Diamondbacks Offseason Trade is Already Haunting Them

Alexander did not have the most exceptional spring training slash line or OPS, but he did post a .263 batting average and .349 on-base percentage. He took four walks against eight strikeouts in 16 Cactus League games.

Meanwhile, the return in the trade that sent Alexander to Baltimore looks anything but positive in its early stages.

Right-hander Kade Strowd, who had a high level of success in the regular season with Baltimore in 2025 (also in a small sample size) had an extremely difficult time in spring training for the D-backs. Strowd allowed nine earned runs over the course of 7.2 Cactus League frames.

As a result, the 28-year-old righty did not even manage to crack Arizona's major league roster, despite a high level of need for competent bullpen arms. Strowd gave up 11 hits and five walks in eight spring games, and will have to head to Reno to work on his execution.

Spring training games are never quite the place to evaluate a player's ceiling, but it is worth noting that Strowd has not had extreme levels of success in the minor leagues, either. The righty has sa 4.85 ERA in his six minor league seasons.

His 1.71 ERA with the Orioles' big league squad in 2025 was a good sign, but it was also in just 26.1 innings' worth of data. He also posted a 3.40 FIP, which suggests his pristine ERA was somewhat better than his overall efforts might have deserved.

There is time for Strowd to grow into a positive presence in Arizona's bullpen, and Alexander may or may not produce in a full-season sample size. It's also worth noting that there were two prospects included in the deal that may have bright futures — though both are quite a distance from reaching the majors.

But for now, in the way-too-early tages of this trade's evaluation period, it looks like a serious defensive asset (and positive young clubhouse presence) was sent out for minimal gain.

There is still much left to observe, however.