Think back to the trade deadline for a moment. The Arizona Diamondbacks were sellers.
They had the most prized hitter available, Eugenio Suarez. They sent him to the Seattle Mariners. They had thumper Josh Naylor available, too. Off to Seattle, as well.
But lately, something interesting has happened.
The Diamondbacks keep winning.
A resounding win Monday night pushed the Diamondbacks above .500, at 76-75. Just as notable, they're now only 1.5 games behind the New York Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot.
They weren't planning on being in this position. They had decided that it wasn't quite their year, and that they'd recoup their losses and build around Corbin Carroll and company for next season.
Somehow, now they're in the picture.
It's not some crazy hot streak. The Diamondbacks weren't doomed at the deadline. They were just on the wrong side of .500 enough to decide to cut ties with the guys who were in the final year of their contract.
There are 11 games left in Arizona's season. They're not alone in chasing the Mets. Both the Reds and Giants are just 2.0 games back.
But it's the Diamondbacks who likely feel they've got nothing to lose. They weren't supposed to be in this position at all.
And if they sneak into the postseason, it'd be quite the vibes shift from midseason, when all anyone wanted to talk about was Arizona sending players to contenders.
Now, the Diamondbacks find themselves in contention.
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