The Arizona Diamondbacks were a sexy pick from a few on the avant-garde of baseball analysis (read: me) to challenge the Dodgers atop the NL table, but it does not seem like that will happen this year. They’re eight games back in the NL West, and while they do have decent odds to make a Wild Card slot, they face the problem that all fourth-place teams do; not only do you have to get hot, you need a bunch of teams to all get cold.

Even if you make the playoffs, without prized free agent signee Corbin Burnes, you’re dealing with a pretty weak rotation. Zac Gallen and Brandon Pfaadt both sport ERAs north of five, and while there’s still talent in the lineup, it’s hard to pull together a vision of a pennant competitor. Fortunately, there are a few players in contract years that could allow the Snakes to retool without stripping the franchise for parts.

We start with the big fish, and perhaps the one player the Yankees could use more than any other. Eugenio Suárez has 25 home runs and a 140 wRC+ at third base, the one position New York has tried to find an answer for since December. He’s going to be 34 in July, the exact kind of lightning-in-a-bottle veteran season we see every now and then. I want very little part of Suárez’s age-35 or 36 seasons, but he’s only under contract through the end of this year, and for an October push, boy could the Yankees use one more bat (and it’s not going to be fellow impending free agent Josh Naylor).

Then again, couldn’t everyone?

With so many teams in absolute dogfights for playoff spots, the Trade Deadline could become a seller’s market. The Mets could stand an upgrade at the hot corner, Caleb Durbin hasn’t been quite what the Brewers want, and regrettably the Dodgers are probably looking to move past the rather immobile Max Muncy. That’s three teams that all see themselves as playoff contenders, all possibly bidding against the Yankees.

There’s also loyalty to the incumbent, a trait this front office has displayed more than once in the last decade or so. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been everything the Yankees could want since being dealt from Miami, but DJ LeMahieu has managed to be just below average at second base. The club loves DJ, but shifting Jazz to second and bringing in Suárez probably makes this team better in 2025. I don’t know if the Yankees are willing to do that.

Should the focus change from bats to arms, Merrill Kelly is kind of the only good starter Arizona has (with Gallen disappointing), and is also on a contract year. I don’t think the Yankees are looking for starting pitching, so some other team might benefit from a literal shot in the arm.

On the relief side, which the org always seems interested in adding to, Jalen Beeks and Shelby Miller could both be decent adds. Beeks is in the Tim Hill mold, a lefty with a heavy sinker and a ground ball rate about 50 percent. He’s good, but the Yankees already have Tim Hill, I’m not sure they need two.

Miller, though, is seeing a season with his second-highest strikeout rate, highest average fastball speed and a 2.03 ERA. He may be the biggest bullpen piece moved this summer, and two months of him in the mix with Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, and Fernando Cruz makes for a pretty lights-out group.

The core of this ‘Zona team — Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno, Ketel Marte — is still good enough that a retooling on the fly could put them back into contention next year. If they can be savvy sellers, there will be plenty of calls from front offices around the league. There are a lot of good matches for the Yankees on this current roster, so it’s up to them whether they want to get in on the bidding.