The Diamondbacks found themselves out of a playoff spot at the All-Star break, and while that could change, it's looking more and more likely that Arizona will be sellers at the trade deadline.
Arizona has some talented players on expiring contracts that teams like the Yankees could use for their own World Series pursuits.Eugenio Suarez and Zac Gallen are two such names, and so is Merrill Kelly.
The veteran right-hander revitalized his career a few years back and has become one of the more reliable arms in the Diamondbacks' rotation.
With the Yankees in need of a starter to help their injury-riddled rotation, should they look to bring in Kelly?
Pros
Kelly may have begun his big league career late, but time has been kind to the 36-year-old. Since making his debut in 2019, Kelly has made at least 27 starts in four of those seasons, with the two outliers being the 2020 shortened year and in 2024 when he dealt with numerous injuries. He's also already made 20 starts this year and is on pace to reach 30 starts barring an injury. That shows how reliable Kelly has been for Arizona, which is a great ability to have -- especially for the Yankees, who have seen starters drop all year.
Not only has Kelly been durable, but he's been effective. He's never finished a season with an ERA above 4.44, and his WHIP has never reached 1.30 since his rookie year.
Kelly's numbers aren't flashy, as he doesn't strike out a lot of batters and his average fastball sits in the low 90s, but he doesn't get into too much trouble. This season, batters are hitting .207 against him -- a career-best -- and his 1.05 WHIP is the lowest since 2020. Batters are also chasing at a 31.3 percent clip, which is in the 82nd percentile in MLB, and whiff at a 25.6 percent rate -- which is in the 56th percentile.
Kelly is also in the final year of his deal, which, while making him a rental, allows the Yankees to fill the holes left by missing starters like Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt, who are lost for the season.
Cons
There's very little risk to acquiring Kelly considering his contract, but it depends on what Arizona will ask for. The Diamondbacks can't possibly ask for top prospects, but who knows how the market can play out.
And then there's Kelly's age. Yes, he's been durable for the majority of his career but he's coming off a season where he had a shoulder injury that cost him three months. The potential for any pitcher to go down with an injury is there, but Kelly could be at risk because of his age.
As for Kelly's stuff, he's very good but this season has seen hitters square him up regularly. Batters have an average exit velocity of 90.8. Last season, they had an average of 90.5, which ranked in the bottom nine percent of MLB. So while he's getting plenty of whiffs and chases, if he misses with his location, he's at risk of getting hit hard.
Verdict
Between Zac Gallen and Kelly, the Yankees should go for Kelly. Gallen's ceiling is higher, but Kelly's floor is. And for a rental the Yanks could use Kelly as a stop-gap instead of a potential long-term answer in the rotation.
He can slide behind Max Fried and Carlos Rodon as the team's No. 3 starter to give New York a potent rotation for any postseason series.
