These key moves by the Diamondbacks since 2016 shaped a World Series roster

ARLINGTON, Texas — To put together a World Series roster, the Diamondbacks used a little of every avenue available for a baseball team, including the draft, trades and free agency. As Game 1 of the 2023 series against the Texas Rangers approaches, here is look at some of the more important moves that helped get them to this stage.

November 2016: Acquired right-hander Taijuan Walker and shortstop Ketel Marte from the Seattle Mariners for shortstop Jean Segura and outfielder Mitch Haniger.

This trade was the first of General Manager Mike Hazen’s tenure. At the time, the key to this deal for the Diamondbacks was Walker, whom they viewed as a potential frontline starter. But they wouldn’t have done it without Marte — and it is a good thing they held firm on that perspective. Marte has had a little trouble staying healthy over the years, but when he is on the field he is about as good as anyone. Even better from the club’s perspective, he has twice agreed to contracts extensions that have kept him in Arizona for the long term.

March 2017: Claimed first baseman Christian Walker off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.

Give the Diamondbacks credit: They claimed him. But you can’t give them full credit since they immediately ran him back through waivers after getting him, hoping no team would claim him so they could stash him as depth in Triple-A.

That’s exactly what happened, but even two years later, after Paul Goldschmidt was traded, the Diamondbacks still did not seem to totally buy in: They initially gave the vacant first-base job to Jake Lamb. But Walker kept performing, kept biding his time, and he eventually established himself and thrived. He is now viewed as perhaps the best defender and one of the more consistent players at his position in all of baseball.

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December 2018: Signed free-agent right-hander Merrill Kelly to a two-year, $5.5 million deal.

Always on the hunt for rotation help, the Diamondbacks took a flyer on Kelly after his successful four-year run pitching for the SK Wyverns in South Korea, where he went because he felt blocked in a pitching-heavy Tampa Bay Rays organization.

It wasn’t a straight arrow-up situation after signing — Kelly nearly lost his rotation spot midway through the 2019 season — but he has steadily improved every year, to the point that he ranked among the better starters in the National League this season. He also signed an extension prior to last year that could keep him in Arizona through 2025.

June 2019: Drafted outfielder Corbin Carroll with the 16th overall pick

It has never been clear precisely where the Diamondbacks had Carroll on their draft board, but they were surprised and unquestionably thrilled that they landed him in the middle of the first round. While other clubs had concerns about his size and eventual power output, the Diamondbacks were believers.

Assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye has never shied away from taking smaller players, a trend that dates back to his days with the Red Sox, a club that had success with undersized hitters like Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi, among others. Carroll has quickly developed into one of the best players in baseball, and the club locked him up to an eight-year, $111 million deal this spring.

July 2019: Acquired right-hander Zac Gallen from the Miami Marlins for shortstop Jazz Chisholm Jr.

This might be been the gutsiest of all of Hazen’s moves. Gallen already had reached the majors and looked like he had the makings of at least a mid-rotation starter, but Chisholm was the Diamondbacks’ top prospect, an electric talent on whom it was easy to dream.

The move quickly paid off, as Gallen pitched well for the Diamondbacks from Day 1, giving them the sort of frontline starter often needed to make runs like this. While Chisholm has turned out to be a fine player — and could still turn into a monster both offensively and defensively, especially if he can manage to stay healthy — the Diamondbacks have no regrets about the deal considering the value Gallen has provided over the past four-plus seasons.

December 2022: Acquired catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. from the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Daulton Varsho.

With a surplus of outfielders, the Diamondbacks made another bold move by trading Varsho, the most established of the bunch, in hopes of shoring up another area of the roster. The move has worked out brilliantly. Not only has Gurriel helped offset the loss of Varsho, Moreno has given them a dominant defensive catcher with major offensive upside.

Moreno has begun to show that offensive potential in October — and he looks like he will be a core piece of the organization for years to come.

July 2023: Acquired closer Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners for infielder Josh Rojas, outfielder Dominic Canzone and infielder Ryan Bliss.

Closer has been a tenuous position in Diamondbacks history. Their best one ever was probably Byung-Hyun Kim, who notoriously blew two leads in consecutive games in the 2001 World Series. The Diamondbacks have shuffled through a variety of names over the years — including at least six different closers in the Hazen era.

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Sewald’s tenure got off to a shaky start — he blew his first save chance, getting walked off in Minnesota — but he has been impressive ever since, particularly in the postseason, in which he has been unscored upon in eight innings. And his arrival helped stabilize the rest of the bullpen.

The Diamondbacks deserve some credit for pulling the trigger on this deal: At the time of the trade, they were plummeting in the standings, and it seemed reasonable to wonder if adding was the right move.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Here are the Diamondbacks' key moves that led to a World Series roster