Mike Hazen Turns Blaze Alexander Into a Quality Bullpen Arm
Somehow, Hazen turned an infielder with a questionable fit into a potential leverage arm for their bullpen plus a couple lottery ticket prospects.
The Arizona Diamondbacks traded one of their young infielders, sending Blaze Alexander to the Baltimore Orioles. Coming back in the trade is reliever Kade Strowd, plus prospects Wellington Aracena and infielder José Mejía.
On the surface, this is a trade that might not register for most fans. However, a deeper dive suggests that D-backs GM Mike Hazen might have found a hidden gem out of the Orioles bullpen.
Trading Alexander for Strowd already is a good move in a 1-for-1 swap. Add in two lottery ticket prospects, with one of them having clear MLB upside, and it could be another Hazen masterclass.
My initial grade of the trade is a B+, but it can easily be revised into an A. Strowd turning into a backend reliever makes it an A. But if Aracena turns into another useful arm, it may be Hazen’s best trade since landing Zac Gallen.
Why Hazen Traded Blaze Alexander
While Alexander’s personality made him a fan favorite, there were clear concerns about his ability to stick in MLB. His WAR metrics are inflated by his defensive value, especially on Baseball Reference. BR credits Alexander with +7 fielding runs but +1 Outs Above Average. The D-backs’ internal metrics tend to lean closer to Statcast, which explains the Nolan Arenado acquisition.
Another point against Alexander is the lack of viability against right-handers. He owns a career slash line of .219/.296/.327 and a 77 wRC+. That lowers his value quite a lot, as he’s only playable against left-handers. Instead of a potential everyday player, he’s more of a utility infielder who can play second and third base at a high level.
Add in that he’s out of options, and it hurts the D-backs’ roster flexibility. Arizona has plenty of utility infielders to consider in Tim Tawa, Jordan Lawlar, and Ildemaro Vargas. All of them can easily replace Alexander’s production at a similar salary.
Building a bullpen has been a bugaboo for Hazen, as he enters his 10th season running the D-backs. But one area where he’s found some success is the trade market. Paul Sewald and A.J. Puk are notable examples, although he had to pay up the wazoo for Sewald in 2023.
The D-backs bullpen entering 2026 doesn’t have any relievers with a strong pedigree as a leverage reliever. However, there are a handful of pitchers who have the raw stuff for that role. Strowd is in that group. If he can build upon a successful first year in 2025, he could be a long-term bridge option to closer Justin Martinez.
Kade Strowd Might Be the Nastiest D-backs Reliever
Strowd debuted with the Orioles in 2025. He pitched to a 1.71 ERA with a 22.9% strikeout rate. However, it also came with a 12.4% walk rate, suggesting there is room for improvement.
One thing that Strowd brings is a deep arsenal of pitches. He utilizes a four-seamer, sinker, cutter, sweeper, and curveball. Here’s a look at his pitch plot on Baseball Savant.
The biggest thing Strowd does well is suppressing the quality of contact against him. That shows up in his expected metrics. The right-hander is yielding a .192 xBA and 2.80 xERA despite a middling strikeout rate and an elevated walk rate.
He induces ground balls at a 56.7% rate. He’s also giving up weak contact, with only 31.3% of the batted balls against him registering an exit velocity north of 95 MPH. The high ground ball rate and low exit velocities also translate to a microscopic 1.3% barrel rate.
There is more room to add strikeouts to his profile. Strowd induces chases on 30.6% of pitches that land outside the strike zone and gets whiffs on 26.8% of swings. Better command and sequencing should unlock that.
From a bullpen construction standpoint, Strowd is easily one of the D-backs’ top eight relievers. He does more to move the needle forward for Arizona than Alexander at this point. Since the two players are minimum-salary players, the trade has no impact on 2026 payroll.
Add in that there are six years of control remaining, the D-backs will get the best innings out of Strowd’s career.
