The Diamondbacks added another arm to their bullpen Thursday acquiring right-hander Kade Strowd and a pair of Minor Leaguers in exchange for infielder/outfielder Blaze Alexander.
Strowd, 28, had an impressive debut stint in the big leagues last season, recording a 1.71 ERA in 26 1/3 innings over 25 appearances. The hard-throwing righty was widely expected to make the Orioles 26-man roster this year and he gives the Diamondbacks another weapon as they try to piece together a bullpen until co-closers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez return from Tommy John surgery around the middle of the season.
“Strowd is the guy that's going to come and compete in the bullpen for us right away,” Arizona GM Mike Hazen said. “Felt like he took a pretty big step forward last year at the very end of the season. We like his stuff and he adds into the bullpen mix that we have -- guys that have some flexibility.”
The bullpen was a weak spot for the Diamondbacks last season after Puk and Martinez went down with injuries. Arizona has made a few moves this offseason to try and shore it up, adding free agents Taylor Clarke and Jonathan Loáisiga and now Strowd.
The Diamondbacks also received right-hander Wellington Aracena and infielder José Mejía in the deal.
Aracena, 21, was acquired by the Orioles from the Mets in the trade that sent left-hander Gregory Soto to New York last July 25 ahead of the Trade Deadline. The Dominican right-hander recorded a 2.35 ERA in five starts for High-A Aberdeen last season.
“He’s a young arm and is up to 100 mph already, 21 years old in A-ball,” Hazen said. “We really like the projection and the ability long term. He's only 21 years old, so he'll go into the system as one of our better pitching prospects.”
Mejía, 20, was signed out of the Dominican Republic in January 2023 by Baltimore. After spending two seasons in the Dominican Summer League, he made his stateside debut last year, hitting .274 with an .829 OPS over 47 games in the Florida Complex League. He also went 1-for-5 (.200) in a pair of games at High-A.
“Mejia has been at the lowest levels,” Hazen said. “We think potential middle infielder, probably more second base than shortstop, gets on base already at 20 years old, and again, we like the projection.”
Giving up Alexander was not easy for the Diamondbacks after he spent the final two months of the season playing well as their starting third baseman. Arizona recently traded for third baseman Nolan Arenado, so Alexander’s best chance at playing time was going to come in the outfield either in left or center field.
Alexander’s departure opens up a bigger pathway for former No. 1 Draft pick Jordan Lawlar to make the team. Lawlar, who was drafted as a shortstop with the sixth overall pick in 2021 out of high school, played a little outfield this winter in the Dominican Republic.
With a good spring, Lawlar could find himself on the Opening Day roster playing either left or center.
“I think we still probably see Jordan out in the outfield,” Hazen said. “We're not closing off the infield, but I still think [outfield is] probably the more realistic path here. You're going to see him work in the infield some as we move into Spring Training, but I think the majority of his work is going to come in the outfield.”
The Diamondbacks continue to look to add pitching before the start of Spring Training next week and could also look externally for more bench depth in both the outfield and infield. Tim Tawa, who can play center and left field as well as first, second and third, also could become even more valuable in the absence of Alexander.