Six weeks out, the Diamondbacks do not figure to approach the trade deadline with any sort of identity crisis. It doesn’t look like they’ll be on the fringes of the playoff race; they’re squarely in it. And, as such, there’s little question in General Manager Mike Hazen’s mind about what he’ll be looking to do.
“When the time comes,” Hazen said, “if we’re standing in a position to help make the team better, we’re going to try to make the team better.”
Instead, the questions he’ll face are those of need, marginal value and cost, all of which will have to be balanced against a desire to build a sustainable winner with a farm system that appears relatively short on long-term assets.