Zavala and right-hander Carlos Vargas are headed to the Mariners in exchange for third baseman Eugenio Suarez, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

Rare in an era in which swaps often occur between contenders and rebuilders and involve major-leaguers and prospects, this type of swap flips like for like. A challenge trade eschews the inherent delayed gratification — and, therefore, the relative safety of delayed judgment — of deals that spring from opposing locations on the win curve and instead epitomizes the boldest type of player evaluation a front office can express: We believe in that player so much that we’ll give you this really good one in return.

Game 1 starter Zac Gallen, NLCS MVP Ketel Marte, breakout catcher Gabriel Moreno and veteran outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were all acquired by Hazen in challenge trades. They are all players who initially inspired faith from the front office and have since earned it from their teammates.

There is pain involved in these sorts of moves — players with some degree of track record or connection to the team have to go elsewhere — but they also communicate something to the rest of the Diamondbacks: We believe in you in the immediate future, no matter what the standings might say.

Two years ago, Arizona lost 110 games. Rebuilt behind rookie Corbin Carroll, a more developed rotation and a wholly unrecognizable bullpen, the D-backs turned around their fortunes and won 84 games this season. They have since won nine more to reach the World Series, becoming the first NL team with a negative run differential to win the pennant.

Quiet for so much of the NLCS, Carroll broke out with three hits, two stolen bases, two runs scored and a sacrifice fly. It was Carroll’s RBI single off Ranger Suárez in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park that scored the tying run, and his stolen base moments later that allowed him to score on Gabriel Moreno’s hit to right. With that, the D-backs took a lead they would never relinquish.

Rookie Brandon Pfaadt, who held the Phillies to two runs over the game’s first four innings, gave way to a small army of relievers to hold one of the league’s top lineups at bay. The Phillies never stopped pressing, most notably drawing two walks with one out in the seventh. But Kevin Ginkel extinguished that rally to maintain the lead for Arizona.

The D-backs will face the Rangers in the World Series beginning Friday in Arlington.

The hard-hitting Diamondbacks rode a record-setting burst of homers in the third inning to a 4-2 win in Game 3 of their National League Division Series on Wednesday night, sweeping the 100-win Los Angeles Dodgers out of the playoffs.

The D-backs return to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2007. They will face the Philadelphia Phillies or the Atlanta Braves.

“This is what we worked all year for,” Arizona rookie sensation Corbin Carroll said. “It’s amazing to be here. It doesn’t feel real.”

Arizona—the No. 6 seed after squeezing into the NL playoff bracket with an 84-78 record—has won all five of its games during the postseason, sweeping aside the Milwaukee Brewers in a best-of-three series then the Dodgers in a best-of-five.

The Diamondbacks have extended the contract of Mike Hazen, locking up their general manager to a deal that is guaranteed through 2028 with a club option for an additional year, according to sources.

Hazen had already been under contract through next year with a team option for 2025. This contract, a five-year deal, replaces his old one. It was worked out sometime in the past two weeks, sources said.

Last month, Hazen’s name was connected in reports to the Boston Red Sox when their top baseball operations job became available following the firing of Chaim Bloom.

Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall intimated at the time that his organization would not be open to granting the Red Sox permission to speak with Hazen, who spent 12 years in Boston before joining the Diamondbacks in October 2016. Hall suggested an extension was more likely, telling The Arizona Republic he had already had conversations with Hazen about a new long-term deal.

Can we just go ahead and give Corbin Carroll the National League Rookie of the Year Award already?

The D-backs outfielder continues to pile up impressive accomplishments. In Arizona’s 7-1 win over the Giants on Wednesday at Chase Field—which gave the D-backs the season-series win over San Francisco—he stole his 49th and 50th bases of the season and belted his 25th home run.

With those steals and the homer, Carroll became the first rookie in MLB history to compile 25 or more home runs and 50-plus stolen bases.

Like at every noteworthy speakeasy, it started with a knock.

After Chad Thompson and his wife, Kitty, found the secret door in an unassuming section of Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, they faced one more test that day in June before securing access to perhaps Major League Baseball’s most exclusive new fan experience. They needed to recite the correct password. It had three words.

“Let’s go Mets,” Mr. Thompson, a resident of Manhattan, told the guard.

The couple walked into the Cadillac Club to catch a game between the Mets and their crosstown rival Yankees. Once inside, the Thompsons snacked on bacon-wrapped dates and complimentary glasses of prosecco and Glenfiddich 15-Year-Old Solera Reserve. They sat in plush brown leather seats with personal TVs attached, where they were served Shake Shack burgers and Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars.