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Diamondbacks decide to go all-in, acquire J.D. Martinez from Tigers

Chris Cwik
Staff writer

The Arizona Diamondbacks are capitalizing on their hot first half. The team decided to go all-in Tuesday, acquiring outfielder J.D. Martinez from the Detroit Tigers, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

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Martinez, 29, is hitting .305/.388/.630, with 16 home runs over 232 plate appearances this season. His contract is up at the end of the year, so he’ll try to push Arizona to the playoffs before becoming a free-agent.

At 53-39, the D-Backs currently hold the top wild card spot in the National League. Martinez should replace Daniel Descalso, who is currently filling in for an injured Yasmany Tomas. The team could put Martinez in left, or move David Peralta to right if they want to keep Martinez in his usual spot.

J.D. Martinez is on his way to Arizona. (AP Photo)
J.D. Martinez is on his way to Arizona. (AP Photo)

The move gives Arizona another exceptional hitter at the top of its lineup. Martinez will team up with Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb, Peralta and AJ Pollock to give the D-Backs a fearsome 1-5 in the batting order. Both Brandon Drury and Chris Owings are also producing strong numbers at the plate, so it’s not like opposing pitchers can sleep on the rest of the lineup.

In return, the Tigers received prospects Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcantara and Jose King from Arizona. At 22, Lugo is the oldest of the bunch. The third baseman entered the year as the team’s No. 2 prospect according to Baseball America. That ranking is more a reflection of Arizona’s system, and less about Lugo’s talents. Lugo did not make the publication’s top-100 list coming into the year, and he didn’t appear on the July update. He’s hitting .282/.325/.428 in Double-A.

Alcantara is hitting .279/.344/.362. The 21-year-old shortstop has spent most of the year in Class A Advanced. King the youngest of the trio. The 18-year-old is hitting .261/.333/.348 in 51 games in rookie league ball. Neither player was listed among the team’s top-30 prospects coming into the year by Baseball America.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik