Have the Dbacks traded away too much young talent?

KT made it clear going into the off season that changes would be made to the 2013 Diamondbacks. Most notably, trading young players to upgrade all parts of the team, such as Power bat, and front line starting pitching. So if you were a big fan of young Dbacks players such as, Adam Eaton, Tyler Skaggs, etc, you were a bit nervous heading into the winter. And, as predicted, trades were made, and players were moved. While the Dbacks got notable players like Mark Trumbo, and Addison Reed, did they trade away to much young talent to get them?

Date: December 3rd, 2013
Traded: Heath Bell, David Holmberg
Recieved: Justin Choate, Todd Glaesmann

Normally, a trade is made to get something. KT made this trade just to get rid of something! While all Dbacks fans rejoiced over the Heath Bell experience moving to Tampa, Holmberg was also moved to the Reds. So was it the right move to trade Holmberg just to make Bell's contract vanish?

Holmberg has an 85-90 mph fastball, and a verity of other slow pitches. This does not bode well in Chase Field. Holmberg will have to rely on hitters to get under the ball, and hit easy fly balls, plus popups. But if he's not 95% accurate with his pitches, he will not be long for Chase Field. So he's not the biggest loss in the world. But with that said, I think he could have been used in a bigger trade, instead of just being thrown away to get rid of Bell. A lot of teams in pitching parks would have had interest in him, and the Dbacks could have gotten a very nice piece. So while Bell is gone, it sure would be nice to still have Holmberg around.

Date: December 10th, 2013
Traded: Adam Eaton, Tyler Skaggs
Received: Mark Trumbo

One of the biggest trades of the entire offseason occurred on day two of the winter meetings. Adam Eaton was traded to the White Sox, Tyler Skaggs was traded back to the Angels, and Mark Trumbo came to AZ. A lot of people question this trade, saying the Dbacks gave away two good, controllable players for Mark Trumbo. My response to them is, why do we need Eaton and Skaggs? Eaton has nowhere to play due to Parra, Pollock, Ross, Trumbo, and others playing in the outfield. Delgado, Bradley, Brewer, and others have the ability to pitch in the 5th spot. So we have other options.

And they aren't exactly can't miss players. Skaggs had an ERA over 5 last year, and has lost about 5 mph on his fastball. Eaton already has had some big injury problems, and a career .254 batting average. Trumbo might strikeout a lot, but hitting in Chase should not only increase his power, but even raise his average. This will finally give Paul Goldschmidt protection, and Goldie should be even better in 2014. So as long as Trumbo impresses, Pollock continues to grow, and Dbacks pitching develops, who cares what Eaton and Skaggs do?

Date: December 16th, 2013
Traded: Matt Davidson
Received: Addison Reed

I'm going to take this trade like I did above. Prado will be at 3rd base for another four years, and we need a hole to fill. So we trade Davidson for a reliever with 40+ saves.

What most people don't like about this deal for the Dbacks, is that we traded a position player for a reliever. I would be a little more disappointed if it was some 32 year old going into FA, but Addison Reed is only 25, and already has shown his 40+ save potential. If he lowers his BB rate and his ERA, he could easily become one of the better closers in MLB. Davidson does have some great hitting potential, but his defense scares me. Plus, his high K rate needs to go down, or his average will suffer.

But truthfully, Davidson can suck, or win MVP for all I care. AS LONG as Reed can lower his ERA, and average 40 saves a year, helping the Dbacks stay competitive, and Prado remains a great 3rd baseman, then the Dbacks made the right move.

Conclusion

If you want to look at all the trades mixed together, it would be Eaton, Skaggs, Holmberg, Davidson, and Bell for Trumbo and Reed. If you're an average baseball fan, it looks like 4 young talented players for a power hitter and a pretty good reliever. The way I look at it is that we got one of the best power hitters in baseball, a closer with All Star potential, for four players we no longer really need. (And Bell, of course.)

So while the Dbacks no longer have four young players that can play for them for years, we have players who already fill those positions, plus a power bat, and great reliever. (Still following me?)

Now trust me - I'm not saying it won't sting if Davidson becomes a future MVP, Skaggs becomes a great pitcher, etc, But at the end of the day, we weren't keeping everybody. As long as Trumbo, Reed, Prado, Pollock, and the pitching help the Dbacks be competitive for years, then Arizona should not worry about the young talent no longer with them.