The Diamondbacks parted with infielder Blaze Alexander on February 5, as part of a four-player trade with the Orioles. Baltimore sent three players to the Diamondbacks, with one of them being reliever Kade Strowd.

The Orioles’ Return

• INF Blaze Alexander (.230/.323/.383, 7 HR, 20 XBH over 74 GP) (MLB)

Over the past two seasons, the Diamondbacks have given Blaze Alexander some rope to work with in a crowded Arizona infield.

A 26-year-old infielder, Alexander hit left-handers very well in 2024 as a Major Leaguer, as he slashed .297/.373/.446 off opposite-sided hitters. However, Alexander — a highly-touted infielder for years in the D-Backs’ farm system — spent a lot of the 2024 and 2025 seasons in Triple-A Reno.

He hit well in the hitter-friendly circuit. This past season, Alexander had 21 extra-base hits, along with 11 stolen bases, over 54 contests. Arizona called him back up in mid-June and didn’t return to the Minors.

The new Oriole has a lot of tools. Alexander can run, hit for power, and play multiple infield positions. He has experience at second, third, and short. It’s not a very lengthy swing at all for Alexander. However, strikeouts have been a big issue for Alexander.

Alexander has dealt with the swing-and-miss against the fastball. Alexander’s 36.1% Whiff% off four-seam fastballs last season in Triple-A was among the 20 highest in the circuit. It’s not ideal to see a hitter deal with that — and Alexander’s vulnerabilities against fastballs have shown up at the MLB level, as well.

(Note: our Whiff% calculation includes four-seam fastballs, as indicated by how the pitch was recorded in-game.)

Alexander has a little over one year of service time under his belt.

The D-Backs’ Return

• SP Wellington Aracena (2.25 ERA, 114 K over 91 IP) (A and A+)
• RP Kade Strowd (1.71 ERA, 24 K, 26.1 IP) (MLB)
• INF Jose Mejia (.271/.418/.403, 2 HR, 12 XBH over 49 GP) (A and A+)

The most notable name among the three is 28-year-old Kade Strowd. A 12th-round pick from West Virginia back in 2019, Strowd had a fantastic 2025 season, as he induced chases outside of the zone north of 30% and only allowed one home run over 26.1 IP as an Oriole.

Strowd can throw hard, sitting on average at 96 MPH with his four-seamer. However, Strowd has a lot of weapons at his disposal, including a cutter that got above-average east-to-west movement and received a lot of groundball contact.

Wellington Aracena was acquired by the Orioles as part of the Gregory Soto trade with the Mets back in July. As we noted then, Aracena is a high-upside arm. The young pitcher has a triple-digit fastball with cut, as well as a cut-slider, curveball, and a changeup.

Jose Mejia spent 2025 split between Low-A and High-A last season. The 20-year-old walked more (27) than he struck out (19) last season.

Analysis

The Diamondbacks had to make a decision on Alexander this season, with regard to keeping him or losing him.

Alexander has been optioned to the Minors three times in his career, meaning he’s out of them. And with a deep infield core, one that includes Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte, and youngster Jordan Lawlar, there may not have been an opportunity for Alexander at the big league level for Arizona.

That said, the Diamondbacks did not do badly here. Arizona received a good young starting pitcher prospect in Aracena, who will likely become one of their better ones, plus a reliever in Strowd who can be plugged into the bullpen. With Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk recovering from elbow surgeries, that spot was a sore spot.

As for the Orioles, Baltimore dipped into their prospect pool to get a good power-hitting infielder in Alexander, albeit one with flaws. He’s a flexible infielder, as well, making him a possible upgrade from Jeremiah Jackson.

Check out more of our MLB coverage.