The Arizona Diamondbacks had a deal in place for New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes that fell apart just before Monday’s MLB trade deadline.
The Mets and Diamondbacks reportedly agreed to terms on a trade that would have sent the All-Star right-hander to Phoenix. According to the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro, the Mets “backed out of a potential deal” over concerns regarding the medical records of one of the Diamondbacks’ prospects headed to New York in the swap.
Per the report, the two sides tried to renegotiate with different players but failed to come to an agreement amid the looming deadline.
The Mets ended up trading Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the Chicago Cubs, who are among Arizona’s competitors for an NL Wild Card spot.
Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen expressed frustration Monday and told reporters that the team was “very close” on “multiple” deals, with only a smaller trade for Lars Nootbar materializing.
“We had some things just not go our way. It didn’t happen for us,” Hazen said. “We took some runs at a lot of pitchers. We made a lot of players available. It just didn’t happen for us. … We offered a lot, all the way to the top of our farm system.”
The Diamondbacks do have several quality pitchers expected to return from the IL some time during the stretch run of the regular season. Ace Corbin Burnes and veteran starters Michael Soroka and Ryne Nelson are all working their way back to the mound over the coming weeks.
But given the injury luck Arizona has had this season, banking on a smooth recovery for all of their pitchers may be wishful thinking. Having a sure thing like Holmes to bolster the team’s rotation amid the Wild Card race would have put a lot less pressure on those injured arms to return sooner.
