Diamondbacks acquire A.J. Puk from Marlins for two minor league prospects

Puk, 29, gives the Diamondbacks a shutdown lefty in the back of their bullpen. That was arguably Arizona’s biggest need at the trade deadline, with ESPN’s Buster Olney reporting that in his appearance on the Wolf and Luke Show on Arizona Sports Radio. He joins Joe Mantiply, a solid lefty that throws strikes and pitches to contact, to give them more options in the bullpen.

He is controllable through the 2026 season, allow. A former first round pick by the Oakland Athletics in the 2016 draft, he was traded to the Marlins for former Diamondback Starling Marte at the 2021 trade deadline. He emerged as Miami’s closer in 2023, pitching to a 3.97 ERA and 15 saves.

In 2024, with a short-handed rotation crushed by injuries, the Marlins tried to stretch Puk out to start again. The experiment failed miserably, with it only lasting seven starts. Since returning to the bullpen on May 13, Puk has a 2.08 ERA with 33 strikeouts to six walks in 30 1/3 innings. Opponents are putting up a pedestrian .159/.204/.252 slash over that time period.

His repertoire consists of a fastball that averages 96 MPH with a mid-80s slider and low-80s sweeper. He gets good extension on his pitches, ranking in the 94th percentile on Statcast thanks to a lanky 6’7″ frame, from a lower arm slot.

With Puk in the fold, Arizona now has a very formidable bullpen. Paul Sewald remains the Diamondbacks closer, although Puk has experience in that role if they need to turn to someone else. 23-year-old Justin Martinez has emerged as a key weapon thanks to his 100 MPH fastballs and demonic splitters. Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson are ever-reliable, and have already shown they can be effective in the postseason.

Going back to Miami is first baseman Deyvison De Los Santos and infielder/outfielder Andrew Pintar. Both prospects have seen their stock drastically rise in the 2024 season. Overall, given the risk-reward profile for the players involved, it is a solid deal that could very well work in the Diamondbacks favor.

De Los Santos went on a tear after getting return back to Arizona after failing to make the Cleveland Guardians’ roster as a Rule 5 pick. After spending six weeks crushing balls for Double-A Amarillo, he was promoted to Triple-A Reno. Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen described him as an 80 raw power prospect at the Winter Meetings, but an astromically high chase rate of 43.9% in Triple-A. If the Marlins can improve his approach, and make him a 30-40 homer threat, he could end up being the best player in the trade by far.

Pintar, finally healthy again, has taken the position swap from middle infield to center field very well thanks to his athleticism and was arguably the best hitter on the Diamondbacks High-A affiliate for the first three months of the year before a promotion to Double-A. He doesn’t profile as a starter, but could be an exceptional fourth outfielder who gets the bulk of his starts vs. lefties.

With Arizona’s most glaring need addressed, it will be interesting to see what else Hazen does in the next four to five days to try to put his team in better position to claim a Wild Card spot.