The Arizona Diamondbacks have a surplus of talent at a number of positions and have made three of their players available for a trade. Although general manager Dave Stewart denied talking to other teams about a deal, the speculation makes a lot of sense.
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the D-Backs are open to trading second baseman Aaron Hill, outfielder Cody Ross and starting pitcher Trevor Cahill. Each player carries a large annual salary for 2015 and the team has little use for them or can make due without them. Let's take a look at their contracts and look into why Arizona might be hoping to move them.
Aaron Hill, 2B: The 32-year-old is set to earn $12 million in each of the next two seasons. He's played in only 220 games over the last two years and batted just .262 with 97 runs scored, 21 home runs and 101 RBIs over that span, which followed up a 2012 campaign where he hit .302 with 93 runs scored, 26 home runs and 85 RBIs in 156 games. It appears they may want to make room for middle infield prospect Nick Ahmed. He and Chris Owings can play both second and short and veteran Cliff Pennington can provide a solid backup option. Hill is a burden with a $12 million salary if he's not performing to his capabilities.
Cody Ross, OF: Ross is another aging veteran who has largely failed to prove his worth with the Diamondbacks. After a 22 homer season in 2012, the 34-year-old has played in only 177 games and batted .268 with 47 runs scored, 10 home runs and 53 RBIs. With Mark Trumbo, A.J. Pollack, David Peralta and Ender Inciarte in the outfield, the D-Backs have little use for an expensive aging veteran who is currently listed as a backup. He'll be difficult to trade unless they eat a good chunk of his salary.
Trevor Cahill, SP: Cahill still has age on his side as he just turned 27, but he's been another disappointment for Arizona. He was acquired from the Oakland Athletics prior to the 2012 season and the D-Backs signed him to a four-year, $30 million contract. The right-hander is 24-34 with a 4.29 ERA, 1.408 WHIP and 363 strikeouts in 90 games (74 starts) over that span and was moved to the bullpen last season for a about two months after beginning the year with 18 earned runs in his first four starts (17.2 innings). Cahill will be another difficult player to trade unless Arizona contributed to paying much of his salary, especially since he's expendable among the other seven available starting pitchers the team has.
So it may be true that Stewart has denied talking to other teams about these three veterans (probably because no one is interested), but it's no surprise the Diamondbacks are making them available to at least have others consider a deal if depth was a priority for them.
