Despite rival teams’ interest in Zac Gallen, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that the Diamondbacks right-hander is “not going anywhere.” This isn’t the first time Gallen’s name has surfaced in trade rumors, and after an injury-marred 2021 season, Gallen has re-established himself with some very solid numbers this season. Beyond just his ability, Gallen is also arbitration-controlled through the 2025 season, making it obvious both why other teams would want to acquire him, and why the D’Backs would want to keep him. Though it is increasingly looking like the D’Backs will be sellers again at the deadline, the club has been resistant to moving cornerstone players and going into rebuild mode — Ketel Marte (another popular trade candidate) was even signed to an extension back in March.
One player the D’Backs “would love to move” is Madison Bumgarner, Nightengale notes, but that is a tougher sell to suitors. After signing a five-year, $85MM deal with the Diamondbacks in December 2019, Bumgarner endured two rough seasons before bouncing back to more decent form thus far in 2022. However, it will take more than just decent numbers for Arizona to entice another team into taking on even a decent-sized chunk of the approximately $48.4MM still owed to Bumgarner through the 2024 season.
More trade buzz from around the league…
- Also from Nightengale, Robinson Cano has been some getting some attention, as the veteran slugger tries to revive his career with the Padres’ Triple-A team. Cano was suspended for the entire 2021 season and has posted only a .371 OPS over 77 plate appearances with the Padres and Mets this season, though he has been hitting well in the (batter-friendly) environment of Triple-A El Paso. Since either the Padres or a new team would owe Cano only the prorated portion of a minimum salary if he made a big league roster, Cano could be an interesting trade chip for any team that wants to take a flier on the former All-Star. From San Diego’s perspective, they probably wouldn’t expect much for Cano in return, or they could hypothetically include him as a part of a larger trade package.
- Martin Perez makes some sense as a sell-high trade candidate for the Rangers, though both Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney feel it might be more likely that Texas keeps the veteran lefty and even looks to extend him into at least the 2023 season. Perez is enjoying a career year, with a 2.34 ERA over an even 100 innings, and a generally positive set of advanced metrics indicating that his performance isn’t a fluke. Perez has helped keep the Rangers on the outskirts of the wild card race, so if Texas can string together some wins in July, the team might not be selling at the deadline whatsoever.
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