Trade Profiles: Arizona Diamondbacks

Zimbio.com

The Pirates are still in their quest to acquire another bullpen arm.  Last night, one of those arms got traded.  Joakim Soria was traded to the Tigers but never fear there are still plenty of options.  For example, Jon Morosi tweeted that the Pirates were scouting the Diamondbacks' bullpen.

Pirates have been scouting DBacks relievers. Of note: A lefty by the name of Oliver Perez is part of the Arizona bullpen.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 23, 2014

How about that.  Oliver Perez back in a Pirate uniform?  That would be pretty awesome.  But would it be an upgrade?  Well Perez is pitching very well so far this season.   He has a staggering 10.77 K/9, a 3.11 BB/9, 1.12 WHIP, and an ERA of 1.94.  His FIP does suggest regression though as it is 2.50 and his xFIP is 3.27.

Good things about Perez would then extend to his contract, which is very team affordable through next season.  He pitches well against lefties and righties so he isn't a specialist.  Also, just the fact that Ollie would be coming back to Pittsburgh after all of his struggles after leaving the city.  It just seems like a good homecoming.

Another possible target in the Dback bullpen would be Brad Ziegler.  Ziegler is a side arm pitcher and is very effective with it.  Stats show that Ziegler could be the perfect fit for the Pirates.  He has a K/9 of 7.82, BB/9 of 3.02, WHIP of 1.14, and ERA of 2.84 but his FIP and xFIP are higher too at 3.30 and 3.15.

Ziegler is a rental and owed a prorated salary of $3.25 million this season and would then be a free agent.  He doesn't have specialist type splits.  And the most impressive thing about Ziegler is that he is a groundball machine.  He gets groundballs at a higher rate than Charlie Morton and Jared Hughes.  With the Pirates' advanced defense, Ziegler could pitch even better than his FIP and xFIP indicate.

The problem with both of these players is that the Diamondbacks are for some reason looking to hold on to some players.  They are one of the worst teams in the MLB right now but they only want to sell a lot of their appealing pieces.  But if they do decide to sell or it's just a smokescreen, the Pirates have to look into it.  If they can rob the Dbacks blind (they traded Ian Kennedy to the Padres for a relief pitcher) then it could be the best value in a seller's market.