Page "Arizona Diamondbacks" Paragraph 44

On August 11, 2008, Dallas Buck, RHP Micah Owings, and C Wilkin Castillo were traded to the Reds ( in last place in the NL Central at the time ) in exchange for OF Adam Dunn.

Dunn, who was tied for the major league lead with 32 home runs, was expected to provide a significant boost to an offense that has struggled to score runs for most of the season.

Dunn seemed quite positive about being traded to a ball club in first place in its division in August.

The move was seen by some fans as a belated attempt by the D ' Backs to counter the trade by their division rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for Boston Red Sox power-hitting OF Manny Ramirez on July 31 and also to compensate for the injuries to Hudson and Byrnes, generally considered two of the more " power-hitting " Diamondbacks on a team which has relied heavily on pitching and defense in recent years.

A free agent at the end of the season, on February 11, 2009, Dunn agreed to a two-year $ 20 million contract with the Washington Nationals.

On August 31, the Diamondbacks acquired former World Series MVP David Eckstein to fill the hole at second base which was opened after Orlando Hudson was placed on the disabled list.

Eckstein was traded from the Toronto Blue Jays for Minor League pitcher Chad Beck.