Arizona Diamondbacks: GM Offseason Simulation, Fake Trade 1/4

When the FanSided Offseason Simulation officially launched, trade talk started slow – but it didn’t take long to heat up for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

As “simulated” GM Mike Hazen of the Arizona Diamondbacks, we were eager to make contact with as many teams as possible in the Offseason Simulation. Gauging the value of Arizona’s trade chips was easy, but the mandate from Arizona ownership is murky: compete, but lower payroll in the process. Trade discussions launched from unsteady footing such as this dual-purpose plan do not portend a pleasant future in Arizona. Still, we carry on – as many mid-markets do- in our attempt to build a (fake) winner in the desert.

Trading Paul Goldschmidt would launch the Diamondbacks into a full rebuild. Zack Greinke would be the most difficult of the veteran Dbacks to trade, so we chose not to focus there either.

Instead, we chose to start conversations with the second tier of Diamondbacks potential trade chips: Steven Souza Jr., David Peralta and Jake Lamb. Coming off his career year, Peralta was obviously the easiest to peddle, and as free agency neared, the trade conversation heated up.

Talks with Cleveland began with a hypothetical Paul Goldschmidt for Corey Kluber swap. Such a swap definitely lives in the confusing middle ground between rebuilding and going for it, but we considered it because an ace like Kluber can help cover a lot of roster holes.

Ultimately, we went in a different direction…