The Diamondbacks are planning to select the contract of right-hander Jeff Brigham, per a report from John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports. Righty Kevin Ginkel will be optioned as the corresponding active roster move. Arizona technically has an open 40-man roster spot at present but is also going to sign Ildemaro Vargas, per an earlier report. They will therefore need to open one 40-man spot with the two planned additions.
Brigham, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Snakes in the offseason. Since then, he has been putting up some intriguing numbers for the Triple-A Reno Aces, who play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. In 20 2/3 innings, he has a 5.23 earned run average, which is obviously not a great figure. However, his 37.2% strikeout rate is very impressive. His 10.5% walk rate is high but not drastically so. He allowed five home runs in that span, a rate of 25% per fly ball, which could have played a part in juicing the ERA.
The Diamondbacks are seemingly taking a chance that the home run rate could normalize in the majors, which could allow him to be a serviceable arm. He already has 117 1/3 innings of big league experience, mostly with the Marlins but he also spent a bit of time with the Mets. Overall, he has a 4.76 ERA, 24% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate.
He will take the spot of Ginkel, who is having a nightmare season after spending the previous three campaigns as a key cog in the Arizona bullpen. From 2022 to 2024, he tossed 164 2/3 innings for the Snakes with a 2.95 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He earned 10 saves and 29 holds in that time frame. Here in 2025, he started the season on the 15-day IL due to some shoulder inflammation. He was reinstated at the end of April and has since allowed 14 earned runs in 10 innings, giving him an unsightly 12.60 ERA.
He surely hasn’t been quite that bad, as his .444 batting average on balls in play and 41.7% strand rate are both far to the unfortunate side. His 28.8% strikeout rate and 44.8% ground ball rate are both actually slightly higher than last year. However, he hasn’t done himself favors with a 13.5% walk rate. Even accounting for some bad luck, ERA estimators like his 5.07 FIP suggest he hasn’t been super effective, though SIERA is far kinder with a 3.55 mark. His velocity is down a bit relative to last year but has been creeping up since he came off the IL.
The Snakes will give him a breather and try to get him back on track. Per Gambadoro, the Diamondbacks want him to work on his fastball command. How long that takes could potentially have impacts for Ginkel personally. He came into this year with four years and 33 days of service time. A full year in the big leagues would have got him to 5.033, but there’s now a chance he comes up short of the five-year mark if this turns into a lengthy optional assignment.
That would delay his path to free agency but it’s also possible he winds up as a non-tender candidate if he doesn’t get back on track. He’s making $2.425MM this year with the Snakes and would be due a raise via arbitration this winter, though the D’Backs would only be keen to do that if he has a strong second half.
Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images
Wonder if he’s ready for his close-up
Good luck, Jeff. The Dbacks desperately need your assistance.