The Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves today, reinstating catcher Carson Kelly from the 60-day injured list and left-hander Joe Mantiply from the 15-day injured list. In corresponding active roster moves, right-hander Kevin Ginkel and catcher José Herrera were optioned to Triple-A Reno. To open a spot for Kelly on the 40-man roster, left-hander Anthony Misiewicz was designated for assignment. Additionally, the club reinstated outfielder Kyle Lewis from the 10-day injured list and optioned him to Reno.
Misiewicz, 28, was acquired from the Cardinals in a cash deal right as the season was beginning. He has since bounced on and off the Diamondbacks’ roster, spending about three weeks on the injured list due to a calf strain while also being optioned several times. Amid all of that, he’s made seven appearances for the big league club with a 5.63 ERA.
That’s obviously a small sample size that’s come amid several interruptions and his larger track record is stronger. He’s made 126 total appearances in the majors now, dating back to the 2020 season. he has a 4.51 ERA overall with a 23.3% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 38% ground ball rate. In the minors this year, he’s tossed 13 2/3 innings with a 2.63 ERA, striking out 28.6% of opponents while walking 8.9%.
The Diamondbacks will now have a week to trade Misiewicz or pass him through waivers. Left-handed relief tends to always be in demand and Misiewicz has some good results on his ledger. He also has a couple of option years remaining, including this one, giving him plenty of roster flexibility. He also has between two and three years of major league service time, giving him plenty of club control as well. Given those factors, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him generate interest from one of the other clubs in the league. If he were to clear waivers, he would not have the right to elect free agency since he does not have a previous career outright or three years of service time.
He has lost his roster spot with Arizona in order for them to welcome back Kelly, who was hit by a pitch in Spring Training and fractured his forearm. That has kept him out of action for the entire season so far. The 28-year-old has been inconsistent in his career, alternating between good and bad seasons recently. He hit .245/.348/.478 in 2019, hitting 18 home runs and walking in 13.2% of his plate appearances. He had a rough showing in the shortened 2020 season by slashing .221/.264/.385 but bounced back with a .240/.343/.411 line in 2021. Last year, he dipped again and finished the campaign at .211/.282/.334.
That mercurial offense has come with generally reliable league average defense, however. His Defensive Runs Saved tally has been between +2 and -2 in each season of his career and his overall tally is exactly zero.
While he’s been out this year, most of the playing time behind the dish has gone to Gabriel Moreno. Acquired from the Blue Jays in the offseason, Moreno is having a decent campaign. His .280/.318/.366 line amounts to a wRC+ of 85 but he has +5 DRS. It will be interesting to see how the playing time is distributed going forward, as Moreno is the younger player and larger part of the club’s future but Kelly is the more experienced. Moreno is 23 years old and can be retained for five more seasons after this one while Kelly is a month away from turning 29 and has just one more year of club control remaining.
Go Kyle
Mets could use another lefty for their arson squad.
I figured Arizona would be better this year than last, but who saw this coming? A fantastic start for the boys from the desert.
If it was closer to the trade deadline there may have been a trade. Some good players will come off this very deep and talented team’s roster!
Carson Kelly cannot hit as well or throw out runners like Moreno, don’t mess up the chemistry trying to prove the Goldschmidt trade from several years ago, go with Moreno. Frankly, I think Herrera is better than Carson Kelly.
I’m probably one of the biggest Herrera supporters you’ll meet, but even I can tell you that he’s a replacement level player currently. He’ll do better getting close to everyday PAs in AAA rather than just giving Moreno breathers at the MLB level.
Kelly is a better defender than Herrera, and Moreno doesn’t exactly have a track record of sustaining the workload requisite of an MLB starting C. Herrera has very little pop compared to Kelly, and when Kelly gets on a roll offensively he does fine enough work against RHP (and can get on stretches where he’s absolutely eviscerating LHP; vs LHP is one of the DBacks bigger problems offensively).
Who knows how healthy Kelly is, but when he’s full health he’s a better C than Herrera. The Goldy return is what it is at this point; at least they managed to draft Fletcher with their competitive balance pick and flip the husk of Luke Weaver for Emmanuel Rivera.
If Misiewicz gets to the Pirates they should grab him and replace Zastryzny. The team walks too many batters, and that is a major weakpoint for Zastryzny (12 in 14.1 innings). Plus Misiewicz is a little more than 2 years younger, and still arbitration eligible.