Milwaukee Brewers: Are the Diamondbacks a potential trade partner?

The Arizona Diamondbacks are 16 games out of first place. They’re two games under .500. Could the Milwaukee Brewers look to work out a deadline deal with D-Backs team that could look to sell?

The Arizona Diamondbacks are two years removed from a Wild Card game appearance, and seven months removed from dealing the face of their franchise. They still have a few quality pieces left on their roster, but aren’t likely to challenge for the NL West or battle for a Wild Card spot this year.

The Milwaukee Brewers will look to strengthen their roster before, and possibly after, the trade deadline. Could they find a match in Arizona?

Any interesting starters?

Do you remember Zack Greinke? Because he’s still on the D-Backs roster! He’ll earn over $30 million per year until his deal ends after the 2021 season. The D-Backs would probably love to get out from under his deal, and they could look to flip Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers at the deadline.

The only stumbling block is Greinke’s salary. There’s no way the Brewers will take on an additional $30 million per year through 2021. The D-Backs would have to eat most of Greinke’s remaining salary to have any hope of swinging a deal. Even if they do, Greinke wouldn’t fetch much in return. He has done well this year, but his line drive rate and hard hit ball rate are both above his career average. His strike out rate is also the lowest it’s been since 2016.

Greinke is a prime candidate to regress in the second half of the year, and he comes with a cartoonishly high salary. If the Milwaukee Brewers look to add to their rotation in the coming weeks, it won’t be in a deal for Greinke.

How about the bullpen

The Arizona Diamondbacks have a name in their bullpen that should draw interest from the Milwaukee Brewers near the deadline.

Right-hander Greg Holland would give the Milwaukee Brewers the third option they lost when Corey Knebel was lost for the year.

Holland is only under contract through the 2019 season, and is exactly the type of player the D-Backs should look to flip before the deadline. Holland has assumed the closer’s role in Arizona, and has a sub-3.50 ERA, and a K/9 over 10.00. He may be in his age-33 season, but he’s been capable.

Veteran relievers are often inexpensive to acquire at the deadline, but a capable arm like Holland could pay dividends for a contender like the Milwaukee Brewers. If there’s a match on the return, Holland makes a lot of sense for Milwaukee at the deadline.

How about on offense?

The Milwaukee Brewers need an everyday first baseman, but the D-Backs don’t have much to send back. Jake Lamb has been hurt for most of 2019, but he appears to be upright now. He does come with a year of arbitration eligibility, but he can’t hit lefties. The Milwaukee Brewers already have Eric Thames.

The D-Backs also have Adam Jones and Jarrod Dyson on their roster. Both are free agents at the end of the year, and both could end up with a contender before the playoffs start. The Milwaukee Brewers acquired Curtis Granderson to round out their bench last year. They could look to pull off a similar low cost/low risk deal for either Jones or Dyson.

The D-Backs have a few helpful pieces for the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire before the deadline. There is potential for a match here, but the D-Backs lack the everyday first baseman the Brewers need, and the Brewers don’t have the Major League-ready prospects that it would take to pry Robbie Ray away. The two teams could come together for a smaller deal. However, there isn’t a match for a blockbuster.