An undated picture of Arizona Diamondbacks Blaze Alexander. — Reuters
The Baltimore Orioles traded utility Blaze Alexander to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, acquiring him with right-hander Kade Strowd and two minor league players, righty Wellington Aracena and infielder Jose Mejia.
Last season, Alexander, 26, hit with a batting average of .230 and with seven home runs and 28 RBIs in 74 games playing with the Diamondbacks.
He is hitting at a rate of 237 with 10 homers and 49 RBIs in 135 games in portions of two seasons since he made his debut in the major leagues in March 2024.
He has been a shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, left fielder, centre fielder and designated hitter. Alexander was picked in the 11th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by Arizona.
Strowd, 28, was introduced to the majors last May. He appeared in 25 games, with a 0-1 record and a 1.71 ERA, 13 walks and 24 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings with the Orioles. Strowd was selected by Baltimore in the 12th round of the 2019 draft.
Aracena, 21, was traded to Baltimore as part of a July 2025 deal that traded a left-hander, Gregory Soto, to the New York Mets.
Baseball America placed Aracena No. 23 on its list of 2026 Orioles prospects, and MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 26. Mejia, 20, hit in 49 games (35-for-129) with the Florida Complex League Orioles last season, with a batting average of .271.