In the aftermath of the weekend trade in whcih the Diamondbacks sent Bronson Arroyo and Touki Toussaint, last year's first-round pick, to the Braves for infielder Phil Gosselin, FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal caught up with D-backs GM Dave Stewart.
Here is what Rosenthal came away with:
Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart says that he generally does not read or listen to media criticism. Stewart, however, acknowledges that he has heard the widespread disapproval of his trade of right-handed pitching prospect Touki Toussaint.
The D-backs on Saturday night sent Toussaint and right-hander Bronson Arroyo to the Braves for infielder Phil Gosselin, saving the approximately $10 million that they owed Arroyo in 2015 and '16.
Some argue that Toussaint, 19, is worth more than that while contending that the D-backs signed a lesser prospect, Cuban right-hander Yoan Lopez, for a total cost of $16.5 million.
Other say that if the D-backs wanted to trade Toussaint, they should have done it for players -- particularly when they recently signed a new TV contract with FOX Sports Arizona for more than $1.5 billion.
Here's Stewart:
"The truth is we did not know what Touki's value would be if we shopped him. There is a lot of speculation on that. People are assuming it would have been better, but we don't know.
"There was an opportunity to make a deal that gave us more flexibility today as well as next year. We took that opportunity. It's tough to say we could have gotten more. He was drafted at No. 16, given ($2.7) million. In my opinion, that's his value.
"To this point, he has pitched OK, he has pitched well. But guys are mentioning that he throws 96 mph. He hasn't thrown 96 mph since he's been here. We haven't seen 96 once. There is some inflation of what people think Touki is.
"We think he'll be a major-league pitcher. We don't see it happening in the next three or four years. Maybe five or six years down the road, he'll show up and be a major-league pitcher. But that is a long ways down the road."
One rival executive points out that trading a prospect such as Toussaint only a year after drafting him is demoralizing to all those with the D-backs who work in scouting and player development.
Arizona, which entered Thursday just four games out of first place in the NL West, could justify the move by reinvesting the savings at the deadline.
Stewart, though, said that is not necessarily the plan.
"We have not really discussed a lot of what we're going to do at the trade deadline," Stewart said. "It's a surprise to everybody -- not just the general public, but also to us -- that we're playing as well as we are and that we're in the circumstance we're in.
"We put the team together in terms of building more toward the future than today. We're playing well. We recognize what the areas of weakness are. We'd like more consistency from our starting pitching. Our bullpen is a weakness."
With the trade, Stewart said, "We're just trying to put ourselves in a position where we're not bound up and tied up so we can't do anything if we want to."
