Heading into the offseason, it was expected that Arizona would deal either Jake McCarthy or Alek Thomas, as both were left-handed hitters in an already crowded outfield.
On Saturday, McCarthy was the one to go, dealt to the Rockies in exchange for Minor League right-hander Josh Grosz.
Trade details
• D-backs get: RHP Josh Grosz
• Rockies get: OF Jake McCarthy
"[With the] construction of the 40-man roster right now, with the out-of-option guys we have coming into camp, the amount of outfielders we have, we felt like this was a spot of getting value for Jake," Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said. "Obviously, Jake's a good player and has done a lot of really good things here. But we felt like getting in front of this heading into spring was something that we needed to tackle."
As for why McCarthy was dealt and not Thomas, Hazen said it came down to the return Arizona could get for each.
Grosz opened the 2025 season with the Yankees' High-A Hudson Valley team. The Rockies acquired him last July 25 as part of the deal that sent third baseman Ryan McMahon to the Bronx.
The 23-year-old Grosz combined to go 5-14 with a 4.67 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) for Hudson Valley and the Rockies' High-A Spokane club last year, and he was the No. 20 prospect in Colorado's Minor League system per MLB Pipeline. He pitched one game in Double-A in 2024.
As of now, Grosz is not listed among Arizona's Top 30 Prospects.
"We like the potential for him to start," Hazen said. "Taking a shot, as we have continued to do, at acquiring as many guys for the system that we can to help build our depth and with some upside for the long term."
The Diamondbacks had Grosz up to 95 mph in their reports. They are intrigued by what changes they might be able to make to his pitch arsenal.
This offseason, the Diamondbacks hired Jeremy Bleich away from the Pirates and gave him the title of assistant GM. Bleich was credited with being a big part of Pittsburgh's ability to develop young pitching, and Grosz is the type of pitcher Arizona thinks he can help.
"These are the types of bets that I'm looking to take in terms of giving him guys to kind of work with and build," Hazen said.
McCarthy experienced a lot of highs and lows in his time with the Diamondbacks.
In 99 games in 2022, McCarthy had a 117 OPS+ and finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year Award voting.
The 2023 season was a struggle for McCarthy as he slumped and was optioned to Triple-A Reno. But he bounced back in '24 with a .749 OPS and a 108 OPS+.
McCarthy got off to a rough start last year, going hitless in his first 24 at-bats.