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Diamondbacks Recall Andrew Young, Release Bryan Holaday

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The Diamondbacks have recalled infielder Andrew Young, per a team announcement. To make room on the roster, catcher Bryan Holaday has been released.

It’s been an up-and-down season for Young, in many ways. He’s been optioned to the minors and recalled six times already this season and has seen mixed results as well. In a small sample size of 67 plate appearances at the big league level, Young has shown some power but also a lot of strikeouts. His overall line is .228/.328/.596 for a wRC+ of 140, despite striking out a whopping 49.3% of the time. (MLB average is 23.4%) His Triple-A output on the year is similar, a line of .282/.380/.564, wRC+ of 128 and a strikeout rate of 35.4%.

Young can play multiple positions but has been primarily slotted into second base this year. Josh Rojas has gotten the bulk of playing time at the keystone in Arizona this season, but the club recently lost Asdrubal Cabrera on waivers, who had been the regular third baseman. With him out of the picture, that could potentially open up some infield playing time by having Young or Rojas at the hot corner.

As for Holaday, the veteran catcher has become extraneous given the presence of Carson Kelly and the emergence of Daulton Varsho. He hasn’t started a game since August 19th, only getting three pinch-hit plate appearances since then. Overall, he’s gotten 34 plate appearances on the year, slashing .194/.265/.258. He’ll now head to the open market and look for a new home.

Diamondbacks Select Jake McCarthy

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Jake McCarthy. No additional moves were necessary, as active and 40-man roster space became available when Arizona lost veteran infielder Asdrúbal Cabrera off waivers to the Reds this afternoon. (Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune reported the news before the official announcement).

Arizona selected McCarthy in the Competitive Balance Round (39th overall) in 2018 out of the University of Virginia. The left-handed hitter remains one of the more promising prospects in the organization, checking in 22nd in the system on Baseball America’s midseason update. BA writes that McCarthy has made recent swing alterations in an attempt to incorporate more power and remains athletic enough to cover center field.

McCarthy has split the 2021 campaign between Double-A Amarillo and Triple-A Reno. The 23-year-old hit .241/.333/.489 over 156 plate appearances in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting before being bumped up to Reno, where he’s hit .262/.330/.508 in a far more favorable environment for hitters. The D-Backs would’ve had to add McCarthy onto the 40-man roster this offseason to keep him from selection in the Rule 5 draft. With any hope of competing this season long gone, they’ll make the move a little early and get a look at him against major league pitching over the season’s final five weeks.

Reds Claim Asdrubal Cabrera

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1:45pm: The Reds and D-backs have officially announced the move.

12:44pm: The Reds have claimed veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera off waivers from the Diamondbacks, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The teams have yet to announce the move. Cincinnati already has multiple vacancies on its 40-man roster, so the Reds will only need to open a spot on the active 26-man roster.

Cabrera, 35, will give the Reds a switch-hitting infield option off the bench for the final month-plus of the regular season — and for the postseason, should they qualify. Because Cabrera is being claimed prior to Sept. 1, he’ll be eligible for postseason play with his new club.

It hasn’t been a great year at the plate for Cabrera, but he’s posted a respectable .244/.324/.392 batting line in 321 plate appearances while splitting his time between the infield corners (in addition to one lone inning at shortstop). He’s playing out the season on a one-year, $1.75MM contract and is owed about $358K of that sum through season’s end. The Reds will be on the hook for the remainder of that salary.

The veteran Cabrera looked like an obvious trade candidate prior to the deadline, but the D-backs apparently didn’t find much interest. They’ll clear a bit of cash now that he’s been claimed, although the primary motivation here could simply have been to give a veteran player a chance to join a playoff contender.

Cincinnati doesn’t have everyday at-bats available for Cabrera — not with Joey Votto at first base, Jonathan India at second base and Mike Moustakas over at third base. However, Cabrera has been quite productive against left-handed pitching over the past two seasons and has slightly better numbers against lefties than against righties over the course of his lengthy career. And as potent as the Reds’ lineup can be, Cincinnati has quietly been one of the game’s least-productive groups against southpaws, hitting just .231/.313/.380 as a team. Their collective 86 wRC+ against lefties ranks 28th in the Majors. Cabrera gives them a slight upgrade in that regard and also gives manager David Bell some versatility for late-game maneuvering.

West Notes: Giants, Diamondbacks, A’s

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The Giants made a number of roster moves tonight, including placing Brandon Belt on the bereavement list following the passing of his grandmother, per The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly (via Twitter). Donovan Solano also went on the injured list today, with no reason specified. He has tested positive for COVID-19 and is likely to miss 7-10 days, tweets the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea.

To replace them on the roster, the Giants added Chadwick Tromp and Thairo Estrada, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter). Tromp will provide some coverage for the banged-up Buster Posey, though it doesn’t look like Posey will spent any time on the injured list. Elsewhere out west…

  • Jordan Lawlar, the Diamondbacks’ top pick in the 2021 amateur draft, will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The sixth overall pick suffered a posterior labrum tear in his left shoulder that will likely take around seven months of recovery time. Arizona hopes to have him ready by the beginning of next season.
  • Stephen Piscotty will undergo surgery on his wrist tomorrow, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com (via Twitter). Piscotty had been bothered by his wrist for much of the year, attempting to play through the injury. The Athletics outfielder struggled to a 79 OPS+ through 188 plate appearances.

Caleb Smith Suspended Ten Games For Foreign Substance Violation

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Major League Baseball announced that Diamondbacks left-hander Caleb Smith has been suspended for ten games and fined an undisclosed amount “for possessing a foreign substance on his glove” during last Wednesday’s game against the Phillies. Smith is appealing the suspension. (Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported the news before the official announcement).

Smith was ejected from Wednesday’s game after a foreign substance check at the end of the eighth inning. The 30-year-old had passed a substance inspection earlier in the contest and vehemently denied that he used an illicit substance after the game. Smith is the second player ejected after a substance inspection. Mariners left-hander Héctor Santiago, who was ejected by the same umpiring crew that tossed Smith, unsuccessfully appealed his suspension and ultimately had to serve a ten-game ban in June.

Unless Smith’s suspension is overturned on appeal, the D-Backs will eventually have to play a man short. Players suspended for foreign substance violations cannot be replaced on the active or 40-man rosters.

Diamondbacks Release Ryan Buchter

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The D-backs released veteran left-handed reliever Ryan Buchter over the weekend, per an announcement from their Triple-A club in Reno. He can now sign with any club for the final few weeks of the season.

Buchter, 34, was tagged for a dozen earned runs in 16 1/3 innings with Arizona’s big league club in 2021, but he held opponents to six runs on 13 hits and seven walks with 20 strikeouts in 16 Triple-A frames (3.38 ERA). And while he didn’t fare particularly well in his short MLB run with the D-backs this season, he has a track record of quality results at the MLB level. Buchter tossed just six innings with the Angels in 2020 but posted a sub-3.00 ERA each season from 2016-19 while averaging 53 innings per year along the way.

Overall, Buchter carries a career 3.16 ERA (4.18 SIERA) through 236 1/3 innings as a big leaguer. He’s turned in a strong 26.3 percent strikeout rate but an elevated 11.7 percent walk rate during that time and is an extreme fly-ball pitcher (26.1 percent ground-ball rate). There could be some concern about his velocity, which dipped to 90.4 mph in 2021 after averaging exactly 92.6 mph in each of the prior three seasons. Still, Buchter pitched quite well in Triple-A this season and has a lengthy track record of run prevention in the Majors. Given the number of clubs seeking bullpen depth following the trade deadline, he’d figure to have a good chance at latching on with another team that could use some left-handed insurance in the upper minors.

D-backs’ Caleb Smith Ejected Following Foreign Substance Check

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Diamondbacks lefty Caleb Smith was ejected after the eighth inning of last night’s game against the Phillies after the umpiring crew believed to have detected a foreign substance on his glove.  His glove will now be sent to the league headquarters for further examination, which could result in a 10-game suspension. Smith, who pitched 2 2/3 innings and had already cleared one check at the end of the sixth inning, vehemently argued his case as the umpiring crew spoke with manager Torey Lovullo (video link).

The 28-year-old Smith becomes just the second player ejected under the league’s new foreign-substance crackdown. If he’s suspended, as was the case with Mariners lefty Hector Santiago, the Diamondbacks would not be able to replace him on the roster over the course of his suspension.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Smith was understandably quite upset, and manager Torey Lovullo defended his player (Twitter links, with video, via Cameron Cox of 12 News in Arizona). Smith was adamant that if he’d cheated, he “would own up to it” and expressed anger that the ejection itself “drags my name through the mud” even though he does not ultimately believe he’ll be suspended.

“I’m not stupid,” Smith said. “I know the main two things they check are your glove and your hat. Even if I was using something, which I wasn’t, I wouldn’t put it in my glove or my hat. I mean, that’s just ignorant.”

Lovullo offered immediate support for his left-hander. “I’m always going to side with the player when he looks me square in the eyes and tells me that [he’s not cheating],” the manager said. “…I believe my player. I stand by my player. He told me there was nothing malicious happening. I asked to see his hand, and his hand was bone dry. … You can see Caleb goes to the ground a lot to get dirt on his hands. He has a pile of dirt on the side of his pantleg as a result of wiping down the dirt.”

Asked whether he was allowed to see and/or touch the glove, Lovullo acknowledged that it was “a little bit sticky” inside the heel of the glove but said there was no “huge buildup” and maintained his belief that it was a combination of sweat, rosin and dirt.

It’s now up to the league’s jurisdiction to determine whether there was or was not a foreign substance on Smith’s glove. Notably, however, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported after Santiago’s prior suspension that the league did not even further examine Santiago’s glove — instead issuing a suspension based solely on the umpires’ reported detection of a foreign substance (Twitter link). The crew chief in last night’s game, Tom Hallion, was also the crew chief at the time of Santiago’s ejection (and subsequent suspension). Via The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan, umpire Phil Cuzzi inspected Smith’s glove both at the end of the sixth inning, when he was cleared, and at the end of the eighth inning, when he was ejected.

Diamondbacks Place Merrill Kelly, Joe Mantiply On COVID List

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3:03PM: Joe Mantiply has also been placed on the COVID-related IL, with The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan noting that Mantiply was sidelined due to being a close contact of Kelly.  Pitching coach Matt Herges is also away from the team due to contact tracing.  Left-hander Miguel Aguilar and right-hander Sean Poppen were called up from Triple-A to replace Kelly and Mantiply on the active roster.

8:00AM: Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly has tested positive for COVID-19, per Zach Buchanan of The Athletic. He will now have to go on the IL and quarantine for at least 10 days.

The Diamondbacks have been one of the teams hardest hit by the pandemic, with multiple players going onto the COVID IL since early July. The club currently has the worst record in baseball at 38-80, and the lost of Kelly certainly won’t help, as he’s been one of the few bright spots for the team during this trying season.

Kelly has logged 142 1/3 innings this year, the seventh-most in all of baseball, with an ERA of 4.30. His strikeout rate is below average at 19.8%, but his walk rate is an excellent 5.5%. All told, he has accrued 2.5 fWAR on the year thus far, good enough for the team lead.

The Snakes have Zac Gallen starting today and then on off-day on Monday. Kelly was in line to start Tuesday’s game. So, the club has a couple of days to figure out how to juggle their rotation in his absence. Speculatively speaking, Humberto Castellanos could be an option. He was called up a few days ago and hasn’t seen action since. Prior to that, he’d been stretched out and starting in the minors.

Diamondbacks Place Kole Calhoun On Injured List

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve placed outfielder Kole Calhoun on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Infielder Jake Hager has been recalled from Triple-A Reno to take his place on the active roster.

It’s a worrying development for Calhoun, who underwent surgery to repair a left hamstring strain in April. That injury ultimately cost him around two and a half months. The D-Backs haven’t provided a timetable for his return this time around. There are only around seven weeks left on the schedule, so if Calhoun’s new strain is nearly as severe as his first, it could mark the end of his season.

Calhoun is in the final guaranteed season of the two-year, $16MM free agent contract he signed over the 2019-20 winter. Entering the offseason, Arizona will have to decide whether to exercise their $9MM option to keep him in the fold for 2022. That comes with a $2MM buyout, so it’s a $7MM decision for general manager Mike Hazen and the rest of the front office. Calhoun emerged as a somewhat surprising power force (.226/.338/.526) during his first season in the desert, but he’s stumbled to a .238/.293/.354 mark over 140 plate appearances this year.

Given Calhoun’s injury-riddled campaign, it seems likely the club will buy him out — particularly as they look to give playing time to younger outfielders down the stretch and into 2022. The team surely expects to be better next year than they’ve been this season, but an immediate return to contention doesn’t seem especially likely. Pavin Smith, Stuart Fairchild and Daulton Varsho are among the players looking to cement themselves as regulars somewhere in the D-Backs lineup.

Diamondbacks Outright Jordan Weems

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The Diamondbacks announced that reliever Jordan Weems has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Reno. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster.

Arizona claimed Weems off waivers from the Athletics last month. He’s only made two big league appearances with the D-Backs after pitching in five games for Oakland earlier in the year. Between the two clubs, the righty worked 5 2/3 innings of ten-run ball, striking out seven and issuing six walks. It’s been a disappointing follow-up to a promising showing in brief work in 2020, when Weems posted a 3.21 ERA over fourteen frames with a massive 31% strikeout rate.

Weems doesn’t have the requisite service time to reject an outright assignment, so he’ll remain in Reno — where he’s spent the past few weeks after being optioned. The 28-year-old will look to pitch his way back into the majors before the end of the season. If he’s not reselected onto the 40-man roster before the end of the year, Weems will have the right to elect minor league free agency this offseason.

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