Following reports of the Rays shopping right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, now Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes that the Diamondbacks are interested in the former Rookie of the Year winner.
According to Piecoro, general manager Dave Stewart “acknowledged he has had discussions with the Rays about Hellickson” but “didn’t consider the talks to have been especially substantive.”
Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote previously that the Rays were close to dealing Hellickson to a National League team, which is why the Diamondbacks’ admitted interest is especially noteworthy.
Hellickson has two more seasons under team control, but he’s about to get fairly expensive via the arbitration process and has struggled since 2013 with poor performances and injuries.
