The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Didi Gregorius on Tuesday in a three team, nine player trade that attempted to solidify Arizona’s future at the shortstop position. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks continued their busy off-season on Tuesday by acquiring what they hope to be their answer at shortstop for years to come in a three-team, nine player trade also involving the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians. Arizona acquired young shortstop Didi Gregorius from Cincinnati and left-handed reliever Tony Sipp and first baseman Lars Anderson from Cleveland.

Arizona shipped prized pitching prospect Trevor Bauer and relievers Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw to Cleveland. Cleveland also acquired outfielder Drew Stubbs from the Reds. Cincinnati received Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, shortstop Jason Donald and about $3.5 million from Cleveland.

Arizona’s Trevor Bauer was shipped to the Indians on Tuesday in a three team, nine player deal involving Cleveland and Cincinnati. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The center piece for the Diamondbacks was Gregorius, a player that GM Kevin Towers said reminded him of “a young Derek Jeter”. Considered more of a defensive standout, the 22 year-old Dutchman got his first taste of big league action last season. Gregorius hit .300 with two RBI’s in eight games with Cincinnati last season. In five minor league seasons, Gregorius hit .271 with 20 home runs and 166 RBI’s, splitting time between rookie ball t the lowest level and Class AAA at the highest. His best season in the minors came in 2010, when he hit .272 with five home runs and 41 RBI’s split between Class A ball and  professional baseball in Australia. He also hit 11 triples for the Reds farm system that season.

The Diamondbacks had an obvious falling out with Trevor Bauer and he became expendable with the signing of Brandon McCarthy last week. While Bauer has massive potential, his throwing program and attitude irked people in the organization and he became surplus for the Diamondbacks. They had to give him up to get their man in Gregorius. Bryan Shaw was going to see his role reduced this season with the acquisition of Health Bell and Albers was seen as a stop-gap in the bullpen for the short term.

Tony Sipp will get his chance to compete for a left-handed spot in the Arizona bullpen with Matt Reynolds. The left-handed Sipp pitched the last four seasons in Cleveland. Last season, Sipp was 1-2 with a 4.42 ERA in 63 appearances for the Indians.

Anderson will most likely be sent down to Class AAA Reno. Anderson hit .250, with 9 home runs and 59 RBI’s last season with Class AAA Pawtucket and Columbus.

Ian Kennedy is one of a number of talented pitchers that the Arizona Diamondbacks have stockpiled. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

When general managers seek out each other during this time of year to discuss roster movement, the GM with the better pitching prospects tends to hold the cards when it comes to a potential bargain. Every GM seeks out better pitching and luckily for the Arizona Diamondbacks, pitching is one thing they have in abundance.  If a deal is going to happen with the D’Backs in which they get back a major league ready position player (namely, a shortstop), rest assured that one or more of Arizona’s young arms will be included in the deal.

With the signing of former Oakland A’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy on Saturday, the Diamondbacks now have a starting rotation that will almost certainly feature Ian Kennedy, Wade Miley, Trevor Cahill and McCarthy. At the beginning of the season, it looks like four men will battle for the fifth spot in the rotation: Josh Collmenter, Trevor Bauer, Tyler Skaggs and Patrick Corbin.

Jul. 3, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Trevor Bauer did not endear himself with teammates, like catcher Miguel Montero, when he was called up during last season. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Collmenter is the longest tenured of the four and has the most experience of the group, but has had his issues as a full-time starter (5-3, 3.69 ERA in 90.1 innings pitched in 2012). Bauer’s brief tenure in the big leagues last year was marked by poor pitching performances (1-2, 6.06 ERA in 16.1 IP in 2012) and the fact that his routine and demeanor caused waves in the dressing room. Skaggs had the opportunity to start a few games late in the season with some mixed results (1-3, 5.83 ERA in 29.1 IP in 2012), but showed promise. Corbin was somewhat effective as a starter, which earned him multiple call-ups throughout the season (6-8, 4.54 ERA in 107 IP in 2012).

If you add in two more young pitchers in Archie Bradley (12-6, 3.84 ERA in Class-A South Bend last season) and David Holmberg (11-8, 3.32 ERA between Class A Visalia and Class AA Mobile last season), Arizona has a minor league pitching system that has to be the envy of many organizations. General Manager Kevin Towers has an trunk full of riches to deal from.

The situation becomes a little easier to predict if the D’Backs use their pitching strength to deal one or a number of the young starting pitchers for an upgrade at shortstop. Towers says that he is open to listening for deals that include other positions on the field, but the one glowing weakness appears to be at shortstop.

Even if a deal is not struck between the D’Backs and potential suitors, they can always position themselves to be in the discussions near the trade deadline with the pitching that they have. Daniel Hudson will return (most likely in July) and that could bump one of the aforementioned pitchers from the rotation.

Whichever one of the six young arms does win the 5th spot in the rotation, he will have earned it. The competition for that spot will be one of the most hotly contested throughout all the big leagues during training camp. Those that do not win the job, will be on the market. Even if one of those pitchers wins the 5th spot, Towers could see it as an audition for other teams to look at what we have and then replace them with another young, capable arm if the right deal comes around.

With the addition of Brandon McCarthy, the Arizona Diamondbacks are sitting pretty when it comes to the future of their pitching staff and do not be surprised if the patient and strategic general manager of the D’Backs uses this strength to his advantage in future deals.

Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro detailed the multiple trade rumors and other mishandling of Upton in his piece here.

Piecoro makes several poignant observations in the piece. But the part that I have found to be the most relevant to me was his obvious emotional reaction to Upton’s situation. I’ve found myself in the same situation when talking about Upton.

He was boo’d, demeaned and blamed for the D-backs failures this season, which would have been okay for this season, since he is the best player on the D-backs and the face of the franchise, if he had also been lauded, celebrated and credited for the D-backs success in 2011.

He was far and away the best player on the team. He covered for many faults in the roster and made the hitters around him better players.

But there wasn’t much celebration. Guys like Ryan Roberts and Gerardo Parra were lifted up and were beloved by the fans instead of Upton. And while they were good players, they were also replaceable if needed. Upton was not.

Upton was hampered with injuries almost the entire 2012 season. But he wasn’t given a break. And he didn’t ask for a break. He kept his head to the grindstone and worked as hard as he could. He ignored Ken Kendrick calling him out for basically being “immature” and “soft.” He ignored the fans booing. He fought. He played hard. He did what he could to help the team while he worked through his injuries.

And when he was finally healthy?

In September, he hit .304 with a .362 OBP and had six home runs and five stolen bases in only 115 at bats. And it wasn’t just one month. After the All-Star break, Upton had a .287/.357/.460 slash line. That wasn’t quite his 2011 power numbers (.289/.369/.529) but his average and OBP were very similar.

The point is, he was rebounding. But it was too late. Or maybe not enough. The only thing it earned Upton was more trade rumors this offseason. That’s a shame. Like Piecoro says, maybe a change of scenery would be the best thing for Upton. But I sure hope not because when gets back to his 2011 form  (MVP Caliber), I sure hope it’s in Sedona Red.