The Diamondbacks announced that outfielder Cooper Hummel has been reinstated from the injured list, with infield Drew Ellis being optioned to make room on the active roster.
Hummel, 27, was acquired from the Brewers in the Eduardo Escobar trade at last year’s deadline. He made his major league debut with the Snakes this year, getting into 32 games on the campaign so far. His propensity for taking walks in the minors has carried over into the big leagues in his limited time, as he’s posted a 15.2% walk rate in his young career, nearly double the 8.5% league average. However, big league pitching has also vaulted his strikeout rate to 30.3%, well above any of his seasons in the minors. On the whole, he’s hitting .190/.313/.345 for a wRC+ of 90.
The team’s outfield/DH mix is a bit crowded, with David Peralta, Jordan Luplow, Jake McCarthy, Pavin Smith, Alek Thomas and Hummel all competing for the four lineup spots. However, Hummel’s ability to hit from both sides of the plate gives the team some flexibility to have him fill in for the others at strategically opportune times.
Hummel was one of many D-Backs players placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons, which points to a COVID-related reason. Players on the COVID-IL don’t count against a team’s 40-man roster. The club had an open spot on the 40-man, which is now full, though Jose Herrera, Nick Ahmed and Kyle Nelson are still out for undisclosed reasons and aren’t being counted against that tally. As those players return to health, corresponding roster moves will be required.
Meh, rather give McCarthy the playing time.
Dbacks problem right now is that All of their young, talented OF are left handed, so they are forced to keep Hummel and Luplow to bat against left handers. If Kristian Robinson didn’t have legal problems, we might have seen him by now, but until then we have to live with Hummel and Luplow.
Despite that, I’m enjoying the Dbacks this year. They are functioning at the top end of my expectations for this year, and I’m enjoying seeing the growth of the young position players. Second half of the season, I’m hoping to see more of the pitching prospects start their transition to the majors and hope I see as many positive signs from them as I’m seeing from the position players right now.