The Diamondbacks have told right-hander Zack Godley that he has been designated for assignment, the Arizona Republic’s Richard Morin reports. MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweeted that such a move seemed imminent earlier today, as Godley was seen saying his goodbyes to teammates in the Arizona clubhouse.
The news ends a nightmare of a season for Godley, who posted a 6.39 ERA, 1.66 K/BB rate, and 6.9 K/9 over 76 innings for the D’Backs. He lost his rotation job at the end of April (minus a few spot starts the rest of the way) and couldn’t get on track coming out of the Snakes’ bullpen.
After posting solid results as a starter for the D’Backs in 2017-18, Godley looked like a promising mid-rotation arm before his numbers fell off virtually across the board from his performance in the previous two seasons. Godley’s strikeout fell markedly after he averaged better than a strikeout per inning in 2017-18, while his grounder rate, home run rate, swinging strike rate, and hard-contract rate all went in the wrong direction.
Since Godley was out of options, Arizona couldn’t send him to the minors and had no choice but to designate him and expose him to outright waivers. Despite his struggles, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a team make a claim on Godley, given how difficult it is to obtain pitching now that the trade deadline has passed. Godley isn’t even arbitration-eligible yet until this winter, so non-contenders are also likely to have interest in seeing if they can land a controllable arm that could be a potential bargain if he can get on track. While his career home-road splits are pretty even, Godley has pitched a bit better outside of Chase Field this year, so perhaps a change of scenery is required.
Wow, did not see THAT one coming
He’ll always be fondly remembered for 2016. At least through Miguel Montero
Dang he’s doing worse than I thought
I bet he lands on the Pirates or Marlins
Yeah, his numbers look pretty good at this point.
He’d be a good fit in Miami with that park
White Sox too
Let’s hope not. The only thing he does like a major leaguer is spit. Seriously. Have you ever watched him? He can’t throw the ball without spitting at least twice.
Snap, snap, snap him up!
Nearly had 200 Ks last year, big pick up energy
He also led the majors in wild pitches, and the NL in hit batters
Angel’s pick him up
Eppler was spotted outside the locker room ready to put him on a plane to Anaheim
I wouldn’t be surprised if someone picks him up.
If a team can ever fix the follow through with his delivery, he can still be good back of the rotation starter. Unfortunately, he has gotten progressively worse with his falling off the mound over the last two seasons. The two months in the bullpen hasn’t help him solve his issues.
Seems like a problem with Dbacks pitchers. Once Shelby Miller got traded there he started hitting his throwing hand on the ground
Two different issues.
Godley’s issue has always been there, it just became more pronounced as time went on when his curveball became a bigger part of his arsenal. Because of his tendency to fall off the mound first base side, his curveball became harder & harder for him to throw for a strike. Teams would then just spit on his curveball. Which led to walks & him relying too much on his fastball because the changeup was his distant third pitch.
Miller was 90% mental.
I can see the rangers signing him
(Insert team here) should sign him! Daaaaarrrrrppppp!
Welcome to the Phillies
Dipoto already on the phone
Giants perhaps ? As of late, it’s been Bum and Shark, and then a bunch of wet farts from Anderson, Beede, and Rodriguez.
Arguably one of the best NL starters in 2017, and he won 15 games last year. Granted, got off to a rough start this year, but you have to believe his 57 starts over the two prior years mean something?!!!
Swinging strike rate among the best in ‘17, ground ball pitcher. One of the best CB’s in game.
16 starts in ‘17 of 6+ innings; 15 last year….. ummmmmm!!!
Weird thought I’m just tossing out here – I wonder if Godley would be a candidate for a Seth Lugo-type move to the bullpen? I haven’t see Godley pitch much, but I see some similarities in stuff to Lugo when he was a starter.
He’s been in the bullpen for a couple months now cannot, with not-so-good results. He needs a complete mechanical overhaul to be successful.
Sounds like a coaching issue.
Tough division to turn your career back around but the Orioles should atleast think about it, or even the Blue Jays
The Dbacks are getting rid of their Zacks.
Wouldn’t be surprising to see the Orioles give him a look.
Make a claim, Dayton Moore. Cal Eldred can help this guy.
Angels already submitted a claim. He’ll be starting Thursday
How has he looked out of the bullpen this year?
Not much better
Obvious fit for the Tigers
Angels.