this season, will add left-handed depth to the Diamondbacks’ bullpen and could emerge as a primary setup man for closer Paul Sewald.
Puk gives Arizona a left-hander to pair with righty Kevin Ginkel in front of Sewald as the defending National League champions push for a return to the playoffs after falling to Texas in the 2023 World Series.
It makes sense. The Diamondbacks, already operating under a franchise-record $181.8 million payroll after receiving a postseason windfall, have reasons to add rather than subtract before the frenzy at the deadline.
Despite an injury-affected sluggish start, the Diamondbacks are a season-high three games over .500 at 53-50 entering the weekend and are 14-7 since No. 1 starter Zac Gallen beat Oakland 3-0 on June 29. Three of those losses came when Sewald failed to convert consecutive save chances.
Top starters Gallen and free agent sign Jordan Montgomery have returned from the injured list, Gallen for the second time. No. 2 Merrill Kelly is targeting a mid-August return after missing all but four games because of a tires major strain in his first shoulder.
Arizona is on a roll. It has won six of seven series and split the other, taking two out of three from the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and wild card contenders San Diego, Kansas City and the Chicago Cubs as well as Toronto. They split a four-game series against contending Atlanta.
It is reminiscent of 2023. The Diamondbacks were three games above .500 after sweeping a doubleheader from San Diego on Aug. 19 and finished the season six games above .500, clinching a playoff berth on the penultimate day of the regular season. They added Sewald and middle of the order bat Tommy Pham for the 2023 stretch run.
While Sewald has returned to form — he has 15 saves in 18 chances this season and was a standout down the stretch and in the postseason after being added at the 2023 deadline — adding a relief arm is almost de rigueur for a playoff contender at this point, when bullpens already have been stretched thin.
The Diamondbacks’ have a 4.24 bullpen ERA, the fourth-highest in the NL, and a 1.37 WHIP, which is second-highest. Their save percentage of 56 percent is below league average, and relievers have given up an NL-high 50 homers. The numbers are skewed because of injuries to the stating rotation, but they do suggest a need.
Puk is one of the many relievers, and one of several Marlines, who have been mentioned as potential trade deadline targets as contenders bulk up and non-contenders look to flip for future options.
Florida closer Tanner Scott, Los Angeles Angels’ closer Carlos Estevez and Texas closer Kirby Yates will become free agents after this season and could bring controllable help in return.
That group also includes potential 2025 free agents Colorado’s Jalen Beeks, the Chicago White Sox’s John Brebbia, Toronto’s Yimi Garcia, the Angels’ Luis Garcia, Detroit’s Andrew Chafin, the Chicago Cubs’ Hector Neris and Cincinnati’s Lucas Sims.
Puk, Oakland’s No. 1 draft pick in 2016, missed the 2020 season and most of 2021 after undergoing shoulder surgery, and he missed month earlier this season after landing injured list with shoulder soreness.
He is 4-8 with one save and a 4.30 ERA, but since his return in mid-May has been in top form out of the bullpen. He was 0-4 with a 9.22 ERA in four starts, the first time he had been asked to start in his five career seasons, before being returned to his more customary role in relief.
Puk has made 14 straight scoreless appearances since June 19, when he is 4-0 with 25 strikeouts and three walks in 16 2/3 innings. Opponents are 4 for 54 in that stretch. Left-handers are hitting .200 in 55 at-bats against him this season.
In his first season with the Marlins in 2023, he had a career-high 15 saves while going 7-5 with a 3.97 ERA. He averaged 12.4 strikeouts and 2.1 walks per nine innings, both career bests, and those ratios are similar since his return to the bullpen this season.
The Diamondbacks traded corner infield prospect Deyvison De Los Santos and outfielder Andrew Pintar to the Marlins to acquire Puk. De Los Santos has 28 homers in 87 games at the Double-A and Triple-A levels this season, and he played in the Futures Game.
De Los Santos was somewhat blocked in the Diamondbacks’ organization, inasmuch as third baseman Eugenio Suarez had a $15 million team option for 2025 and top prospect Jordan Lawlar also is a candidate there. First baseman Christian Walker, on pace for a third straight 30-homer season, will be a free agent, but the Diamondbacks are liable to make a play for him.
Puk has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, giving the Diamondbacks control through the 2026 season.