AL Trade Deadline Targets
American League West
I like LHP Parker Mushinski but he has only pitched 6.1 innings because of injury. Parker Mushinski began his minor league career in 2017. He missed 2020, like a lot of minor leaguers did, but in those 5 years teams hit seasonal averages of .212, .190, .247, .258, and .169, for an average of .223 against him. Every season he had more than a 2/1 K/BB ratio that gave him a 5-year total of 114/331. His record overall was 7-11 but in those 5 years he did a variety of different things he started 38 games he qualified for 8 holds and had 4 saves in 6 opportunities in 262.1 innings as provided by MLB.com.
Matthew Festa has been up and down with the big-league team for 3 seasons. In 2018 he pitched 8.1 games, 2019 22.1 innings and so far in 2022 he has pitched 22.2 innings. He has pitched in a total of 50 games giving up 50 hits with 57 strikeouts and only 21 walks. He has seemingly improved his numbers each year and has a sparkling 7/32 BB/K ratio this season while only giving up 17 hits. I have also written previously about how much I like Justus Sheffield.
Andres Munoz is a reliever the Diamondbacks should target for many reasons. In 2019, his sinker was on average the fastest in major league baseball, at 101.2 miles per hour. On December 1, 2021, Muñoz and the Mariners agreed to a 4-year extension worth $7.5 million. So far in the 2020 season, he has 9 holds and a save. Hitters have a .226 batting average against, and he has only given up 9 walks while striking out 54. And he is only 23 years old. The Diamondbacks may have to give up a little more than what they may want, but I think Munoz could really add value to their bullpen.
The Diamondbacks should be very active as the August 2nd Trade Deadline approaches. They have some interesting pieces that they could trade and improve this team for the rest of this season and beyond.