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Diamondbacks Acquire Ben Lively

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The Diamondbacks have acquired right-hander Ben Lively from the Royals for cash considerations, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was among those to report. Lively will go to Triple-A Reno.

The Royals designated Lively for assignment Thursday after a rough major league showing this year in which he allowed three earned runs on three hits in a single inning of work. The 27-year-old worked to a 4.07 ERA/5.56 FIP with 8.79 K/9 and 4.07 BB/9 in 42 innings with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate this season before the club let him go.

Lively’s likely best known for his tenure with the Phillies, who acquired him from the Reds for outfielder Marlon Byrd in December 2014. Overall, he has pitched to a 4.80 ERA/5.03 FIP with 6.0 K/9 and 2.93 BB/9 in 120 major league innings. He has logged a more impressive 3.12 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 308 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level.

Marte Day-To-Day With Groin Cramp

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  • Good news for the Arizona Diamondbacks as Ketel Marte’s injury appears minor. He is day-to-day for now with a left groin cramp, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Marte’s health is crucial for the Diamondbacks if they are to stay in the hunt for the Wild Card. They are 2.5 games back entering play today, largely driven by Marte’s .309/.359/.586 season, his 20 home runs already 6 more than his previous career high.

NPB’s Yomiuri Giants To Acquire Rubby De La Rosa

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The Diamondbacks are in the process of selling the rights to right-hander Rubby De La Rosa to Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.  Terms of the deal aren’t known, though Piecoro writes that De La Rosa is “likely to make more significant money” for the Nippon Professional Baseball team than he would if he cracked Arizona’s Major League roster.

De La Rosa underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2017, and then turned a two-year minors deal with Arizona that offseason.  The agreement allowed the D’Backs to retain De La Rosa’s rights while he spent all of 2018 rehabbing, with an eye towards being fully healthy this season.

Thus far, De La Rosa seems to be both healthy and effective, judging by his 2.49 ERA, 4.14 K/BB rate, and 12.1 K/9 over 21 2/3 relief innings for Triple-A Reno.  Piecoro also notes that the right-hander is again throwing a high-90s fastball, yet despite this apparent success and the overall middling results posted by Arizona’s bullpen, De La Rosa doesn’t appear to be in the Diamondbacks’ plans.

De La Rosa has a significant injury history that includes two Tommy John procedures and a stem cell treatment on his elbow, though he achieved some decent success in appearing in parts of seven big league seasons with the Dodgers, Red Sox, and D’Backs from 2011-17.  Over 421 1/3 career innings (starting 70 of 98 games), De La Rosa posted a 4.49 ERA, 2.27 K/BB rate, 48 percent grounder rate, and 7.6 K/9.

Nick Ahmed Leaves Game Due To Left Hand Contusion

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  • Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed suffered what the club termed as a left hand contusion after being hit by a Jeff Hoffman pitch in today’s game.  The injury forced Ahmed out of the game in the fifth inning, though manager Torey Lovullo told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other reporters that x-rays were negative and Ahmed could still potentially play tomorrow.  The defensively-gifted Ahmed has started all but four of Arizona’s games this season, and Ketel Marte would likely move from center field to shortstop if Ahmed did need to miss any time.

Diamondbacks Sign Carlos Asuaje

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The Diamondbacks have reached a minor league agreement with infielder Carlos Asuaje, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Asuaje’s now returning to a major league franchise after spending the first few months of the season in the Korea Baseball Organization. The Rangers released Asuaje last December, allowing him to sign with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, but the Korean club let the 27-year-old go on June 9. Asuaje hit .252/.356/.368 in 194 plate appearances with the Giants this season.

To this point, all of Asuaje’s major league action has come with the Padres. He debuted in San Diego in 2016 and then managed a .240/.312/.329 line (75 wRC+) with six home runs in 586 PA through last season. Asuaje picked up nearly all of his playing time at second base along the way.

Diamondbacks To Sign First-Rounder Blake Walston

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The Diamondbacks have reached an agreement with first-round left-hander Blake Walston, the team announced. Walston received $2.45MM, just below the $2,653,400 slot value, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets.

The Walston agreement brings the Diamondbacks closer to finishing their heavy lifting with respect to this year’s draft. They already signed fellow top 60 picks Corbin Carroll, Brennan Malone, Drey Jamison and Ryne Nelson before reaching a deal with Walston. That group helped comprise quite a 2019 haul for the Diamondbacks, who entered this draft with a league-high $16,093,700 to spend on their selections.

Arizona received the pick it used on Walston because it failed to sign 2018 first-rounder Matt McClain a year ago. In Walston, the team’s getting a prospect whom FanGraphs, Baseball America, ESPN’s Keith Law and MLB.com each ranked in or near the top 50 players available entering the draft. Law (subscription required) noted the high school hurler from North Carolina could be difficult to sign, but the Diamondbacks now have the 17-year-old under wraps.

D-Backs Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Corbin Carroll

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with first-round draft pick Corbin Carroll, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). The high school outfielder will receive the full slot value that comes with the 16th overall pick ($3,745,500).

This is the latest in a string of early draft signings for the Snakes, who had the game’s highest overall draft bonus pool due to a series of compensation picks. They’ve now reportedly inked four of their five highest selections, with only 26th overall choice Blake Walston still to go.

Carroll was the top target of the Arizona organization. He’ll forego a commitment to UCLA to begin his professional career. Entering the draft, MLB.com’s pundits graded him the 15th-best player available, right near his actual selection point. He landed 12th on the Baseball America board and ninth on the Fangraphs ranking.

There was one draft watcher who was quite a bit more bullish. ESPN.com’s Keith Law slotted Carroll way up in the number four spot on his own draft board. He posits that Carroll’s slate of exceptional tools — everything but his arm is a plus — warrant top-five consideration despite the youngster’s relatively diminutive frame. While Carroll stands at just 5’10, Law points to a variety of current big leaguers who deliver ample power from similarly modest heights.

Diamondbacks Sign Second-Rounder Ryne Nelson

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  • The Diamondbacks have signed second-round pick Ryne Nelson to an above-slot deal, Callis tweets. Nelson’s pick, No. 56, came with a slot value of $1,276,400, but the Diamondbacks awarded him $1.1MM. Nelson’s a former two-way player from the University of Oregon who could end up as a major league reliever, according to Callis and Mayo.

Diamondbacks To Sign First-Rounder Drey Jameson

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to a deal with 34th overall pick Drey Jameson, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (Twitter link).  Jameson was one of two compensatory first-rounders awarded to the D’Backs after Patrick Corbin and A.J. Pollock rejected qualifying offers and left in free agency.  High schooler Brennan Malone was taken with the other compensation pick (33rd overall) and agreed to his own contract with Arizona earlier this week.

Jameson, a right-hander out of Ball State, inked a deal with a $1.4MM bonus.  This is significantly below the $2,148,100 assigned slot price for the 34th overall pick, though Callis notes that “issues had to be ironed out after [Jameson’s] physical.”  These savings will help the Diamondbacks navigate their enormous draft class, as while Arizona’s $16,093,700 bonus pool was the largest of any team, the Snakes also had five extra picks beyond their allotted ten choices in the draft’s first 10 rounds.

Jameson is relatively undersized at 6’0″ and 165 pounds, and he also has what Fangraphs’ scouting report describes as “high-maintenance delivery” that “may make it hard for him to start.”  Some scouts believe Jameson could ultimately end up in the bullpen, though his overall stuff certainly merits a look as a starter.  MLB.com and Baseball America rank Jameson 49th in the draft class and Fangraphs has him 50th, all citing his plus fastball that can hit 97-98mph and regularly sits in the 93-96mph range.

Adam Jones Opens Up About Invoking 10-And-5 Rights

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To the casual baseball fan, 10-and-5 Rights are little more than an annoyance that get in the way of otherwise stimulating trade content in July, but for players, this rarely-achieved benchmark represents a kind of hallowed ground. Ten years of MLB service time and five with the same organization provide players a full no-trade clause, a distinction that Adam Jones celebrated in Baltimore with a party thrown for him by his wife, writes The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli. After interviewing Jones about the process that brought him to Arizona, Ghiroli walks us through Jones’ mindset as he maneuvered a uniquely tumultuous calendar year for the Orioles’ long-time star.

Jones invoked his veto power to block a trade to Philadelphia last season, choosing stability and comfort in playing out his final contact in Baltimore where he played 11 seasons and accrued 31.6 rWAR. When a player like Jones rejects the opportunity to join a contender, many are quick to denounce the move as meddlesome, obstinance, or a signal of waning competitive drive. But players around the league supported Jones with texts of both congratulations and thanks. At season’s end, of course, Mike Elias took over the show in Baltimore and Jones heard nothing but crickets from Baltimore’s front office and ownership.

Jones’ saga is typical of the struggle facing veteran players these days (and Ghiroli’s piece is well worth a read). After being in-part vilified for invoking his well-earned right to stay in Baltimore, he received no interest as a free agent. Yet not even half a season later (now that he no longer controls his destiny), Jones could once again be in high-demand. This after receiving no interest as a free agent until a Steven Souza Jr. injury opened up playing time in right field for the Diamondbacks. His humbling offseason led to a resurgent season thus far for Jones, who brings a .279/.326/.488 line into play against the Nationals today.

At 33-years-old, Jones has the reputation of a player in decline largely because of a too-long stay in centerfield, but offensively he has remained much the same player he was in his prime. For his career, Jones carries a .278/.318/.458 line with 278 career home runs. He is not a superstar, but perhaps the poster boy for baseball’s undervalued middle class. Come the postseason, non-elites like Cody Ross, David Freese and Steve Pearce have often made the difference for championship clubs, and yet front offices around the league overlooked players like Jones and Hunter Pence – veteran clubhouse leaders whose on-field contributions in 2019 have so far outpaced the projections of their decline.

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