The Arizona Diamondbacks swung a trade in the late hours of the night to shore up some infield depth. The Snakes remain active this offseason to avenge narrowly missing out on the playoffs in 2024.
Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Tuesday night that infielder Grae Kessinger will be going to Arizona in exchange for minor league pitcher Matthew Linskey.
Kessinger was selected by the Astros in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Ole Miss. He ranked as high as 16th on Houston's prospect list on FanGraphs when they graduated him in 2023. However, his time with the Astros came to an end when he was designated for assignment to make room for former Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker.
There isn't much to speak of Kessinger's offensive value, as he's never been a strong hitter in his pro career. He owns a career slash of .234/.332/.362 in 392 minor league games, although the results have been better at Triple-A. In part-time duty with Houston, he's a .131 hitter with a home run in 70 plate appearances.
The Astros have traded Grae Kessinger to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handed pitching prospect Matthew Linskey, sources tell @Ken_Rosenthal and me.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) January 8, 2025
Linskey was an intriguing arm in the organization, selected by the Diamondbacks in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He was downright dominant with Low-A Visalia, pitching to a 1.59 ERA in 22 1/3 innings but struggled after a late-season promotion to High-A Hillsboro. He's an intriguing arm who could potentially stick in the bullpen due to the big swing-and-miss numbers he posted in the low minors.
Grae Kessinger adds more flexible infield depth for the Diamondbacks
While Arizona's starting infield features Eugenio Suárez, Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte, and Josh Naylor, the depth behind them is a bit suspect. They already lost key reserve infielder Kevin Newman, who helped the Diamondbacks weather a lengthy absence from Perdomo, who signed with the Los Angeles Angels in November. That leaves them with mostly untested options to back up the infield with Jordan Lawlar, Blaze Alexander, and Tim Tawa on the 40-man roster. Lawlar and Tawa are listed as the No. 1 and 21 prospects in the Diamondbacks organization on FanGraphs.
One of the main selling points about Kessinger is his ability to play all over the diamond, appearing at all four infield spots for the Astros' Triple-A affiliate. He also has two options remaining, allowing the Diamondbacks to be able to bring him up and down in a pinch for this season and next. The one concern with the infield depth there's a bit of redundancy, as all four infielders on the 40-man roster are right-handed bats. That could be problematic from a roster construction standpoint.
Looking at their infield situation, the Diamondbacks will carry at least one reserve and possibly two. One of them will have to play the shortstop position fairly well, as manager Torey Lovullo had preferred a steady defender as a backup last spring. Assuming Lawlar is in Reno to get everyday at-bats, that leaves just Kessinger and Alexander as the internal options competing for that role. That could change, depending on who they sign over the next six weeks.
Kessinger trade adds more competition for infield prospects
The addition of Kessinger also allows Lawlar to develop at his own pace. Perdomo is well-entrenched at the shortstop position, so the Diamondbacks' top prospect can focus on getting reps at the Triple-A level. Despite already getting time in the major leagues in 2023, Lawlar has only played 28 games with Reno. Depending on how 2025 goes, he could be in line to be the team's starting third baseman in 2026 as a means to get him in the lineup despite his best position being shortstop.
Additional fallout from the move could include a position change for Alexander. In his first taste of the big leagues, he struggled defensively at shortstop and made a couple of key errors that wound up biting the team at the end of the season. One idea would be to expand his defensive coverage to the outfield, which could expand opportunities to contribute on the big league roster.
Tawa made a late charge towards a roster spot with a strong finish to the 2024 season with Triple-A Reno. Between the Diamondbacks' top two levels, he posted a wRC+ of 133. His best chance of making the club and sticking would be as a fourth outfielder and designated hitter, where he'd see most of his starts against left-handed pitchers.