Bronson Arroyo
May 13, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Bronson Arroyo throws in the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Chase Field. REUTERS/Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Diamondbacks made a surprising move on Saturday night by trading right-hander Bronson Arroyo and pitching prospect Touki Toussaint to the Atlanta Braves in a deal that was believed to be motivated by financial considerations.

Arroyo, who is owed the remainder of his $9.5 million salary for this season including an $11 million option for 2016 or $4.5 million buyout, is bothered by the trade because he had not lived up to the contract the D-backs gave him.

"The most difficult part, really, honestly, is the fact that I pitched for 10, 12 years for other ballclubs and gave them their money's worth. And nobody could ever say that Bronson Arroyo kind of shorted the team. But coming here, I gave these guys, I don't know, 14 starts and seven wins. For a two-year deal, that was pretty expensive. That was definitely disappointing on my part. But that's just the way it is,” Arroyo said in a report.

The 38-year old veteran is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery and says he would like to get back on playing, but also cited that the recovery was not going smoothly as expected.

D-backs General Manager said the financial aspect of the deal was important, but not as important as being committed to young pitchers already playing in the majors.

"It was going to be similar to what we had going on with (Trevor) Cahill earlier in the year. We're going to be battling to find spots for guys to pitch. We've gone young,” Stewart said.

On the other hand, Braves are confident that the they can stay competitive in the National League East and proved the deal was beneficial long-term by acquiring Arroyo and D-back’s 2014 first overall pick Toussaint, who posted a 3.69 ERA over seven starts with Class-A.

In exchange, the Braves sent versatile infielder Phil Gosselin to the D-backs as part of the deal. Gosselin, who has a career average of .282 in 70 big league games, is in the disabled list nursing a fractured thumb. Stewart expects the 26-year old to be out for four weeks, but strongly believes the acquisition will help Diamondbacks going forward.

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