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Diamondbacks Outright Kristian Robinson

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Outfielder Kristian Robinson, whom the Diamondbacks designated for assignment over the weekend, went unclaimed on waivers, tweets Jesse Friedman of PHNX Sports. The team has apparently assigned Robinson back to its Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League, as he’s already suited up for a game there since his DFA.

Once a high-profile amateur signing out of the Bahamas who was considered to be among the sport’s top 100 prospects, Robinson’s career has been slowed by legal issues (as MLBTR’s Anthony Franco outlined earlier this year when Robinson was reinstated from the restricted list). A then-19-year-old Robinson pled guilty to felony assault charges stemming from an altercation in April of 2020 but eventually agreed to a plea deal that would reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, contingent on him completing an 18-month probation window. Robinson was unable to renew his work visa (and thus unable to play in the D-backs system) during that probationary period, which ended this spring.

Since returning to the Diamondbacks after a three-year absence from playing in minor leagues, the now-22-year-old Robinson has appeared in 45 games between Rookie ball, Class-A and High-A. In 193 plate appearances, he’s slashed .276/.383/.460 with seven homers, three doubles, three triples, 19 steals (in 22 tries) and an 11.4% walk rate. That impressive performance isn’t without some statistical red flags, however. Robinson has punched out in an alarming 31.1% of his plate appearances, and the bulk of those stats have come against younger competition in A-ball and Rookie ball. He’s yet to really be tested against more advanced pitching, which makes the already sky-high strikeout rate all the more concerning.

Now that he’s gone unclaimed on waivers, he’ll remain in the D-backs’ system but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Pete Alonso’s Future, Yankees’ Rotation Troubles and Should the Trade Deadline Be Pushed Back?

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

  • Should the trade deadline be moved back, as has been considered by some? (1:15)
  • Mets need to pick a lane with Pete Alonso (9:35)
  • Yankees’ rotation is dealing with injuries again (14:15)

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • How can the Cardinals get in shape this offseason? (20:05)
  • Can the Mariners line up on a trade with the Cards? (24:10)
  • What will be the biggest needs for the Diamondbacks this winter? (27:00)
  • What does Mitch Garver’s free agency look like this winter? (28:30)

Check out our past episodes!

D-Backs Release Carson Kelly

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The Diamondbacks have released Carson Kelly, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. That was the expected outcome after Arizona designated him for assignment on Sunday. Kelly has over five years of major league service, so he could’ve refused a minor league assignment while retaining his salary in any event.

Kelly’s tenure with the D-Backs officially comes to a close. Acquired alongside Luke Weaver and Andrew Young in the lopsided Paul Goldschmidt trade, Kelly played parts of five seasons in the desert. He started reasonably well, hitting 18 home runs during the 2019 campaign and rebounding from a down shortened season with a strong .260/.385/.460 start through the first couple months in ’21.

An errant pitch fractured Kelly’s right wrist that June. He never seemed to fully recover, hitting .221/.297/.364 across 172 plate appearances down the stretch. He followed up with a middling .211/.282/.334 showing in 354 trips to the dish last season. The Diamondbacks nevertheless tendered him an arbitration contract but acquired Gabriel Moreno to take over as the primary backstop last winter.

Kelly’s efforts to solidify himself as the #2 option were again derailed by a hit-by-pitch. He broke his right arm in Spring Training and was out of action into the second week of June. Kelly appeared in 33 games over the last couple months but continued to scuffle, hitting .226/.283/.298 in 92 trips to the plate.

Arizona has elected to go with José Herrera as Moreno’s backup. Assuming Kelly clears release waivers, the Snakes will remain on the hook for the approximate $942K remaining on his $4.275MM salary. At that point, another team could add him for the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum through season’s end. If Kelly catches on elsewhere this season, he’d technically be eligible for arbitration for 2024, though he’d be a non-tender candidate in all likelihood.

Mike Hazen Details Diamondbacks' Catching, Pitching Plans

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In designating Carson Kelly for assignment earlier today, the Diamondbacks are a little short on catching depth, and GM Mike Hazen told reporters (including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert) that the club was looking out for external catching options.  Gabriel Moreno is the catcher of the present and future in Arizona, and beyond backup Jose Herrera, Ali Sanchez and Juan Centeno are the only other backstops in the organization with any Major League experience.  Despite the situation, Hazen felt that “with five to six weeks to go, depth becomes less important than trying to put the best [team] on the field….When we had the roster construction in the first half of the season with Gabi and Herrera, we played really well.  I don’t know that that is going to be the secret formula to getting back to the way we were before, I don’t think that’s anyone’s expectation, but that was the choice we had, to send Herrera down or make this move.  We decided to make this move.”

Diamondbacks Select Bryce Jarvis, Designate Carson Kelly for Assignment

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The Arizona Diamondbacks announced several roster moves on Sunday morning, headlined by the promotion of pitching prospect Bryce Jarvis. The Diamondbacks selected his contract from Triple-A Reno, designating catcher Carson Kelly for assignment in a corresponding move. They also reinstated catcher Gabriel Moreno from the 10-day injured list and optioned starting pitcher Ryne Nelson to Triple-A.

Jarvis, Arizona’s first-round pick in the 2020 draft, will be making his MLB debut. He is a top-30 prospect in the D-backs’ system, according to Baseball America (18th) and MLB Pipeline (29th).

The Duke University product made a solid first impression in 2021, tossing 75 1/3 innings across three levels. He had particular success at High-A Hillsboro, posting a 3.62 ERA in seven starts. However, he struggled following his promotion to Double-A Amarillo: his walk rate rose, his home run rate doubled, and his ERA ballooned to 5.66. He remained in Double-A the following season, where his struggles only intensified. Walks and home runs continued to cause him trouble, and his opponents were having more success on balls in play. He finished with a ghastly 8.27 ERA in 25 starts.

Nevertheless, Jarvis earned a promotion to Triple-A in April 2023. Free passes remained a problem for him at Reno, where he walked more than 11% of the batters he faced, but he got his home run rate in check, and his ERA came down to a more respectable 5.40 in 16 starts.

In late July, Jarvis transitioned to a bullpen role, a temporary change to address an area of need within the organization. The 25-year-old told Michael McDermott of Inside the Diamondbacks that there are still “long-term plans” for him to be a starter, but “for the rest of this year,” the team needed him more in the bullpen.

That being that case, it’s unlikely Jarvis will be taking Nelson’s spot in the rotation. With Nelson at Triple-A, the Diamondbacks only have three starting pitchers on the 26-man roster: Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt. However, Zach Davies is expected to return from the IL shortly, and Slade Cecconi could rejoin the rotation as well. Cecconi, the team’s No. 14 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, made a start on August 2 before moving to the bullpen. He has only made a single appearance out of the ’pen in that time. Prior to his call-up, he made 20 starts at Triple-A Reno, pitching to a 6.38 ERA.

Nelson has been sturdy for Arizona this season; he is tied for third in the National League in starts and 21st in innings pitched. That said, he has a 7.60 ERA and 5.49 SIERA in his last seven starts, and the Diamondbacks have lost five of those seven games. Neither Cecconi nor Jarvis is a surefire upgrade over Nelson, but the D-backs certainly needed to shake things up. Before yesterday’s victory over the Padres, they had lost their last nine games. Their pitching staff has a 4.93 ERA in August, and they have been outscored 46-23.

Moreno’s return should give the pitching staff another much-needed boost. His offensive performance has been underwhelming in his first season with the Diamondbacks, but he has done well behind the dish. His 9 Defensive Runs Saved are tied for fifth among catchers. Meanwhile, his pitch framing doesn’t grade out particularly well (33rd percentile, per Baseball Savant), but he has still been a more valuable framer than Kelly (22nd percentile) and Jose Herrera (3rd percentile), who have covered behind the dish since Moreno hit the IL on July 23.

As for Kelly, 29, it’s not a shock to see him cut from the roster based on his recent results but it’s a significant development from a wider lens. He was once a top 100 prospect with the Cardinals and was one of the prospects that came to Arizona in the Paul Goldschmidt trade, along with Luke Weaver and Andrew Young. The former was flipped to the Royals last year for Emmanuel Rivera, who was optioned to the minors yesterday, while Young was lost to the Nationals in the minor league portion of the 2021 Rule 5 draft.

Kelly was once hoped to be the club’s catcher of the future and he showed well in his first season in the desert. He hit 18 home runs in 2019 and walked in 13.2% of his plate appearances, leading to a .245/.348/.478 batting line and 107 wRC+. But since then, he’s hit just .225/.303/.366, including a line of .226/.283/.298 this year. He could have been retained for one more season via arbitration, owed a raise on this year’s $4.275M M salary, but the D’Backs have decided to move on instead.

Today’s move means that none of the three players from the Goldschmidt trade remain on the roster. The transaction tree is technically still alive thanks to the presence of Rivera, but the deal looks unquestionably disappointing in retrospect. The club will put Kelly on waivers in coming days and he will almost certainly clear, given his salary and recent performance. Since he has over five years of service time, he will have the ability to reject an outright assignment while retaining all of his salary. The Diamondbacks will remain on the hook for that, allowing another club to sign him and pay him only the prorated league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Diamondbacks pay.

Diamondbacks Designate Kristian Robinson For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Buddy Kennedy. In corresponding moves, they optioned infielder Emmanuel Rivera and designated outfielder Kristian Robinson for assignment.

Robinson hit .271/.384/.452 in 185 combined plate appearances at three different minor league levels — a game of rookie ball, 32 games at A-level Visalla and 10 games at high-A Hillsboro.  It marked his first on-field action since the 2019 season, as Robinson had been on the restricted list for almost three years.  Back in May, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco detailed the legal and visa hurdles that stalled Robinson’s career, stemming from an April 2020 incident that initially resulted in Robinson pleading guilty to a felony assault charge.  The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor if Robinson completed an 18-month probation period, and while that probation period was up in the spring, Robinson had to essentially put his baseball career on hold until its completion.

Though Robinson’s numbers in the minors are pretty solid, and he is only a couple of years removed from top-100 prospect status, the D’Backs are willing to move on from the 22-year-old outfielder.  Claiming Robinson would require a 40-man roster spot from an interested team, but it would seem like someone will certainly take a flier on a player with his pedigree.  That said, it would stand to reason that Arizona might’ve shopped Robinson on the trade market while opting for the DFA, but apparently didn’t find any acceptable offers.  Because Robinson was on the 40-man roster, he is ineligible to be dealt after the trade deadline.

Rivera’s .267/.311/.376 slash line over 238 PA doesn’t quite tell the whole story of the infielder’s season, as Rivera got off to a blazing start and started getting regular duty at third base in place of Evan Longoria and Josh Rojas.  However, Rivera has markedly slowed down at the plate, with only a .519 OPS in his last 123 PA.  With Rivera sent to Triple-A to regroup, Longoria on the 10-day injured list, and Rojas traded to the Mariners as part of the Paul Sewald deal, utilityman Jace Peterson and Kennedy now look like the starting platoon at third base.

Kennedy was a fifth-round pick for the Diamondbacks in the 2017 draft, and he made his MLB debut last season in the form of 30 games and 94 plate appearances (hitting .217/.287/.325).  The D’Backs outrighted him off the 40-man roster after the season and he has been tearing up Triple-A pitching in 2023, hitting .318/.447/.480 over 407 PA with Triple-A Reno with five homers and 22 doubles.

Most of Kennedy’s professional playing time has come as a third baseman, though he logged a lot of innings at second base and gotten some work at first base and left field.  It could be that Kennedy will just be a stopgap until Longoria is able to return, but it represents another move at a position that has been a problem area for the Diamondbacks all season.  The revolving door at third base is just one of many issues for a struggling Arizona team that is 8-25 since the start of July, and currently mired in a nine-game losing streak.

Diamondbacks Sign Aaron Sanchez To Minor League Deal

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The D-Backs signed veteran right-hander Aaron Sanchez to a minor league deal, according to an announcement from their Triple-A club in Reno. He’s making his organizational debut with the Aces tonight.

Sanchez was released by the Twins a few weeks ago. The 31-year-old had spent the year with Minnesota’s top minor league club, working 73 innings over 18 appearances. Sanchez struggled to a 5.30 ERA with a modest 16.8% strikeout percentage and a massive 15.6% walk rate. That unsurprisingly wasn’t enough to crack a Minnesota rotation that has been one of the best in the majors.

While this year’s results are poor, Sanchez managed a solid 3.75 ERA in 13 Triple-A starts a season ago. He couldn’t carry that over in a few stints in Minnesota, where he surrendered a 6.60 ERA over 60 MLB frames. Sanchez has been up-and-down as a depth option for a few teams in recent seasons, settling in as a journeyman since winning the AL ERA title with the Blue Jays back in 2016. Sanchez’s velocity is down from those halcyon days due to intervening injuries, but he’s an experienced depth option who still induces a decent number of grounders.

Arizona has been in a free fall over the past six weeks. After leading the NL West for a good chunk of the first half, they’re 8-23 since the start of July. An ongoing seven-game losing streak has dropped them to 57-57, the first time they’ve been .500 since April 7.

An unsettled rotation behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly has been a big reason for that. Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson haven’t pitched well, while Zach Davies and Tommy Henry are on the injured list. With the deadline past, minor league deals of this ilk are the club’s clearest way to add rotation depth. Despite their dismal recent run, the D-Backs are still just two games back of the final National League Wild Card spot.

Diamondbacks Re-Sign Nabil Crismatt To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs have re-signed right-handed reliever Nabil Crismatt to a minor league pact, per their team transaction log. Crismatt, who opted out of a minor league deal earlier this month, will return on a new arrangement after just six days on the open market.

Crismatt, 28, was released by the D-backs last week but quickly re-upped on a new minor league pact and already returned to their Triple-A club last night, tossing four innings and yielding four runs in his third start of the season. He’d spent the bulk of the year pitching in the bullpen — frequently in two-inning stints — but has made his past three appearances as a starting pitcher. The transition hasn’t been a smooth one, as after a sharp first outing (five innings, one run against the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate) he’s since been tagged for 13 runs in 7 1/3 frames.

That rough patch out of the rotation has sent his ERA ballooning north of 7.00, although Crismatt has a much better track record than that — particularly in the big leagues. From 2020-22, the right-hander logged 157 innings of 3.38 ERA ball between the Cardinals and Padres, fanning 21.8% of his opponents against a strong 7.1% walk rate. Crismatt also excelled at keeping the ball in the yard (0.97 HR/9) and on the ground (50.5%) during that stretch.

The 2023 season has been a nightmare both in the big leagues and in the minors, however. Crismatt was rocked for a 9.82 ERA in 11 innings with San Diego prior to being released this year. His 7.76 ERA in 31 1/3 Triple-A frames is only marginally better, but he’ll get another chance to get back on track with the D-backs’ top affiliate as he looks to rediscover that solid 2020-22 form.

Diamondbacks, Tyler Chatwood Agree To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs and veteran righty Tyler Chatwood are in agreement on a minor league contract, per team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Chatwood, an Excel Sports client, signed his deal yesterday and got right to work, tossing an inning for the organization’s Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League.

Presumably, that’ll be a short stay at that level for Chatwood as he builds up arm strength. The right-hander was with the Pirates organization earlier this year but was released in mid-June and hasn’t pitched since. Once he has a few innings under his belt, he’ll likely move up to Triple-A Reno.

Chatwood, 33, pitched ten minor league innings with Pittsburgh earlier this season but walked more batters (eight) than he struck out in that short time. A veteran with a decade-long big league career under his belt, he’s pitched to a 4.45 ERA in 878 2/3 innings at the MLB level, punching out 17.2% of his opponents against a 12% walk rate and 53.9% ground-ball rate. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2021, however, and he’s posted an ERA north of 5.00 in three of his past four big league seasons. From 2018-21, Chatwood worked to a combined 4.83 ERA and walked a massive 15.6% of his opponents.

While the recent track record is shaky, Chatwood averaged 96 mph on his heater from 2019-21, has a long history of inducing grounders at a high rate and upped his strikeout rate considerably in his last two big league seasons (27.3%). The D-backs shuffled their bullpen mix at the deadline, acquiring Paul Sewald but also sending veteran Andrew Chafin to the Brewers in a trade for younger righty Peter Strzelecki. Chatwood will add another fresh face to the depth chart, though there’s obviously no guarantee of him ever pitching with the big league club. He’ll need to pitch his way up to the Majors, but there’s little harm in the Diamondbacks taking a chance on a hard-throwing veteran in this manner.

Rays Claim Cole Sulser

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The Rays announced this afternoon that they had claimed right-hander Cole Sulser off waivers from the Diamondbacks. The Rays had an open space on their 40-man roster following the cash deal that sent right-hander Luis Patino to the White Sox prior to the trade deadline earlier this week. Sulser was designated for assignment as part of a series of roster moves on the day of the deadline.

The move reunites Sulser with Tampa Bay, where he made his major league debut back in 2019 with 7 1/3 scoreless innings of work during which he struck out 9 and walked 3 while surrendering five hits. That solid debut didn’t stop the Rays from designating Sulser for assignment at the end of the 2019 campaign, at which point he was claimed off waivers by the Orioles. He struggled in Baltimore during the shortened 2020 campaign but broke out in a big way in 2021 with a 2.70 ERA (166 ERA+) and 2.98 FIP in 63 1/3 innings of work. Those strong ratios were backed up by a excellent 28.4% strikeout rate against a walk rate of 8.9%.

Since his 2021 breakout, however, Sulser has struggled during his time in the majors. In 39 1/3 innings of work split between the Marlins and Diamondbacks the last two seasons, the righty has managed just a 5.49 ERA, with a 5.09 FIP that offers little optimism regarding his underlying performance. Meanwhile, his once-strong strikeout rate has dipped to a more pedestrian 24.4% while his walk rate has spiked to 11%. When those issues are combined with a whopping 20.5% of his fly balls leaving the yard for home runs the past two seasons, it’s easy to see why the Diamondbacks made the decision to move on from Sulser.

That being said, Susler fits the mold of an optionable relief arm that the Rays frequently covet, and has had previous big league success, including during his previous time with the organization. What’s more, Sulser’s downturn in production in recent seasons has coincided with lat and shoulder injuries that have sidelined him for much of the past two seasons. If the Sulser is fully healthy again, it would hardly be a surprise to see him return to being a quality relief arm as a member of the Rays down the stretch. Should he join the big league bullpen immediately, he figures to cover the middle innings for the Rays alongside the likes of Robert Stephenson and Kevin Kelly.

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