PHOENIX -- A couple of relatively minor transactions went down over the weekend that escaped a lot of notice, but in a subtle way, they could be interpreted as a promising barometer for the Diamondbacks.
The Houston Astros traded a pitching prospect for left-handed reliever Oliver Perez; a day later, the Toronto Blue sent another lower-level prospect to the D-backs for Cliff Pennington.
The prospects may or may not pan out, but it's worth noting is that a pair of teams in the thick of the American League playoff race found what they believe are valuable pieces relatively deep on the Diamondbacks' 25-man roster. Perez and Pennington were nice depth pieces for the D-backs, but they were non-essential players in an organization that has quietly gone about building up a nice reservoir of depth.
As the Diamondbacks reached the .500 mark for the second time since the end of April with Tuesday night's 13-1 dismantling of the Phillies, there's even a smattering of talk about sneaking back into the NL playoff race. (They stand 6.5 back in the NL West and 7.5 back of the Cubs for the second wild card.)
"The wins are piling up now, and that's what we want, to put ourselves in postion in September to be playing for a playoff spot," manager Chip Hale said.
The players believe it, too -- and you sense it's a lot more fun for them coming to the ballpark these days.
But even putting the here and now aside, the bigger picture is a largely under-the-radar assembling of a roster that is young, affordable and improving, and that makes for a promising future that seemed beyond their grasp just a few months ago.
Consider, first, the every-day lineup. In the outfield, there are four legitimate regulars in A.J. Pollock, David Peralta, Ender Inciarte and Yasmany Tomas. It's not a stretch to think that all are still on an upward curve -- although Pollock has been so good that it won't be easy for him to better his numbers.
The infield has baseball's biggest bargain at first base in Paul Goldschmidt and three superb defenders who have less than four full seasons of major league experience among them in Chris Owings, Nick Ahmed and Jake Lamb.
Then there's the find of the year behind the plate: #beefmode Welington Castillo, who has more than replaced Miguel Montero and turned a black hole into one of the most productive spots in the lineup.
"We kind of look around the clubhouse, and the players like the players that are in here," Pollock said. "We feel like we're very capable of turning heads. Some people are surprised, but we're not."
Now, let's check on their ages, in chronological order: Castillo (28), Peralta (27), Goldschmidt (27), Pollock (27), Ahmed (25), Lamb (24), Inciarte (24), Tomas (24), Owings (23).
You could make an argument for an upgrade at second base -- it will be awhile before Dansby Swanson arrives to rearrange the infield hierarchy -- but you could also make a case for Owings bouncing back to his pre-wrist-injury form of a year ago. Either way, it's an everyday lineup that the D-backs wouldn't have to squirm about going into next season.
Not that they're looking that far down the road.
"You definitely have that feeling, but we want to try to do well this year, finish strong, make a run and get in the playoffs," Goldschmidt said. "You never know what's going to happen the following years, if you're going to play well. We're in a pretty decent position right now, we're in the hunt, an opportunity to hopefully play well these next couple of months."
Short term and down the road, there remains the big question about the pitching staff -- in particular the rotation. But there are numbers, starting with 26-year-old Patrick Corbin. And if you believe in the improvement/development narrative, Chase Anderson (27), Robbie Ray (23), Rubby De La Rosa (26) and especially Archie Bradley (23) offer potential to be rotation fillers at worst -- and then some at best. Not far away on the farm is Aaron Blair; a little farther down the path is Braden Shipley. And dare we even mention Zack Godley?
The big hole is the lack of a big horse at the front of the rotation. Randy Johnson isn't going to be walking through the door -- but the cost effectiveness of the roster should make the D-backs players in the free-agent market this winter. Whether they'll have the juice to complete a mega-deal is a legitimate question, but we're saying there's a chance. And even if they strike out, there's enough possibility in the quality arms that there's no need to panic and go after the next Bronson Arroyo.
"The big picture, I think we're right where we thought we'd be," Hale said. "We're getting improvement in our starting pitching, which is something that was very important to see where we're going to be this year to see what would be the necessities that Stew and Tony would have to get in the winter this year.
"We were hoping that the moves we made the last winter would be the answers to us being a championship caliber team, and knowing that the progression was going to have to take some time, and I think it has, with Rubby and Robbie Ray, guys they went out and got. They're getting better and better, so we'll have a better idea at the end of this year, big picture, what's it going to take to be in the elite of our division and the National League.
"Stew and Tony" are general manager Stewart and chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, who have continued to be on the receiving end of potshots from some in the national media for what is perceived as unorthodox ways and a lack belief in the doctrine of statistical analysis in assembling the roster.
While the jury remains out on the big-money Cuban signings of Tomas and Yoan Lopez, and they've left themselves open to questioning by unloading 2014 first-round draft pick Touki Toussaint, perhaps the front office deserves some credit for the current state of affairs. The Castillo-Mark Trumbo deal is a big win; the Robbie Ray-Didi Gregorius swap appears to be in the plus column; and there's been no major losses since the current regime took over. (Toussaint may change that equation -- we'll have to wait and see.)
Hale, for one, bristles at the organizational criticism.
"I never have felt that we're haphazard or anything like people are trying to portray us as," he said. "It's bothersome, yes."
The best counter, of course, will be to continue down the path that seems incredibly more promising than it did five months ago.
