Diamondbacks Rumors

Diamondbacks Remove Paul Sewald From Closer Role

By Anthony Franco | August 2, 2024 at 9:49pm CDT

The Diamondbacks are pulling Paul Sewald from the closing role, manager Torey Lovullo announced before tonight’s game against the Pirates (X link via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). Lovullo did not immediately name a replacement, suggesting the team could go with a committee approach.

Tonight’s game provided an immediate test. Arizona coughed up an early 5-0 lead but bounced back to take a two-run lead into the ninth. Lovullo tabbed sidewinder Ryan Thompson to close it out. Thompson gave up a couple singles and a run but successfully locked down a 9-8 victory. That usage could indicate the sinkerballer will get the bulk of the closing chances, though Arizona needed to use high-leverage arms Kevin Ginkel, A.J. Puk, Dylan Floro and Justin Martinez just to get it to the ninth.

In any case, the Snakes won’t give every narrow ninth inning lead to Sewald. The veteran right-hander had been almost spotless between his early May season debut through the end of June. He carried a 0.54 ERA over 16 2/3 frames. Sewald locked down his first 11 save chances in the process.

Things unraveled for him almost immediately once the calendar turned to July. Sewald gave up multiple runs and blew the lead in each of his first three outings of the month, all of which ended up being Arizona losses. He rebounded with five straight scoreless appearances, but he’s given up runs in three of his four most recent games.

Sewald blew a save in what turned out to be an extra-inning loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday. He got the call on Wednesday to hold a 5-2 lead against the Nationals but put four of five runners aboard (three via walk). Thompson came on and ended up securing a 5-4 win. That’s technically a hold for Sewald but obviously not a good performance.

The nightmarish few weeks came largely out of nowhere. Sewald has been one of the best relievers in MLB since his breakout with the Mariners in 2021. He turned in a 2.88 ERA over parts of three seasons in Seattle. Arizona’s call to send Josh Rojas, Dominic Canzone and Ryan Bliss to the M’s at last year’s deadline added needed stability to the back end of the bullpen.

It ended up being one of the biggest moves in the D-Backs’ surprising pennant run, as Sewald picked up 13 saves with a 3.57 ERA down the stretch. He wasn’t missing quite as many bats as he had in Seattle, but Sewald had a 2.10 ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate over 34 1/3 innings as a Diamondback until last month. He is an impending free agent, so his performance down the stretch is especially important for him personally.

Arizona made a big deadline move for bullpen help for the second straight year, bringing in Puk for a pair of prospects last month. They swung a more minor deal for Floro minutes before the deadline on Tuesday evening. That gives them some cover to allow Sewald to work through this funk in lower-leverage spots.

The D-Backs are trying to hang onto a Wild Card spot in what remains a crowded National League field. They’re riding a four-game win streak to get a season-high eight games over .500 but are only one game clear of the Mets, the top non-playoff team at the moment.

Two big factors in their potential pennant push: Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly. Arizona has been without two of their top starters for the bulk of the season. Rodriguez has yet to make his team debut after sustaining a lat strain in Spring Training. Kelly went down in mid-April with a shoulder strain.

The D-Backs could get a boost from both pitchers. Rodriguez should be reinstated from the 60-day injured list to start next Tuesday’s game against the Guardians, tweets John Gambadoro. Meanwhile, Gilbert relays on X that Kelly is slated to start a rehab stint that same night with High-A Hillsboro. That’d likely kick off a few week rehab process before he’s ready to get back on the mound at Chase Field.

Arizona did get a couple less encouraging updates on the pitching staff, though. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets that reliever Bryce Jarvis is likely to miss the rest of the season with an elbow sprain. The former first-round pick is not expected to require surgery but will need to be shut down from throwing. Jarvis has worked in a low-leverage relief role, tossing 59 1/3 frames of 3.19 ERA ball. His strikeout and walk profile is a lot less impressive than that ERA, but the Duke product has been a bullpen workhorse.

Rookie right-hander Cristian Mena is also likely done for the season. Alex Weiner of AZ Sports reported on Tuesday that the 21-year-old suffered a forearm strain in Triple-A (X link). Mena, who made his MLB debut last month with a three-inning spot start, is on the minor league injured list but could move to the 60-day IL if the Snakes need a 40-man roster spot. The Diamondbacks acquired him over the winter in a one-for-one swap sending outfielder Dominic Fletcher to the White Sox.

Diamondbacks Outright Brandon Hughes, Thyago Vieira

By Darragh McDonald | August 2, 2024 at 4:10pm CDT

The Diamondbacks announced that both right-hander Thyago Vieira and left-hander Brandon Hughes have been sent outright to Triple-A Reno. Vieira was already off the 40-man roster because he was designated for assignment last week when the club acquired lefty A.J. Puk, but there was no similar reporting about Hughes, so this move drops the club’s 40-man roster count to 39.

Hughes, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Snakes in the offseason. He was selected to the club’s roster in late April but has mostly been on optional assignment this year. When he has been up in the majors, it hasn’t gone well, as he’s allowed 16 earned runs in 14 innings thanks to eight home runs allowed.

His time in Triple-A has naturally gone much better than that. He has a 2.08 ERA in his 34 2/3 innings for the Aces. His 18.4% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate are both a bit subpar, so his 82.6% strand rate probably gets a big assist in producing that ERA.

Hughes was evidently freely available to all clubs in the past few days but they all passed. This is his first career outright and he lacks three years of service time, so he doesn’t have the right to reject this outright assignment but he’ll qualify for minor league free agency if not added back to the roster by season’s end.

Vieira, as mentioned, was designated for assignment last week. He was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks in early June. He had a 2.87 ERA in 15 2/3 innings but undoubtedly benefited from a .220 batting average on balls in play and 81.4% strand rate. Since all teams passed on the chance to claim him, they probably focused more on his 21.2% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rate, which are both subpar.

Like Hughes, this is his first career outright and he’s shy of three years of major league service time. He doesn’t have the right to elect free agency and will have to report to Reno to work in a non-roster capacity.

Diamondbacks Place Christian Walker On 10-Day IL, Designate Miguel Castro

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 8:39pm CDT

The Diamondbacks placed Christian Walker on the 10-day injured list earlier today, as the star first baseman is suffering with a left oblique strain. First baseman Pavin Smith was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move to Walker’s IL placement, and right-hander Miguel Castro was designated for assignment in another move to create roster space in the wake of Arizona’s deadline-day trades for Josh Bell and Dylan Floro.

Walker left Monday’s game due to what was described as soreness in his left oblique area, and he received some good news today in the form of a relatively positive MRI result. Walker told reporters (including Nick Piecoro and Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic) that his strain was of the minor variety, and he estimated roughly a three-week stint on the IL.

While oblique injuries can linger and a three-week-absence is still a big chunk of the two months remaining in the regular season, it’s obviously a sigh of relief for Walker and the D’Backs and the first baseman’s season doesn’t appear in jeopardy. The Diamondbacks’ quick move to acquire Bell from the Marlins today was a clear sign that Walker would be missing some significant length of time, but if Walker is indeed able to return in three weeks’ time, Bell will become an interesting backup or part-time DH option to bolster Arizona’s bench.

Landing Bell and recalling Smith are stopgap options for the Diamondbacks, as there’s no way to truly replace Walker’s all-around contributions. In addition to being arguably the game’s best defensive first baseman, he has been a consistent force at the plate, including his 23 home runs and .254/.338/.476 slash line in 461 plate appearances this season. With the Snakes in a pitched battle for a wild card spot, they’ll face an extra challenge in trying to stay afloat while missing one of their top players for the better part of August.

Castro has a 5.93 ERA over 13 2/3 innings and only 11 appearances this season, as the righty just returned to action just prior to the All-Star break after missing close to three months on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. It is safe to say his injury impacted his performance, yet with the D’Backs bringing new bullpen arms into the fold, Castro is now the odd man out.

Castro signed a free agent contract with Arizona during the 2022-23 offseason that paid him a guaranteed $3.5MM salary for 2023, and carried a $5MM vesting option for 2024 which triggered if Castro appeared in at least 60 games last season and passed a season-ending physical. He easily locked in that extra year with 75 appearances, tossing 64 2/3 innings in a workhorse role out of the bullpen and posting a 4.31 ERA.

If Castro is claimed on waivers, a new team will assume the remaining $1.6MM or so remaining of his 2024 salary, which probably isn’t too likely given his lack of production. Should he clear waivers, Castro has enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment to the minors and instead opt for free agency.

Diamondbacks To Acquire Dylan Floro

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2024 at 5:10pm CDT

The D-backs and Nationals agreed to a last-minute trade sending right-handed reliever Dylan Floro to Arizona, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Arizona is sending corner infielder Andres Chaparro back to the Nats, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

Floro, 33, is on a one-year, $2.25MM contract and will be a free agent at season’s end. He’s pitched to a pristine 2.06 earned run average this season, albeit with a rather pedestrian 19.6% strikeout rate and tepid 90.3 mph average fastball. That said, Floro has walked only 6.4% of his opponents and kept the ball on the ground at a strong 47.6% clip. He’s not going to continue to see this level of fortune on his fly-balls — only 2.2% of them have become homers, compared to the 7% mark he carried into the season — but it’s been a nice rebound effort for a veteran reliever who struggled to keep his ERA under 5.00 last year between the Marlins and Twins.

Since cementing himself as a viable big league reliever in 2018, Floro touts a 3.11 ERA in 361 1/3 innings. He’s had a below-average strikeout rate nearly every season along the way, but never egregiously so, and has offset that with strong command. Floro also regularly avoids loud contact, evidenced by a career 87.4 mph average exit velocity, 3.7% barrel rate and 38.4% hard-hit rate.

Floro adds an affordable middle-relief arm to a D-backs bullpen that already picked up one of the most impactful relievers moved at this year’s deadline: lefty A.J. Puk. That pair of newcomers will join late-inning arms Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel to help bridge the gap between an injury-marred rotation — currently missing both Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez — and closer Paul Sewald.

Chaparro, 25, is a longtime Yankees farmhand who became a minor league free agent this past offseason and signed a minors contract with the D-backs. He’s had a big first year in an overwhelmingly hitter-friendly Triple-A Reno setting, batting .332/.403/.563 with 19 homers — good for a 137 wRC+. Listed at 5’11” and 200 pounds, Chaparro has well below-average speed and grades out poorly as a defender, but he’s posted above-average offensive numbers throughout his minor league tenure. He could eventually emerge as a right-handed corner bench bat/DH option for a rebuilding Nationals club.

Diamondbacks Acquire Josh Bell

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 4:21pm CDT

4:21PM: The trade has been officially announced, with the return to the Marlins being specified as cash considerations or a player to be named later.

1:23PM: The Diamondbacks have acquired first baseman Josh Bell from the Marlins, as per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (links to X). Miami placed Bell on waivers two days ago, and Mish reports that Arizona will send cash to the Marlins to cover some of the roughly $5.9MM still owed to Bell for the remainder of the 2024 season. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via X) writes that the D’Backs will cover $2.25MM of Bell’s remaining salary.

The move seems like an instant reaction to the oblique injury that forced Christian Walker out of last night’s game. Deemed as left oblique tightness at the time, the fact that the D’Backs have quickly pivoted to adding a new first baseman indicates that Walker has some type of a strain that will require a trip to the injured list. The Diamondbacks figure to give an update on Walker’s condition later today, and Piecoro adds that the MRI revealed “relatively good news” about his status. Walker will still need to hit the IL, and given how oblique issues can tend to linger, it could be difficult to project a recovery timeline.

Bell has now been traded at the deadline in each of the last three seasons. The first baseman was dealt along with Juan Soto as part of the blockbuster swap between the Nationals and Padres two years ago, and in 2023, Bell was sent from the Guardians to the Marlins for Kahlil Watson and Jean Segura.

In keeping with the rather streaky nature of Bell’s career, those two trades yielded very different results for his new teams. Bell was enjoying a nice season with Washington in 2022 but struggled badly after the deal to the Padres; last season saw Bell post middling numbers for the Guardians but he then caught fire after joining the Marlins, helping carry the Fish to a wild card berth.

Arizona can only hope for the repeat of Bell’s 2023 turn-around, and in fact the veteran first baseman has ended his Miami tenure on a high note. Bell has a 1.515 OPS and five homers over his last 33 plate appearances, after hitting a much more underwhelming .224/.288/.349 with nine homers in his first 408 PA of the season. While the Diamondbacks’ hand may have been somewhat forced by Walker’s injury, this recent production from Bell provides some evidence that he might be in another of his turns from ice-cold at the plate to red hot.

The switch-hitting Bell figures to step right into regular first base duty in Arizona. Though his splits are pretty even this season, Bell has performed better against lefties than against righties in recent years, so the D’Backs might look to use him in something of a platoon with a left-handed hitter like Pavin Smith, whose seems like a good candidate to be called back up to the majors when Walker is officially placed on the IL. Smith, Kevin Newman, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. have combined for 28 innings of work at first base this season, as Walker’s dominance at the position has left the D’Backs rarely in need of a backup plan.

Today’s deal is the second trade between the Marlins and Diamondbacks this week, as Arizona also picked up A.J. Puk in a separate swap. The Snakes were primarily known to be looking at pitching help even after Puk was acquired, though Walker’s injury naturally led to this unexpected need at first base.

From Miami’s perspective, the team has now dealt Puk, Bell, Trevor Rogers, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. as part of their deadline selloff, not to mention the Luis Arraez trade earlier in the season that signaled the Marlins’ intention to rebuild. Getting a bit of cash off the books for Bell is a decent return considering how he was struggling for much of the year, and the Fish will surely continue to be busy in swinging more deals before today’s 5pm CT deadline.

NL West Notes: Walker, Duran, Dodgers, Padres, Kikuchi

By Mark Polishuk | July 29, 2024 at 10:49pm CDT

Christian Walker left tonight’s game with what the Diamondbacks described as left oblique tightness. It isn’t clear when the injury occurred, though Walker struck out swinging during a second-inning at-bat, and Kevin Newman then took over Walker’s spot at first base in the top of the fourth. More will be known about the severity of the injury once Walker undergoes tests, but any sort of oblique issue might hint at a trip to the injured list for the star first baseman.

Losing Walker for any stretch of time would deal a heavy blow to Arizona’s playoff hopes, given his all-around importance to the lineup. Walker is hitting .254/.338/.476 with 23 home runs over 461 plate appearances, and delivering his usual excellent glovework at first base. Beyond what an IL stay might do to the Diamondbacks’ chances in the pennant race, an extended absence also wouldn’t help Walker’s platform for a big free agent contract, as he is scheduled to hit the open market at season’s end. This sudden uncertainty over Walker’s status is an unwelcome wrinkle for the D’Backs in advance of tomorrow’s trade deadline, as the team was planning to focus on pitching rather than any significant position-player adds.

11 Long Shot Trade Candidates

By Anthony Franco | July 29, 2024 at 8:00pm CDT

We're less than 24 hours from the deadline. There has been a flurry of activity dating back to Thursday night, taking a few of the top names (e.g Randy Arozarena, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Carlos Estévez, Isaac Paredes) off the board. We've devoted ample attention to the likes of Garrett Crochet, Jack Flaherty and Yusei Kikuchi.

Every deadline features some late surprises. Talks don't always get over the line, but we're likely to hear about discussions on marquee names who are less clear trade candidates than are the good players with limited contractual control on bad teams. None of the following players are likely to be traded. They've probably each got less than a 20% chance of changing uniforms. There's an argument for teams to listen on these players, though they're of varying ability and trade value.

Tarik Skubal

Skubal might be the best pitcher in baseball. If the Tigers trade him, it'd be the biggest transaction of the summer. He's probably the frontrunner for the American League Cy Young award behind a 2.35 earned run average with a 30% strikeout rate over 130 innings. Detroit is three games below .500 and 5.5 out in the Wild Card race. Last night's Carson Kelly trade shows they're willing to move rentals. Needless to say, a Skubal trade would be in another stratosphere of significance.

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Reyes Moronta Passes Away

By Nick Deeds | July 28, 2024 at 11:17pm CDT

Former MLB reliever Reyes Moronta, who last pitched in the majors last season, has passed away per an announcement from the Mexican League’s Bravos de Leon. According to a report from Mike Rodriguez, Moronta’s tragic passing came following a traffic accident earlier this evening. Moronta, who pitched for the Giants, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Angels in a big league career that spanned parts of six seasons, was just 31 years old.

Moronta began his pro career in September 2010 at just 17 years old, when he signed with the Giants out of the Dominican Republic on a $15,000 bonus. The righty made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League the following year and immediately impressed with a 2.13 ERA in 42 1/3 innings of work. He made his stateside debut the following year and slowly climbed his way through the minor leagues before making his MLB debut with San Francisco in 2017 at the age of 24. That first cup of coffee at the big league level ultimately lasted just seven appearances, but he pitched to a strong 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 innings of work while striking out 37.9% of batters faced.

That strong showing in his first taste of big league action earned Moronta are larger role with the Giants headed into the 2018 season, and over the next two years the righty emerged as one of the most dominant forces in the club’s bullpen with a 2.66 ERA (50% better than league average by ERA+) as he punched out an excellent 29.3% of opponents, more than making up for an elevated 13.8% walk rate. Unfortunately, injury woes began to complicate what was an excellent start to Moronta’s young career when he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder in September of 2019.

The right-hander missed the entire 2020 campaign while rehabbing following that surgery and returned to the mound in 2021 to kick off his age-28 campaign. The injury bug continued to bite Moronta, however, and he was sidelined after just four innings of work by an elbow sprain that cost him the majority of the 2021 season. Moronta was outrighted off the Giants roster late in the year and elected free agency following the season, eventually signing with the Dodgers on a minor league deal prior to the 2022 campaign. Moronta wasn’t quite as dominant in his age-29 season as he had been earlier in his career with the Giants, but he nonetheless pitched solidly for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks that year with a combined 4.30 ERA in 37 2/3 innings of work, even as he struck out a reduced 23.6% of opponents that year.

Moronta returned to free agency after being non-tendered by Arizona that offseason. He signed with the eventual World Series champion Rangers on a minor league deal and pitched in camp with the club that spring, but was cut loose just before the season began after not making the roster. That allowed him to catch on with the Angels on a minor league deal last May, and he made two appearances at the big league level for the club last year before finishing out the season at Triple-A with a 3.32 ERA and 28.4% strikeout rate in 40 2/3 innings of work. Moronta did not sign with a club in affiliated ball this winter, instead joining the Bravos de Leon for whom he struck out 24 batters in 19 2/3 innings of work this year. Overall, Moronta posted a 3.05 ERA in 170 games during his MLB career while racking up 202 strikeouts and recording three saves.

Those of us at MLBTR extend our condolences to Moronta’s friends, family, former teammates and coaches, as well as all of those mourning his tragic passing.

Notable Draft Signings: 7/27/24

By Nick Deeds | July 27, 2024 at 10:40pm CDT

A trio of draft prospects agreed to signing bonuses of more than $2MM today, each of which was first reported by MLB.com’s Jim Callis. (Links from X). Pre-draft rankings and scouting reports are provided by Keith Law of the Athletic, Baseball America, FanGraphs and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.

The Diamondbacks signed first-rounder Slade Caldwell to a $3,087,000 deal. The agreement comes in just over the $3,045,500 slot value of the 29th overall pick. Caldwell, a high school outfielder from Arkansas, was a consensus top-50 talent in the draft class with some evaluators (including Law and BA) having him among the 20 best players in the draft. Formerly committed to Ole Miss, Caldwell is universally regarded as a plus to double-plus runner who will have little trouble sticking in center field and also features a plus hit tool. With that being said, Caldwell’s small frame (listed at 5’9”, 182 lbs) raises questions about his power potential as some reports indicated that his body is already largely maxed out.
The Guardians signed two draftees to significant bonuses today. Supplemental first-rounder Braylon Doughty signed for the full slot value of the 36th overall pick ($2,569,200) while second-rounder Jacob Cozart signed for $2,050,000, which comes in a fair bit above the $1,938,900 slot value of the 48th overall pick. A right-handed hurler who was committed to Oklahoma State, Doughty was a consensus top-60 talent in this year’s draft with some services placing him as high as the top 30. Doughty receives universal praise for his breaking ball that he pairs it with a low-to-mid 90s fastball and is generally looked at as a possible future back-end starter. As for Cozart, the NC State product is generally considered to be a glove-first catcher who is expected to remain behind the plate long-term. With the bat, he offers solid raw power but there are questions regarding his hit tool, with Law noting that he has particular trouble with breaking pitches out of the zone.

Diamondbacks Designate Thyago Vieira For Assignment

By Anthony Franco | July 27, 2024 at 2:34pm CDT

The Diamondbacks announced they’ve designated Thyago Vieira for assignment. The move opens a spot in the bullpen for newly-acquired southpaw A.J. Puk, who has reported to the team. The transaction drops Arizona’s 40-man roster tally to 39.

Vieira has spent the past two months in the desert. The Snakes claimed him off waivers from the Orioles at the beginning of June. He made 11 appearances, allowing six runs (five earned) across 15 2/3 innings. Vieira struck out 14 and handed out nine free passes. Arizona is his third team of the season. He also had stints in Milwaukee and Baltimore and carries a 5.21 earned run average through 38 innings on the year.

The Brazilian-born righty is one of the harder throws in the game, averaging north of 97 MPH on his fastball. That hasn’t translated to huge whiff rates, though, and he has never harnessed his power stuff. Vieira has walked nearly 15% of opposing hitters this season and has a 13.1% walk percentage over parts of five big league campaigns.

Arizona is likely to place Vieira on waivers in the next few days. The 31-year-old has exhausted his minor league options, meaning another team would need to keep him in the big league ’pen if they claim him. Vieira does not have the previous career outright nor the three years of service time necessary to decline an outright assignment, so the Snakes could keep him in the organization if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

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