Veteran righty Joe Ross elected free agency over the weekend, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Friday.
Ross had a short-lived tenure in the desert. The 32-year-old broke camp in a long relief role after signing a minor league contract in February. He worked a perfect inning in his season debut but was knocked around over the next two appearances. Ross gave up six runs without getting through an inning against the Tigers on March 30. He surrendered three walks and a Mauricio Dubón homer in a blowout loss to Atlanta two days later. The D-Backs swapped him out of their bullpen for Taylor Rashi after the Braves game.
A veteran of parts of nine big league seasons, Ross has had a tough past year-plus. He gave up a 5.12 ERA over 51 innings for the Phillies last year. Philadelphia released him in August, and he closed the season in Triple-A with the Cubs. He’ll be looking at minor league offers now that he’s back on the open market.
Not my favorite Dback, but in fairness, veteran relievers will have a much shorter leash than the young prospects. So not surprising to see him DFAed and not surprising that Ross and his agent can read the tea leaves.
Not sure what happened after that nice 2024 season. He just lost it.
Tijuan Walker must have rubbed off on him!!