Diamondbacks Acquire AJ Puk from Marlins: What to Make of Trade

July has been a quiet month thus far in terms of trades. But with the Trade Deadline near, that’ll change soon. On July 25, the Diamondbacks acquired A.J. Puk via trade from the Marlins for two prospects, headlined by power-hitting infielder Deyvison De Los Santos. The move comes amidst a hot stretch by the D-Backs, who won seven of 10 as of the 25th and sat a game out of the third NL Wild Card spot.

The D-Backs’ Return

RP A.J. Puk (4.30 ERA, 45 K over 44 IP)

The Marlins acquired A.J. Puk during the 2022-23 offseason in what was a swap of former first-round picks. Miami parted with J.J. Bleday, who struggled badly with high fastballs in his brief time with the Marlins but carved out a role in the A’s outfield. As for Puk, the lefty settled in nicely as a late-inning reliever for the Marlins.

Puk struck out 78 over 56.2 IP last season for the Marlins and the lefty spent half of 2023 as the team’s closer. He was supplanted by David Robertson, who faltered and gave way to Tanner Scott. Scott hasn’t relinquished the role since, although that may change come July 30.

The Marlins tried to make Puk a starter to start 2024. It was a role he thrived in at the University of Florida and was expected to be his MLB role before he was besieged by injuries. It didn’t work, as Puk didn’t have a great feel for his splitter and changeup and got tagged. Opposing batters had a 1.015 OPS off Puk as a starter. Miami moved him back to the bullpen midseason (2.08 ERA, .456 OPS) and the move worked out.

AJ Puk Marlins whiff map 2024 — Puk can get lefties and righties out. However, it doesn’t take a genius to see why he can be so effective against left-handed hitters; whiffs with the sweeper away and whiffs up with the fastball.

While Puk’s thrown six different pitches this season, his splitter and changeup aren’t great offerings. His two best pitchers are his four-seamer and sweeper. His sweeper is a low-80s pitch with hard left-and-right movement and has beaten both lefties and righties.

Puk’s fastball sits in the mid-to-upper-90s and plays up with plus (94th percentile) extension. He’ll also work in a harder slider and mid-90s sinker.

Puk won’t be a free agent until after the 2026 campaign.

The Marlins’ Return

CI Deyvison De Los Santos (.325/.376/.635, 28 HR and 48 XBH over 87 G (AA and AAA)
OF Andrew Pintar (.285/.384/.468, nine HR and 27 XBH over 69 G (ACL, A+ and AA)

The D-Backs lost Deyvison De Los Santos, albeit temporarily, this past December. Cleveland selected De Los Santos in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft, and the Guardians’ selection was — as we believed in December — one of the better picks thanks to his raw plus power. However, Cleveland returned him to Arizona in March 2024.

Since then, De Los Santos has been on a tear. The 21-year-old batted .372 with a 1.122 OPS over 38 games in Amarillo (AA) before a promotion. De Los Santos hasn’t slowed down in Reno, as he belted 14 home runs and a .926 OPS with the Aces.

De Los Santos generates a lot of rotation with his swing. And, plenty of bat speed and power. There’s some concern over how well De Los Santos can handle breaking balls. Among 180 recorded swings against breaking balls in Triple-A this season, 65 (36.1%) were whiffs and 82 (45.6%) were swings out of the zone.

Defensively, De Los Santos saw a lot of time at third before 2024. However, the Diamondbacks have shifted him to first, a likely long-term home for De Los Santos.

The other piece going back to Miami is outfielder Andrew Pintar, ranked the 30th-best prospect in the D-Backs system per MLB.com. Pintar was a fifth-round pick by Arizona in 2022 out of BYU. That was largely thanks to a strong 2021 campaign (21 XBH, .433 OBP over 48 G), as he only played 17 games in his draft year.

Scouting reports have lauded his speed and Pintar gets on base plenty. He posted a 13.6% BB% over his first 309 plate appearances in 2024.

Analysis

It’s somewhat of a surprise the Marlins dealt Puk, despite their rebuilding status. Miami had control of Puk until 2026 and was a likely candidate to take over as closer once Tanner Scott ultimately gets traded. Hence, why he didn’t make our top 50 MLB trade targets. However, Miami was reportedly listening on all relievers and that proved to be the case.

Miami didn’t have a slugger in their farm system; arguably their best power hitter is John Cruz, acquired in the Jon Berti deal, and he’s years away. De Los Santos fits the build as a bat who could be a middle-of-the-lineup stalwart if he can develop and lay off the breaking balls.

Additionally, the pickup of Pintar fits the build for what Miami’s targeted over the last few months: athletes with speed and on-base ability. Miami acquired Jakob Marsee, an outfielder with a similar profile, in the Luis Arraez trade.

As for Arizona, the D-Backs acquire a second lefty for the stretch run, one who can pair with Joe Mantiply. I’ve talked about it before but it’s important to get relievers who can give teams different looks. Puk throws harder than Mantiply, who sits in the high-80 with his sinker.

Puk could also be a potential future closer in Arizona. Current closer Paul Sewald will hit the market after the 2024 campaign assuming he doesn’t ink an extension. However, Kevin Ginkel and Justin Martinez are also potential future closers.