The Arizona Diamondbacks signed a top reliever on Thursday night.
The Diamondbacks have reached an agreement to sign left-handed pitcher AJ Puk in a trade with the Miami Marlins, according to multiple reports. In return, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Diamondbacks will send Miami minor leaguers Deyvisson De Los Santos and Andrew Pintar.
Full offer:
Arizona Diamondbacks receive: left-handed reliever AJ Puk.
The Miami Marlins receive: CIF Deyvison De Los Santos and CF Andrew Pintar.
The deal is done. The Diamondbacks get the bullpen arm they were looking for.
And the trading season has officially begun.
—Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 26, 2024
Puk, who began his career with the Oakland Athletics in 2019, has been a very solid reliever this season in Miami. He has a 4-8 record with a 4.30 ERA in 44 innings this season. The 29-year-old has also allowed just 36 hits and 27 runs in that span, and has limited batters to a .159 average. He began the season in the Marlins’ starting rotation, though they moved him back to a relief role in May. Since that transition, he has posted a 2.08 ERA.
De Los Santos has spent time with the Diamondbacks’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this season, where he has hit 28 home runs each while maintaining a .325 batting average in 372 plate appearances. The first and third baseman was Arizona’s No. 14 prospect, by MLB channel.
Pintar, an outfielder, is the team’s No. 30 prospect. The former BYU star had a .304 batting average with the Diamondbacks’ High-A team before recently being promoted to their AA team.
The Diamondbacks currently have a 53-50 record after winning back-to-back games against the Kansas City Royals this week. They will enter a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend in third place in the NL West and just one game out of the final wild-card spot. The Diamondbacks’ bullpen has the lowest strikeout rate in the league at 7.39 per nine innings.
The MLB trade deadline is set for July 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time.