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Pirates Trade Ildemaro Vargas To Diamondbacks

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The Diamondbacks announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired infielder Ildemaro Vargas from the Pirates in exchange for cash. Infielder Domingo Leyba was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Vargas, who is returning to the club that originally gave him his first Major League opportunity.

Now 29 years old, the switch-hitting Vargas made his MLB debut with the Snakes back in 2017. He was an up-and-down utility piece for them up through the 2020 season, when Arizona designated him for assignment and flipped him to the Twins for cash. That kicked off a series of team changes for Vargas, who has since ridden the DFA carousel from Minnesota to Chicago (Cubs) to Pittsburgh before today’s return to Arizona.

Vargas batted .257/.287/.387 in 265 plate appearances with the D-backs from 2017-20 but has struggled in limited action since that time. He’s tallied 70 plate appearances between the Twins, Cubs and Pirates but managed only a .167/.214/.292 output. Now back with the Diamondbacks, he’ll likely serve as a bench option and provide some depth at second base, third base and perhaps in the outfield corners.

The 25-year-old Leyba came to the Diamondbacks in 2014’s three-team swap that sent Robbie Ray to Arizona, Shane Greene to Detroit and Didi Gregorius to the Yankees. The addition of Ray obviously proved to be of great benefit for the Diamondbacks, but Leyba hasn’t panned out as they hoped. He’s just 7-for-47 with a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 54 MLB plate appearances — including an 0-for-22 showing so far in 2021.

To his credit, Leyba has hit well in parts of two Triple-A seasons, slashing a combined .311/.361/.547 in 535 plate appearances. He’s also out of minor league options, generally light on power and is not regarded as a top-tier defender anywhere in the infield. He has experience at shortstop, second base and third base. A club with room on its big league bench could take a shot on Leyba, but neither FanGraphs nor Baseball America ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects heading into the 2021 season.

Quick Hits: Workman, Gallen, Tatis Jr.

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Brandon Workman has opted out of his contract with the Boston Red Sox. They now have less than 48 hours to decide whether or not to add him to the active roster, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The 32-year-old returned to the Red Sox after being released by the Cubs at the end of April. He put up a 6.75 ERA in 10 appearances with Chicago, but followed that up with a 1.29 ERA over seven innings for the Triple-A Red Sox. He racked up strikeouts at both spots with a combined 30.0 percent strikeout rate. As has been the issue with Workman in the past, however, his control has been spotty (15.7 percent walk rate). If Boston decides not to add him to their active roster, Workman will again be a free agent. Elsewhere around the game…

  • Diamondbacks’ ace Zac Gallen threw at 90-feet today, and he’s scheduled to throw a bullpen tomorrow to truly begin the road back to the active roster, per the Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (via Twitter). After starting the season on the injured list, Gallen returned with five strong outings from April 13th to May 7th, but he landed back on the IL with a UCL sprain.
  • Fernando Tatis Jr. left today’s game against the Cubs in the sixth inning, though there was no apparent injury at the time. The Padres did not waste much time in acknowledging his removal (via Twitter); he exited as a precautionary measure due to oblique tightness. Given his level of stardom, his central role on a contender, and the myriad injuries he’s dealt with so far this season, any health issue for Tatis Jr. rates as a potential game-changer. He did not seem particularly perturbed at the time of his exit, however, and there’s no reason to do anything but take the Padres’ at their word and hope the injury is, at it seems, a minor one.

Diamondbacks Activate Christian Walker From 10-Day IL

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The Diamondbacks announced that first baseman Christian Walker has been activated off the 10-day injured list.  Walker will take the place of Andrew Young, who was optioned to Triple-A after yesterday’s game.

Right oblique soreness has twice relegated Walker to the IL this season, and the D’Backs are certainly hoping that this latest absence has finally gotten Walker fully healthy.  It’s probably fair to say that the stop-and-start nature of his season has impacted Walker’s play, as he has hit only .203/.268/.313 over 71 plate appearances thus far in 2021.  Walker was a much more productive bat in 2019-20, when he hit .262/.344/.471 with 36 home runs in 423 PA for Arizona.

Like many teams this season, the D’Backs have been hit hard by injuries, but Arizona is on a 12-game losing streak and has sunk to last place in the NL West.  There might not be much time left before the Diamondbacks start thinking about selling at the trade deadline, and it isn’t out of the question that Walker himself could be moved.  Though he has three arbitration-eligible years remaining, Walker is already 30 years old and might not be seen as a long-term piece for the D’Backs, if the front office decides that a larger roster reshuffle is necessary to get the club on track.  Owed only around $415K for the remainder of the season, an in-form Walker would draw a lot of attention from payroll-stretched teams looking for lineup help.

Diamondbacks Move Luke Weaver To 60-Day IL, Select Ryan Buchter

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The Diamondbacks have transferred right-hander Luke Weaver to the 60-day injured list, selected lefty Ryan Buchter and optioned righty Corbin Martin, per a team announcement.

Weaver landed on the 10-day IL with a strained shoulder on May 18, at which point he seemed optimistic he wouldn’t miss a significant amount of time. However, he will indeed be out for the foreseeable future, as the move to the 60-day IL means Weaver won’t come back until at least the second half of July.

This injury is yet another worrying setback for Weaver, who missed a large portion of 2019 with forearm and UCL injuries. Weaver appeared to be coming into his own that year, his first with the Diamondbacks after they acquired him from the Cardinals in the Paul Goldschmidt trade, but he hasn’t returned to form since. Weaver threw 52 innings of 6.58 ERA/4.52 SIERA ball last year, though he has logged a better 4.50 ERA/4.18 SIERA in 40 frames this season. The 27-year-old was also rather effective in his two most recent starts, in which he combined for 10 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up five hits with nine strikeouts against two walks, but it will be quite some time before he’s able to build on that.

Buchter, 34, inked a minor league pact with the Diamondbacks last winter after throwing a meager six innings as an Angel a season ago. Historically, Buchter has been a more-than-capable reliever with a few teams in the majors, where he has logged a 2.90 ERA with a 26.8 percent strikeout rate and an 11.2 percent walk rate over 220 frames. Buchter’s fielding-independent marks haven’t been as promising, yet he has still found a way to limit left-handed hitters to a .189/.269/.351 line and hold righties to a .209/.317/.378 mark.

Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen Discusses Team’s Outlook

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The Diamondbacks entered play tonight amidst a nine-game losing streak that has dropped the club to an NL-worst 18-31. It’s still relatively early in the year, but Arizona’s close to digging themselves a hole they can’t climb out of.

D-Backs general manager Mike Hazen addressed the team’s downturn with reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). While he stopped short of declaring them an eventual seller, Hazen admitted they “need to start playing better” if they’re to salvage this season. “I think June 1 is typically around the marker that we have to take some assessment on where we stand,” Hazen said of plotting the organization’s course (via Piecoro). “That’s coming upon us quickly. It doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to act on that right away, but you at least have to be mindful.”

Hazen suggested there’s still some optimism the club could turn things around. The D-Backs have been hit hard by injuries in recent weeks, but they’re starting to get some help back, at least on the position player side. Star center fielder Ketel Marte was activated from the injured list last week after he missed a month and a half with a hamstring strain. Catcher Carson Kelly, who got off to an incredible start, was recently reinstated from a brief IL stint of his own. Arizona’s still without first baseman Christian Walker, infielder Asdrúbal Cabrera and right fielder Kole Calhoun, as well as starting pitchers Zac Gallen, Luke Weaver and Taylor Widener.

Even if the club gets back to health, it’s fair to wonder if they can work their way back into the mix at this point, particularly considering the strength of the NL West. Arizona already sits 13.5 games back of the division-leading Padres and 12 and 11.5 back of the Dodgers and Giants, respectively. FanGraphs pegs the D-Backs playoff odds at just 0.1%, so the most likely scenario is the Arizona front office will eventually have to turn their sights to 2022 and beyond.

If the Diamondbacks do wind up selling near the July 30 trade deadline, they have a few players who’d figure to draw interest from more immediate contenders. Cabrera is off to a blistering .289/.393/.474 start. It’s still not especially clear when the 35-year-old is expected to come back from his IL stint, but he’d certainly generate some calls if he returns in the next few weeks and continues to perform at the plate.

David Peralta is hitting well and controlled through 2022 on reasonable $7.5MM salaries. Eduardo Escobar is struggling to reach base (.230/.271/.471) but he’s popped thirteen homers, can play a couple infield positions, and is in the final season of his three-year, $21MM deal. Marte, Kelly and Josh Rojas are all controllable through at least 2024; it seems unlikely the D-Backs would part with any of that trio unless they embark on a full teardown, but each would have plenty of trade value. There are fewer obvious trade candidates on the pitching side of the equation (again, barring an unlikely full rebuild that would make Gallen available), but lefty Caleb Smith has taken fairly well to a bullpen conversion and could find himself on the move.

Diamondbacks, Dario Agrazal Agree To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs recently agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Dario Agrazal, per Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle. Arizona also added righty Josh Lucas, per the report. They’ll add some depth to a club that currently has Zac Gallen, Taylor Widener, Luke Weaver and J.B. Bukauskas on the injured list.

Agrazal, 26, started 14 games for the 2019 Pirates and pitched to a 4.91 ERA through 73 1/3 innings. That’s his only big league experience to date, although he’d have gotten an opportunity with the Tigers in 2020 were it not for injury. Detroit claimed Agrazal off waivers from Pittsburgh after the ’19 campaign and announced him as part of last summer’s Opening Day roster, but Agrazal was diagnosed with a forearm strain just days after the season began. That injury wound up shelving him for the entire season.

While he doesn’t miss many bats, Agrazal sports a 51 percent ground-ball rate in parts of seven minor league seasons and, more impressively, has walked just 88 of the 2513 hitters he’s faced in parts of seven minor league seasons (3.5 percent). He carries a 3.62 ERA in 608 2/3 innings spread across those seven campaigns and has worked almost exclusively out of the rotation.

Lucas was with the A’s, Cardinals and Orioles from 2017-19 but hasn’t found much success at the MLB level, posting a 5.54 ERA in 37 1/3 frames. He’s been primarily a bullpen arm who, like Agrazal, generates grounders at an above-average clip. In parts of 10 minor league seasons, he’s pitched to a 3.61 ERA. Lucas actually made his debut with Arizona’s top affiliate this week, tossing a scoreless frame in his first outing before being tagged for four runs yesterday.

Taylor Widener Leaves Game With Groin Discomfort

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  • Taylor Widener was removed from his start today with right groin discomfort, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Widener had just been activated from the injured list after a groin injury, so this is certainly an unwelcome development for the right-hander. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings before handing the ball to the bullpen. The bullpen did a nice job keeping the Diamondbacks in the game, but they ultimately lost 4-3 to the Rockies, their eighth straight loss.

Diamondbacks Activate Taylor Widener From 10-Day IL

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  • Taylor Widener has been activated off the 10-day injured list, the Diamondbacks announced.  The right-hander will get the start today’s game against the Rockies, and he will take the roster spot left open when Josh VanMeter was optioned to Triple-A yesterday.  Widener hasn’t pitched since April 22 due to a right groin strain, after posting some solid bottom-line numbers (a 2.82 ERA in 22 1/3 innings) in four starts for the D’Backs, though Statcast indicates Widener had quite a bit of good fortune in managing that quality ERA.  Arizona’s rotation will get a bit closer to full health with Widener back, as Zac Gallen and Luke Weaver are still on the injured list.

Braves Acquire Yoan Lopez From Diamondbacks

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The Braves announced they’ve acquired reliever Yoan López from the Diamondbacks. Outfield prospect Deivi Estrada has been sent to Arizona in return. Atlanta optioned López to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Arizona designated López for assignment earlier this week to clear 40-man roster space for the selection of Josh Reddick. The righty has gotten off to a difficult start to the year, pitching to a 6.57 ERA over 12 1/3 innings. That’s his second straight season of poor run prevention, as López only managed a 5.95 mark across 19 2/3 frames in 2020.

Those struggles led the D-Backs to move on from the 28-year-old, ending his six-year tenure in the organization. The previous front office regime signed López to an $8.27MM bonus as an amateur coming out of Cuba in January 2015. Under the terms of the previous collective bargaining agreement, the López signing barred the Diamondbacks from signing any other international amateur prospects for greater than a $300K bonus during either of the 2015-16 or 2016-17 international signing periods.

That decision proved to be one the organization would regret, as López never lived up to those lofty standards. He wasn’t completely unproductive in Arizona, though. López tossed 60 2/3 innings of 3.41 ERA ball in 2019, proving to be one of the D-Backs more reliable relievers that season. While he’s struggled to keep runs off the board the past two seasons, he has at least shown some flashes of promise.

López is inducing ground balls at a decent 45.2% rate, and he’s seen a slight uptick in swings and misses this year. His 21.3% strikeout rate is a career best (albeit still three percentage points worse than average for a reliever), excluding a 2018 season in which he only pitched nine innings. More impressively, López has generated whiffs on 12.7% of his pitches, a mark that’s slightly better than league average. He also brings a power arm to Atlanta, sitting 95.7 MPH on his heater.

Perhaps most appealing for the Braves is López’s contractual flexibility. He still has all three minor league option years remaining, so the front office can shuttle him back-and-forth between Atlanta and Gwinnett as they see fit for the next few seasons, so long as he sticks on the 40-man roster. As a player with 2.011 years of MLB service, he’s only making slightly more than the league minimum salary this year.

In return, the Diamondbacks will pick up a low-level developmental flyer. Estrada, 20, didn’t advance past the Dominican Summer League in the Atlanta organization. He hit .307/.433/.366 with more walks than strikeouts in 255 plate appearances at that level in 2019, playing mostly center field. Estrada has never been included on a Braves system ranking at Baseball America or FanGraphs.

D-backs Nearing Deal With Noe Ramirez

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The Diamondbacks are close to wrapping up a deal with free-agent reliever Noe Ramirez, reports Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (Twitter link). He elected free agency just two days ago rather than accept an outright assignment with the Angels, who’d designated him for assignment.

Ramirez, 31, was traded from the Angels to the Reds over the winter as part of Cincinnati’s Raisel Iglesias salary dump. He returned to the Halos after the Reds cut him loose late in Spring Training, avoiding the bulk of his arbitration salary in the process. Ramirez allowed a pair of runs in 3 1/3 innings with the Angels this year before being designated for assignment.

Prior to that odd Anaheim-to-Cincinnati-to-Anaheim volley, Ramirez was a fairly steady middle reliever for the Halos. From 2017-20, he pitched 180 1/3 innings of 4.04 ERA ball while recording a 26.4 percent strikeout rate and a 10.5 percent walk rate. Unlike most pitchers in today’s game, Ramirez is a soft-tosser, sitting in the 89-90 mph range with his fastball. Ramirez relies primarily on a changeup to generate swings and misses; he’s finished off 344 plate appearances with that pitch in the big leagues, and opponents are hitting just .195/.227/.289 in those instances. His slider was a decent pitch for him earlier in his career but has been hit hard in recent seasons.

Ramirez hasn’t yet reached four years of big league service time, so in the event that he reaches the Majors and returns to form, he’d be controllable via arbitration through the 2023 season. As Buchanan further notes, this may not be a “minor league” deal for all that long, as the D-backs’ bullpen has struggled to perform while being hit with some injuries as well. Tyler Clippard has yet to throw in 2021 due to a shoulder strain, while Chris Devenski is said to be weighing surgery at the moment. Young righty J.B. Bukauskas just hit the IL due to a flexor strain as well.

Diamondbacks relievers rank 29th in the Majors with a 5.61 ERA, 27th with a 4.81 FIP and 26th with a 4.16 SIERA. They also have the game’s third-lowest collective strikeout rate (21 percent) and sixth-highest homers-per-nine mark (1.49).

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