- The Diamondbacks have released 2014 third-round outfielder Matt Railey, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Railey batted just .136/.246/.136 without an extra-base hit in 169 A-ball plate appearances this year before his release. In his time with the D-backs organization, Railey hit .205/.324/.311 in 225 PAs. He also served a 50-game suspension last year after testing positive for an amphetamine.
Diamondbacks Rumors
D-backs Demote Patrick Corbin To Bullpen
- The Diamondbacks have removed left-hander Patrick Corbin from their rotation in favor of right-hander Zack Godley, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Corbin’s demotion to the bullpen comes on the heels of a Thursday start in which he surrendered eight runs (four earned) on nine hits in 1 2/3 innings of a 9-4 loss to Boston. With a 5.58 ERA through 132 1/3 innings, Corbin has unexpectedly produced poor results this year. The 2014 Tommy John surgery recipient combined to throw 293 1/3 frames of 3.47 ERA ball in 2013 and ’15, adding a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate and 7.85 K/9 against 2.18 BB/9. Although Corbin’s strikeouts (7.18) have remained in a similar range and his grounders (52.6) have increased, both his walk rate (3.88) and home run to fly ball rate (18.5 percent) have spiked. Godley, who has thrown 44 2/3 innings this year, hasn’t fared much differently than Corbin (5.24 ERA, 7.05 K/9, 2.62 BB/9, 53.5 grounder rate).
D-backs Have Decisions To Make On Key Execs
The last-place Diamondbacks have until Aug. 31 to decide whether to exercise 2017 options for general manager Dave Stewart and senior vice president of baseball operations De Jon Watson, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Chief baseball officer Tony La Russa told Piecoro that he expects owner Ken Kendrick and CEO Derrick Hall to retain Stewart and Watson. However, La Russa doesn’t seem aware of his own job security going forward.
“There has not been one conversation, not one, between Derrick and Ken, the three of us, having to do with front office contracts, not one, because what’s dominating us is the disappointing season and that’s where our concentration and energy are going,” said La Russa, who’s unsure of whether his three-year contract began in 2014 – when the team hired him, Stewart and Watson – or in 2015.
Regardless, if the Diamondbacks let go of the 71-year-old La Russa, the longtime manager won’t collect any of the money still owed to him, he informed Piecoro.
“If they like what I’m doing, then I’m here,” the three-time World Series winner stated. “If they don’t, then I’ll leave knowing that right now I’m not very happy with the job that I’m doing. So I’m determined to do better.”
After posting 79 wins and a plus-7 run differential last year, the Diamondbacks’ first full season under La Russa, Stewart and Watson, the club has gone backward in 2016. Those three are currently at the helm of a 48-68 team despite aggressively trying to turn it into a contender in the offseason. Not only did Arizona commit $206.5MM to right-hander Zack Greinke, but it famously dealt 2015 No. 1 pick and top shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson, outfielder Ender Inciarte and young righty Aaron Blair to Atlanta for Shelby Miller.
Greinke has pitched well in his first season with the Diamondbacks, though it’s too early to assess whether their long-term investment in him was wise. On the other hand, Miller’s 2016 has been an unmitigated disaster. The decision to trade such a significant haul for the righty was widely pilloried from the get-go, but no one expected the 25-year-old to regress from a quality starter to someone incapable of holding a spot in a major league rotation. Miller, who has registered a 7.14 ERA, 6.49 K/9 and 4.41 BB/9 across 69 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks, has been with Triple-A Reno since mid-July.
After acquiring Miller, Greinke, shortstop Jean Segura and reliever Tyler Clippard (who is now a Yankee after a July trade) during the winter, D-backs brass expected to field a postseason-caliber squad. Prior to the season, Stewart called the idea of the club winning fewer games than last year “a joke” and referred to it as “impossible” (via Jack Magruder of Today’s Knuckleball). Unfortunately for Stewart, that impossibility is going to become a reality.
In fairness to Stewart and the rest of the Diamondbacks’ front office, injuries haven’t helped the team’s cause. Most notably, Arizona has been without star center fielder A.J. Pollock all season because of a fractured elbow. Plus, the 26-year-old Segura – whom the Diamondbacks acquired from the Brewers for righty Chase Anderson, infielder Aaron Hill and shortstop prospect Isan Diaz – has been quite effective. Moreover, lefty Robbie Ray, righty Rubby De La Rosa and outfielder Yasmany Tomas, all of whom were picked up after La Russa, Stewart and Watson took the helm, have shown promise. But, despite Tomas’ offensive strides, the big-bodied 25-year-old has minimal upside because of his limitations as a defender and base runner. Thus, the Diamondbacks’ $68.5MM investment in him looks questionable at best.
Arizona’s other noteworthy Cuban signing, 2014 addition Yoan Lopez, has scuffled in the minors during his tenure in America and the righty hasn’t pitched since June 29 because he’s contemplating leaving the sport. Signing Lopez, then an international free agent, for a record $8.27MM bonus took Arizona out of the running to land any other international amateurs for more than $300K during both the 2015 signing period and this year’s.
The era of La Russa, Stewart and Watson has clearly produced more negatives than positives for the Diamondbacks, who enter play Sunday with the fourth-worst record and third-worst run differential (minus-114) in the majors. While La Russa expects his cohorts to return next season, the fact that there’s uncertainty regarding their statuses obviously wasn’t what they or the franchise had in mind at the beginning of the year.
Injury Notes: Harper, De La Rosa, Rasmus, Bour, Gray, Cishek, Zych
A slumping Bryce Harper was out of the lineup again tonight for the Nationals owing to a seemingly minor neck issue, but the precise nature of his injury has been the subject of some debate. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post breaks down all the back-and-forth on the topic. In essence, Nats GM Mike Rizzo strongly denied a report from SI.com’s Tom Verducci indicating that Harper may have been playing through a shoulder injury for some time. Rizzo insists that Harper simply has a stiff neck that has not yet required a DL placement.
Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:
- Diamondbacks righty Rubby De La Rosa has suffered a setback in his efforts to come back from a forearm injury, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. He’s headed for an MRI to see where things stand. It seems as if there’s little reason to expect the 27-year-old to return to the majors this season. That’s a tough blow for the D-Backs, who surely would like to get a longer look at a pitcher who showed a fair bit of promise this year. Over 47 2/3 innings earlier in the season, De La Rosa worked to a 4.15 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.
- The Astros will be without Colby Rasmus for a month or more after he underwent surgery to remove a cyst from his ear, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Rasmus has been struggling for some time, and it’s fair to wonder whether the issue may have played a significant role. He’ll need to return in good form to provide a boost to the ’Stros — and to bolster his fading free agent position.
- Marlins first baseman Justin Bour isn’t progressing in his attempt to return from an ankle injury, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports on Twitter. In fact, manager Don Mattingly says that Bour “went backwards” of late, with the team’s expectation now being that he won’t return until at least early September. That certainly seems to open some room for Miami to look into adding a bat to chip in down the stretch.
- Athletics righty Sonny Gray only just began forearm exercises today, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports. He won’t begin throwing again unless and until the inflammation subsides. At this point, it seems far from certain whether he’ll make it back to a major league hill this season.
- The Mariners may soon send reliever Steve Cishek out on a rehab assignment, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. It appears that his hip labrum issue is indeed as minor as the team had suggested. Meanwhile, fellow pen righty Tony Zych is also finally making some progress and will begin a rehab assignment on Friday. Adding those two arms down the stretch would provide a significant boost to Seattle’s late-inning mix.
Braves Asked About Shelby Miller
- The Braves also were one of the teams to ask the Diamondbacks about struggling righty Shelby Miller, who famously changed hands between those teams before the season. That deal seemed favorable to the Braves at the time, and looks even better for them now. Arizona was prepared to move Miller, Heyman notes, but never was offered anything close to what was deemed needed to make a deal.
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David Peralta To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery
Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta will undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist Thursday, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (Twitter link). Peralta’s right wrist has been an issue since he first injured it last year, when he was informed that he may have irritated a ligament, and he has endured two different stints on the disabled list this season because of it. Arizona sent him to the DL on Sunday, and now his 2016 will come to a premature end.
As has been the case with his last-place team, 2016 has been an enormous disappointment for Peralta. After combining to hit .301/.351/.492 with 25 home runs in 865 plate appearances from 2014-15, Peralta’s offensive output dipped to .251/.295/.433 with four HRs in 183 trips to the plate this season.
Injuries obviously didn’t help matters for Peralta, who also spent time on the DL with a lower back strain, nor have the lengthy absences of him and star center fielder A.J. Pollock aided a 47-66 club that entered the season with playoff aspirations. Pollock has missed the entire year because of elbow surgery, though he is working his way back and could return sometime this season. In the meantime, the D-backs will have to rely on the underwhelming group of Michael Bourn, Yasmany Tomas, Socrates Brito, Brandon Drury and Rickie Weeks Jr. in the outfield, as their depth chart indicates. With little contribution from Peralta and none from Pollock, Arizona’s outfield ranks last in the majors in fWAR (minus-1.9).
Going forward, the ultra-cheap Peralta ($529,600) won’t be arbitration eligible until after next season, so the Diamondbacks will get another inexpensive year from him. They also control his rights through the 2020 campaign.
Peralta Headed For MRI On Wrist
- Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta, who was placed on the disabled list for the third time this season yesterday, will undergo an MRI on his bothersome right wrist today, writes MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. This stint marks the second of Peralta’s three DL trips that has stemmed from inflammation in his right wrist, and Gilbert writes that Peralta was informed last year (when he injured the wrist for the first time) that he may have irritated a ligament.
Diamondbacks Release Josh Collmenter
The Diamondbacks have released right-hander Josh Collmenter, reports FanRag Sports’ Jack Magruder (Twitter link). Collmenter had been in limbo since the Diamondbacks designated him for assignment July 30, but he’s now free to search for another opportunity elsewhere.
Collmenter picked up 200 appearances and 75 starts with Arizona, which selected him in the 15th round of the 2007 draft, and compiled a terrific ERA (3.54) to go with 6.28 K/9 against 2.14 BB/9 in 659 1/3 innings. He has also logged two seasons, 2011 and 2014, with at least 154 1/3 innings and a sub-3.50 ERA. Collmenter began 2015 as the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day starter before eventually shifting to a bullpen role, and he posted a solid 3.79 ERA across 121 frames and somewhat offset a below-average K/9 (4.69) with a 1.79 BB/9. The 30-year-old hasn’t been nearly as successful at preventing runs (4.84 ERA) or limiting walks (4.43 BB/9) in 22 1/3 innings this season, though he has generated ground balls at a 47.7 percent rate – a marked increase over his career 36 percent average.
Collmenter, who was on a $1.85MM club option with Arizona this year, could catch on with a different team for a prorated portion of the league minimum.
David Peralta To DL With Right Wrist Inflammation
- The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder David Peralta on the DL with right wrist inflammation and recalled Socrates Brito from Triple-A Reno, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (updated depth chart). This is the third DL stint of the year for Peralta, and two have come as a result of right wrist troubles. Perhaps thanks in part to his injury problems, Peralta has hit an underwhelming .251/.295/.433 with four home runs in 183 plate appearances this year. He was an integral part of the D-backs’ offense from 2014-15, slashing an outstanding .301/.351/.492 with 25 homers in 865 PAs.
Alexi Ogando Opts Out Of Diamondbacks Contract
Right-hander Alexi Ogando has opted out of his minor league contract with the Diamondbacks, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter). The 32-year-old is once again a free agent.
Ogando began the year in the Braves’ bullpen and posted a respectable 3.94 ERA in 32 innings with Atlanta, but walks were an issue for him all season long and he coughed up nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits and nine walks in his final seven innings with the Braves before being designated for assignment. On the year, Ogando averaged 8.2 K/9 but 6.5 BB/9 as well, and his results didn’t improve in Triple-A Reno with the D-backs organization. In 5 1/3 innings with Reno, Ogando served up eight earned runs on 10 hits and seven walks with just a pair of strikeouts to his credit.
While the 2016 campaign has been one to forget for Ogando, it’s notable that he does come with a lengthy track record of success in the Majors. The longtime Ranger entered the 2016 season with a lifetime 3.44 ERA in 471 1/3 innings at the Major League level and has pitched well both as a starter and as a setup man in the past. He’ll look to latch on with another organization and end the year on a high note.
