Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen desperately wants to be a buyer at the Trade Deadline, but for him to be able to justify it, his team is going to have to pick up the pace a bit.
Since a 13-game stretch against the Rockies and Giants in which the Diamondbacks went 11-2, things have gone in the wrong direction for Arizona.
The Diamondbacks have struggled to hit with runners in scoring position. They've suffered a whole host of injuries to their pitching staff, including finding out that ace Corbin Burnes won't return until September instead of July.
The same goes for closer A.J. Puk, and as if that weren't enough, starters Michael Soroka and Ryne Nelson were both lost to injury.
After being swept in a three-game series by the Rays in Tampa Bay, the Diamondbacks won, 5-4, in the opening game of a three-game set with the Giants on Monday. At 42-42, Arizona is tied with the Nationals at 2 1/2 games out of the third NL Wild Card spot with three teams ahead.
It was with all that in mind that Hazen was asked again about whether he would buy at the Trade Deadline.
"What I want to do and what I'm gonna do may not work in concert with each other," Hazen said. "I want this team to make a deep run in the pennant race and into the playoffs, and we're going to need to add players to do that. I say this every year, I don't really feel like I'm going to make that decision. I feel like that decision is going to get handed to me one way or another from the guys down there [in the clubhouse]."
The Trade Deadline is Aug. 3 this year, so there is still a lot of time between now and then. And in the meantime, Hazen isn't going to just wait around.
Already the team has tried different things. The Diamondbacks’ top prospect, outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt, has been called up and sent back down. Same for infield prospect Jose Fernandez. Tommy Troy continues to get a chance, as does first baseman LuJames Groover.
Hazen also moved to sign outfielder Max Kepler, who was in the midst of PED suspension. More moves could be on the way.
"If there are opportunities externally, internally, we're gonna keep fighting at this," Hazen said. "We're not gonna sit tight and just hope that things get [better]. Hope is a terrible strategy."
The biggest issue for the Diamondbacks of late has been the offense's failure to deliver with runners in scoring position -- and to scoring in general.
"The middle of the lineup needs to produce in a more consistent fashion," Hazen said. "The top of the lineup has been sort of steadily marching on, and the middle to the bottom part of the lineup just hasn't produced in the way we need to to consistently score runs. We're not getting on base at the clip we need to, and we're not slugging, so that's a recipe for not scoring a lot of runs."
Hazen sees the coaches and players working hard every day, so it's not a lack of effort in his mind, but it's more about not working counts, being stubborn in their approach at the plate.
Manager Torey Lovullo has said he would like to see less early-count outs.
But it hasn't just been the offense.
While the bullpen has been a strength for the Diamondbacks to date, the rotation has not been as consistent. Veterans Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, who have both contributed so much to the team's success for years, have struggled to get going this year.
"I appreciate those guys, how hard they work, and they're disciplined to their craft," Hazen said. "They haven't gotten the results they wanted. I'm still optimistic that those two guys, given their track record, are going to figure out what needs to get done."