Diamondbacks reportedly trade for Marlins reliever A.J. Puk as Arizona tries to climb into NL wild-card race

The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to acquire left-handed reliever A.J. Puk from the Miami Marlins, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. According to The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro, the Marlins in exchange for Puk will receive a pair of prospects: infielder Deyvison De Los Santos and infielder/outfielder Andrew Pintar. 

Puk, 29, began the season in the Marlins’ rotation, but after four disastrous starts he was returned to his more familiar bullpen role. As a reliever this year, Puk has pitched to a 2.08 ERA with 33 strikeouts and six walks in 30 1/3 innings. For his career, he owns an ERA+ of 109 across parts of five big-league seasons. Puk isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2026 season. With Arizona, Puk figures to become manager Torey Lovullo’s go-to lefty setup man behind closer Paul Sewald. 

On the Marlins’ side of things, the 21-year-old De Los Santos appears to be the prize of the deal. The 2024 Futures Game participant this season has hit a total of 28 home runs in a combined 87 games at the Double- and Triple-A levels. For his career, the Dominican Republic native has a slash line of .293/.343/.508 in four minor-league seasons. This season, he’s spent time at first, third, and DH. Pintar, 23 and a former Brigham Young product, has batted .266/.355/.413 in two minor-league campaigns. He was promoted to Double-A not long ago and has spent most of his time as a pro in center while also seeing time in left and at second base. 

The D-backs were presumed to be on the border between buyer and seller heading toward the July 30 trade deadline. The Puk trade, however, clearly signals that they intend to fortify the roster for another playoff push. The reigning National League champions have little hope of catching the Dodgers in the NL West. However, the NL wild-card race features many teams and a great deal of compression in the standings. Arizona presently has a 53-50 record and are one game behind the Padres for the third and final wild-card spot in the NL. Presently, the National League features nine teams in playoff position or within 5 1/2 games of the final wild-card berth.