TODAY: The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected Hampson’s contract, keeping him in the organization and essentially assuring him of a spot on their Opening Day roster. Walston was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to make room for Hampson on the 40-man roster.
March 21: Infielder/outfielder Garrett Hampson plans to exercise the upcoming opt-out in his minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The opt-out date is tomorrow and the Diamondbacks will then have 48 hours to decide whether to add Hampson to the roster or let him return to free agency.
Hampson is an Article XX(b) free agent, which is any player with at least six years of service who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Such players have guaranteed opt-out dates on minor league deals signed at least ten days prior to Opening Day. The first of those opt-out dates is five days prior to Opening Day, which will be tomorrow. The others are May 1 and June 1. When a player triggers an opt-out, the club has 48 hours to decide how to respond.
A veteran of seven big league seasons, Hampson has previously suited up for the Rockies, Marlins and Royals. He has generally served as a light-hitting utility player who provides some speed and versatility. His career batting line of .240/.301/.362 translates to a wRC+ of 69, indicating he’s been 31% below average overall. But he’s stolen 64 bases in 79 tries while playing every position except catcher.
He signed a minor league pact with the Snakes in January, a deal which will reportedly pay him $1.5MM if he cracks the big league roster. He’s had a decent showing in camp. His career walk rate is just 7.7% but he’s taken free passes at an 11.4% clip this spring. It’s a small sample of 44 plate appearances but his .289/.386/.368 line is solid, translating to a 107 wRC+.
The Diamondbacks likely need a multi-positional guy like Hampson. Of their four bench spots, one will be taken by a backup catcher, likely José Herrera. Another spot will go to outfielder Randal Grichuk. Of the two remaining bench spots, they will want at least one infielder, ideally one who can cover multiple spots.
On the 40-man roster at present, they have Jordan Lawlar, Blaze Alexander, Tim Tawa and Grae Kessinger. Alexander is out with an oblique strain. Lawlar is one of the top prospects in the league and missed a lot of 2024 due to injuries. The Diamondbacks surely want him playing regularly in Triple-A and optioned him earlier this week. Tawa and Kessinger have also been optioned to Triple-A already. The club could always recall them but it seems they have tipped their hand a bit.
The Diamondbacks also have Ildemaro Vargas in camp as a non-roster invitee. Whether it’s Hampson or Vargas getting a roster spot, the Snakes will need to make room. Blake Walston is out with Tommy John surgery and could be moved to the 60-day injured list to open one spot. If the club wants add both Hampson and Vargas, or perhaps an NRI pitcher like Shelby Miller, they would have to find a way to open another.
Photo courtesy Rob Schumacher, Imagn Images
Pretty sure he will be added to the roster. Nothing to be excited about but seems like a useful bench and depth piece to start the season with Lawlar starting in AAA and Blaze still on the shelf.
AZ Sports 98.7 doesn’t think so. Vargas is more versatile and is hitting much better this spring.
May as well just get started on his post player career in coaching (as long as it’s not as a hitting instructor)
Above average major leaguer in his prime years. He should stick somewhere if not Arizona.
I’m trying to figure out where the above average is coming from? 630 MLB games with a career OPS+ of 72 going into his age 30 season.
Above average WAR the last two years and plays everywhere with good defense. Plus he killed the Giants whenever we went to the games.
Average WAR is 2.0. He has been no where close to 2.0 WAR in any season.
He has been above REPLACEMENT LEVEL and well below average.
That is for a full time player. Hampson is not
MLB average is 2.0 WAR. It doesn’t matter if full time or not. Hampson is below average. Its part of the reason WHY he is a part time player.
On Fangraphs it’s an average everyday player that’s ABOUT a two WAR. Much less for a bench player.
It’s part of the reason WHY he is a part time player.
We should have kept Mancini
Mancini is assigned to Reno. He will be up in a couple of months if Pavin Smith doesn’t hit.
Teams should not get 48 hours to respond IMO. They should be able to decide on the same day.
Barring injury Lawlar is playing in AAA until they see if shoehorning him in at 3rd in 2026 works.
Darragh, what would have been useful is telling us that he has hit .289/.386/.368/.754 with 5 BB, 7 SO, and 3 SB over 38 PA in spring training.
Their strategy is finding undervalued assets in the current roster construction market and building a deeper, more adaptable team than their competition
Like I said before on another post, I’d much rather carry Vargas on the roster than Hampson but that’s just my personal preference. Seems like Arizona may be leaning that way too. Think Vargas would be a cheaper major league contract as well
I’d much rather carry lawlar than any of these guys. I never understand keeping bench guys that are veterans that can’t hit their weight.
This season’s Swiss Army knife. Good selection.
Hamson is a good replacement as a utility player, similar to who the DBacks had last year with Newman. He has some wheels and seems to understand his role with any team he plays for. Hope he works out well on the Arizona squad.
This is a hedge against Perdomo’s platoon struggles, the lack of infield depth, and even a potential shift in Grichuk’s role. It strongly suggests Arizona has a midseason infield acquisition in mind but needs a stopgap until the right deal materializes.
Old York, sorry, but I’m going to take the other side of your comment. Imo, Perdomo is the Dbacks everyday SS. There is no question about that in Lovullo or Hazens mind. Perdomo is a beloved clubhouse leader, outstanding defender and QB of the defense. In addition to a .350 OBP the past two years from the 9-hole, he has led the league in sacrifice bunts twice (’22 and ’23). Barring injury or significant under performance, Grichuk is the 5th OF and short side of a DH platoon. Same as last year when he excelled (140 OPS+). Imo, Hampson made the team, in large part, because super utility man Blaze Alexander is on the IL and top MLB prospect Jordan Lawler is getting ABs at AAA in advance of his eventual call up to play some 3B and 2B. I’m guessing Lawler will be the Dbacks 3B next season when Suarez departs via free agency.
@Angels & NL West
Hampson’s not about Perdomo’s hitting or Grichuk’s spot—it’s about avoiding chaos and setting up a bigger play. He’s insurance against injuries, a way to tweak Grichuk’s role, and a placeholder for a deadline splash. Being stuck on Perdomo being untouchable and Lawlar being the plan. That misses the real game: Hampson’s a quiet move that keeps Arizona in control, no matter what happens next.
@Old York
I could be misunderstanding Angels, but I believe the pushback on your initial statement was more about the “platoon struggles” comment; even against his “weak side”, he had an OBP over .330 and the OBP on his “strong side” was carried by a high BABIP.
He doesn’t really have a strong or weak side in the conventional sense. Against RHP he has a tendency to work deeper counts and hit for extra bases, while against LHP he swings more aggressively and for higher rates of contact but very little power.
That may even change to some degree this season, because Geraldo showed up to ST with more muscle mass and has been making hard contact more consistently to this point. We’ll see if it carries over to the regular season.
Obviously Perdomo is going to sit some days, because everybody needs to sit at some point over 162 games. Yes, they wanted a more sure handed B/U SS after Blaze’s showing in early ’23, but Hampson being the specific player selected benefits a few more members of the team than just Perdomo.
I would honestly argue that the Hampson selection benefits Thomas more, since Hampson is the only RHH hitting CF-capable player on the 40-man (unless you count Tawa) and Thomas has been a liability against LHP.
It’s even easy to argue that it benefits Marte more than Perdomo, because now they have the option to give Marte DH days against LHP without compromising the offense/defense too heavily.
The team has been making a point to try to rest players more proactively to avoid overuse injuries, and Hampson’s ability to handle himself at almost every position allows them to rest almost any given player on any given day, and allows the team to be flexible with who they call up as injury replacements.
The really nice thing is that since he plays every position, Torey can functionally PH anybody for anybody while he’s in the lineup with one double switch. And even if there is no opportunity or incentive to PH him into the game at a later stage, he’s still a strong PR option or a decent defensive replacement.
Hampson provides a ton of options to Torey; now he just has to use him wisely.