Dbacks acquire RHP Matt Andriese from Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for C Michael Perez and RHP Brian Shaffer.

When you have prospects and cash like trees have leaves, sustainability can afford to become an afterthought. When you don’t, sustainability must be an important factor in every decision. As the Manny Machado sweepstakes swirled out of the Diamondbacks’ price range, it became clear that the front office would have to find other, subtler ways to improve in their attempt to keep up with their rich neighbors by the Pacific. Acquiring Matt Andriese and his 4.07 ERA is not going to change the franchise; he certainly won’t be remembered the way Curt Schilling or J.D. Martinez are. But, with the team situated between the bright present and the murky future, the trade takes care of needs in both time frames.

The Present

Amidst a sinusoidal season, the Dbacks find themselves with modest deficits in both the division and wild card races. In the second year under the new regime, a talented roster has produced partially cloudy—or perhaps, partially sunny—results. But regardless of your choice of words, the result is that the team needs to eek out as many wins as possible down the stretch, and modest improvements are the cheapest way to do so. Andriese will be replacing Randall Delgado, who has struggled (in an admittedly small sample size) after returning from an injury, and his biggest advantage over Deli in the long-relief role is that he brings less risk with him. With Delgado coming off the DL, it is possible that he will not return to the Delgado that saved the Diamondbacks’ season the year prior, while Andriese is healthy and can reasonably be expected to produce an ERA in the upper-3s, based on his 3.59 xFIP and 3.96 DRA.

But that certainly is not the only reason that Andriese was chosen over Delgado. Among the team’s needs not named “Improvements to Bullpen,” the starting pitching depth is near the top of the list. Past the current five, the options become slim. Matt Koch, who pitched well enough earlier in the season, stands in the foreground while Shelby Miller, the man of Dbacks’ fans’ nightmares, and the untested Taylor Clarke, lurk behind him in the shadows. While Koch is likely the next man up, Andriese, being a starter as recently as last year, becomes the number to call in case of emergency. With the injury preventing Delgado from ever starting again, Andriese became the better option to fill both the bullpen and starting pitching needs of the organization.

The Near Future—Option A

Every offseason, every team searches through every dumpster for somewhat competent relief pitchers. Having a solid relief option for the next three years makes the job that much easier. In this sense, the upgrade is not merely over Randall Delgado, whose contract expires at the end of the season, but also over the future relief options that will be less attractive than both of them. It’s a couple less games lost because a struggling reliever can’t hold a lead in the sixth, a couple less angry fan tweets ranting over said reliever, and couple more minutes of sleep for the skipper, knowing that he has a tested arm in the bullpen rather than another risky, minor-league-deal pickup.

The Near Future—Option B

Or, the team could go in a different direction with Andriese, converting him back into starter and hoping that they have the key to unlock his potential in the rotation. With Corbin and Buchholz leaving the team via free agency over the next year, and Taijuan Walker unable to return to the team until mid-summer, the club will need to find a few nice arms if they hope to compete next season. To compound the issues, the payroll is expected to rise well above what we have ever seen from any Diamondbacks’ ownership group, so these options will likely have to be cheap, unless Greinke is traded away, which would create even more openings in the rotation. This could mean that Taylor Clarke finally gets his chance, and Duplantier or Widener are rushed to the majors. Or, this could mean that the team is planning on plugging Andriese into the nine-spot every fifth day. As it stands, the team will need to alter something for him to succeed in the new (or, sure, old) role; his 4.50 ERA from his starting season in 2017, complimented by matching peripheries, doesn’t quite scream, “Go ahead and let me start on a contending (or, hoping to be contending) team.” But this is the same coaching staff and front office that found the potential in Zack Godley and rediscovered the light in Patrick Corbin and, apparently, Clay Buchholz, so it is certainly possible.

The Distant Future

As you already knew, if you gain an asset for the present and near-future, you’re gonna give up something in the long-run. So let’s talk about the cost. Neither prospect is anything too special; Shaffer and Perez ranked 28th and 30th on my preseason prospect rankings, and they would have landed in a similar position in the upcoming mid-season update. Being ranked that low on a farm system that is also ranked quite low is hardly much of compliment. It’s a light cost, which is pretty fitting for a long-reliever.

Brian Shaffer is the better of the two, and he has been dominating Kane County just as you would expect a polished college righty to do. He has a low-90s fastball with an above-average slider that has improved this season. The third pitch, the change, is starting to flash average. His most likely future role is a swing-man type with a bullpen floor, but he has the ceiling of a back-end starter should things work out. Michael Perez is closer to the big leagues—so close, in fact, that the Rays are starting him in the majors while Wilson Ramos rehabs. He hit .297/.346/.488 in the hitter-friendly PCL, and he is known as an above-average defender. The bat won’t play nearly as hot in the bigs, but he should be able to carve out a career as a backup catcher.