PHOENIX — When the Arizona Diamondbacks play their next game at Chase Field, they may look like a different team.
It is possible (but increasingly unlikely) they don’t. Getting swept by the Houston Astros this week, however, was not the message they intended to send to the front office before the trade deadline.
Arizona’s next home game is on Aug. 4, after the deadline on July 31.
All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suarez — the subject of overwhelming trade rumors — was photographed leaning on the railing of the home dugout for a few moments after Wednesday’s 4-3 loss. Suarez said he was just frustrated by the loss.
I’m sorry that we let you down 😭 pic.twitter.com/PNQHM3MB0C
— Josh Naylor Enthusiast (@jnaylEnthusiast) July 23, 2025
“ I don’t want to talk about that right now because nothing happened yet,” Suarez said postgame. “Obviously this team has a part of my heart. Like I’ve said, I feel like I’m at home. The last two years with my career changed everything here in Arizona. … I don’t want to think about that now because nothing happened yet.”
Losing all three games to Houston dropped Arizona to 50-53, a tonal shift after it swept the St. Louis Cardinals last weekend.
The D-backs’ next nine games are on the road, and they only have six (at most) to make a statement before the deadline. They will play three in Pittsburgh over the weekend before heading to Detroit.
“I thought, wow, it’s kind of weird that I might say goodbye to some players on the road and never see them back in this clubhouse again,” manager Torey Lovullo said pregame. “It initially postures you a little bit.”
Has Suarez blasted his final home run into the Chase Field seats while wearing the uniform? Have Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly or both struck out their last batters in front of the home crowd that has cheered for them since 2019?
They, along with first baseman Josh Naylor, relievers Shelby Miller and Jalen Beeks and outfielder Randal Grichuk (mutual option) are set to become free agents at the end of the year, which has paved the way for trade rumors and reports from around the country.
The D-backs find themselves in a harsh reality, and time is just about out to decide what the team will look like going forward.
Eugenio Suarez says he does not want to focus on trade speculation.
“I feel like I’m at home,” he said after the Diamondbacks lost their last game at Chase Field before the trade deadline. pic.twitter.com/dbKkkwjAqJ
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) July 24, 2025
“We’re gonna use these next eight days to get as much information as we can and eventually make some decisions either to move someone or a decision to hold someone in a way that helps this organization for the next 1-3 years,” assistant general manager Mike Fitzgerald told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke.
“We have to be realistic about what we have left. We have a 60-game sprint to make up the ground that we need to make up. Is that impossible to do? Not at all. It’s a thick race, so we need to be realistic about that.”
In that 1-3-year outlook, Fitzgerald made sure to include this season.
Wednesday gave the Diamondbacks an opportunity to make up ground. The San Diego Padres (the third NL Wild Card team) lost their second of three games to the pesky Miami Marlins, but Arizona came up short to remain 5.5 games back with four teams to jump.
The D-backs have a +14 run differential and have scored the fourth most runs in MLB. They have outplayed fellow Wild Card contenders San Diego and San Francisco in head-to-head matchups. Fitzgerald made the point that the D-backs can hang with teams they are directly competing against.
Additionally, the Diamondbacks have some reinforcements coming back from injury in the second half: Miller, Beeks, reliever Ryan Thompson, catcher Gabriel Moreno and designated hitter Pavin Smith.
At the same time, the Diamondbacks are 11-20 in one-run games. They have not played clean baseball consistently or had reliable enough pitching to rack up wins. Injuries have also played a key role in creating this situation.
FanGraphs has dropped Arizona’s playoffs odds in half to 10% after the Houston series.
“We don’t want to close off any opportunity for this team to get hot and play up to its caliber and get a little healthy down the stretch,” Fitzgerald said. “And then the next thing you know, we have made up the gap that we’re sitting in right now with 60 games to go.”
Diamondbacks VP and Assistant GM Mike Fitzgerald doesn’t want to handcuff the team’s ability to get hot and make a run like 2023.
But the front office is also calculating what to do with four expiring contracts.
Front Office Focus on @WolfandLuke is presented by Canvas. pic.twitter.com/60v88o33fJ
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) July 23, 2025
What about the Diamondbacks buying?
It is a tough balance.
Supporting this group with pitching additions could work. Buying and selling is a way to keep the window open. There are 59 games left to make up ground, and the D-backs play the Padres, Giants and Cincinnati Reds again to do so directly.
At the same time, a futile attempt to make the playoffs would damage the front office’s ability to build a contender in the near and distant future.
The Diamondbacks could net draft compensation for free agents who depart after declining a qualifying offer.
On the other hand, this is a seller’s market, and the D-backs are a catalyst of the deadline since there is so much talent in that clubhouse.
“ I just wanna stay in the fight,” Lovullo said. “We’re a couple games under .500. That’s not acceptable to me. We gotta be better and we will be. We’re banged up. We’re hurt. And you could see some of the challenges we have every single night. We’re doing our best to overcome them.”
“It’s been so much fun while I’ve been here and I hope I continue to play here,” Naylor said. “At the end of the day, it is a business. And whatever happens, happens, you just gotta roll with the punches. … I’m blessed to be here and hope to continue to stay here.”
The final homestand before the break mimicked the season in many ways. The Diamondbacks played really well for most of it. Suarez was a marvel, hitting five home runs. It was clear they had more talent than their opponents and should have won more games than they did.
The frustration continues, as a team with self belief departs Arizona not knowing who will be coming back.
