Surprised to be traded, Steven Souza Jr. heads to Arizona for what promises to be a key role on a Diamondbacks team that expects to be good.
The 28-year-old outfielder knew the Tampa Bay Rays were making some big changes but felt assured by management that he still figured in their plans.
“As much as people were flying off the shelf, it seemed like I was not going to be one of those people,” Souza said Wednesday in a conference call from the airport before boarding a plane to Arizona. “It definitely caught me off-guard a little bit. I was definitely preparing for the role that I had there.”
Souza came to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday in a three-team trade that sent infielder Brandon Drury from Arizona to the New York Yankees and left-hander Anthony Banda, a top Arizona pitching prospect, to Tampa Bay.
Souza batted just .239, but hit 30 homers, drove in 78 runs and walked 84 times, all three career highs.
He will wear the same No. 28 that J.D. Martinez wore in his torrid half-season in the desert a year ago. Martinez signed a five-year, $110 million deal with the Boston Red Sox. Nobody expects Souza to approach the numbers Martinez put up with Arizona — 29 homers, 65 RBIs in 62 games.
“That’s ridiculous,” Souza said. “I don’t know that anybody’s really done those types of things that he did in the second half. So to expect me to come in and say I’m going to fulfill those shoes would be a little far-fetched. But I’ll tell you I’m going to come in and play my game and I’m going to play as hard as I can every single game and I’m going to help this team win a ball game.”
He will, most probably, be playing the same position as Martinez and be the batter to provide some protection for Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup.
Souza credited his improvement last season to a number of factors, including his work with Tampa Bay’s coaches and “settling in and trusting my ability more and more.”
“I gave everything I had in the offseason to Tampa, I gave everything I had to those guys,” he said, “and now I’m ready to give everything I have to the Diamondbacks.”
