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Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

Fans immediate reaction to the A.J. Puk trade

Originally posted on Burn City Sports | By Jacob Hardin | Last updated Jul 26, 2024 11:34 AM ET

Marking the 1st major move across the league heading into the trade deadline, the Arizona Diamondbacks bolstered their bullpen by acquiring lengthy lefty A.J. Puk from the Miami Marlins.

But, in return, the Diamondbacks gave up two pretty big prospects- CIF Deyvison De Los Santos and CF Andrew Pintar.

On one hand, Pintar has been making a name for himself down in High-A, posting a .304 batting average across 57 games this season. The former 5th-round pick was recently pulled up to Double-A at the beginning of July.

And on the other, you have Deyvison De Los Santos who has emerged as one of the Diamondbacks’ top prospects this season. From the Dominican Republic, Santos is at the top of the Pacific Coast League stat leaderboard in almost every offensive category. He has recorded a .372 batting average to go with a 1.172 OPS and 28 total home runs across Double-A and Triple-A this year.

So, naturally, fans were pretty split on the news. While Puk is only 29 years old, which means he will likely not just be some short-term rental, the Diamondbacks did give up a couple of emerging bats to acquire southpaw.

Reactions from fans and analysts following the news:

Absolutely hate this trade for the Diamondbacks.

Dude rakes. Would love to hear their angle as to why they pulled the trigger on this deal https://t.co/bvZA7b4QI5

— Gary Sheffield Jr. (@GarysheffieldJr) July 26, 2024

I really like that trade for the #Diamondbacks. AJ Puk is awesome and I don’t really think they traded anything of consequence.

— James Fox (@JamesFox917) July 26, 2024

Since moving back to the bullpen, A.J Puk has been purely dominant. 28.9 K%/5.3 BB% while holding hitters to just a .252 SLG in 30.1 innings.

Velocity didn’t come close to holding up as a starter and he lost a lot of what made him unique as a reliever.

— J (@StromsLab) July 26, 2024

New #Dbacks LHP A.J. Puk has a 4.30 ERA on the season with a 1.34 WHIP. More importantly, he has a 0.51 ERA over his last 15 outings.

Lefties are hitting just .200 off him.

Puk is under team control through 2026.

— Arizona Diamondbacks | Stats & Info (@DbacksStatsInfo) July 26, 2024

A.J. Puk is 4-8 with an ERA of 4.30 on the season. For comparison Joe Mantiply is 4-2 with an ERA of 3.99.

Effectively the #DBacks just traded the best power hitter in Minor League baseball for a lefty reliever with worse overall numbers than Joe.

It looks better however if…

— PHX Fans (@PHXFansAZ) July 26, 2024

A.J. Puk’s surface numbers are still pretty ugly but that’s almost entirely from his disastrous stint in the rotation at the start of the season/ transitioning back to relief. Since June 1st:

21 G
23.2 IP
34.9 K%
4.7 BB%
.146 AVG allowed
1.52 ERA
2.21 FIP

— Robert Orr (@NotTheBobbyOrr) July 26, 2024

Dbacks have been very proactive the last year and a half. I absolutely love it. Getting started before pretty much anyone else this trade deadline https://t.co/J7HlPGJBRf

— Andy (@andyroche16) July 26, 2024

Well there is the DBacks left handed reliever they needed to acquire

I suggested Tyler Holton from the Tigers, instead It's AJ Puk from the Marlins

Puk has NOT allowed an earned run since June 19th (16.2 IP, 14 games)

Puk started the season 0-8 but has been 4-0 since https://t.co/hDUGRUmrb4

— Dalton Feely (@dfeely14) July 26, 2024

This article first appeared on Burn City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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