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D-backs Sign Austin Adams, Jesse Biddle To Minor League Deals

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The Diamondbacks have signed righties Austin Adams and Eric Yardley and left-hander Jesse Biddle to minor league contracts, per Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle.

Adams, 31, has spent the past three seasons with the division-rival Padres, at times looking like a potential late-inning weapon. Injuries and command issues, however, have undercut the righty’s enormous strikeout numbers. Adams has appeared in 108 games and tallied 97 innings at the MLB level (mostly with the Padres), working to a solid 3.90 ERA along the way. He’s punched out a massive 34.2% of his opponents in the big leagues, walked 15.5% of them and, remarkably, plunked 6% of his opponents as well.

Troubling as that lack of command is, Adams misses bats at an elite rate, and when opponents do make contact, it’s rarely high-quality contact. He’s held opposing batters to a dismal 86.2 mph average exit velocity in his career, yielded just a 29.7% hard-hit rate and allowed only six home runs in 97 innings (433 batters faced).

Adams has been intriguing enough for the Mariners to trade for him and for the Padres to push for his inclusion alongside Austin Nola in the trade that sent Ty France and Andres Munoz to Seattle. There’s some obvious talent, thanks in no small part to a wipeout slider, but in addition to being his difficulties locating the ball, he’s endured a torn ACL in 2020 and a flexor strain that required surgery in 2022, limiting him to just two innings. Because of that latter procedure, which was performed in August, it’s possible Adams will be delayed to begin his season. If he makes it back to the big leagues, the D-backs will have at least two years of club control over him.

Yardley, 32, has pitched in parts of three big league seasons, spending time with the 2019 Padres and 2020-21 Brewers. He’s notched a tidy 3.52 ERA in that time, although fielding-independent metrics are far more bearish than his ERA — due largely to a tiny 13% strikeout rate and a slightly elevated 9.7% walk rate.

Yardley has offset that lack of punchouts in part with a massive 60.8% ground-ball rate and a solid 1.01 HR/9 mark. The righty’s submarine delivery has helped him to keep the ball on the ground and in the yard, although as is often the case, it’s also given him a notable platoon split; lefties have clobbered Yardley at a .312/.382/.468 clip in his big league career.

As for the 31-year-old Biddle, he’s returning from a one-year stint with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he pitched to a 4.02 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate out of the bullpen. The former first-round pick (27th overall by the Phillies in 2010) has appeared in parts of four Major League seasons, working to a 5.07 ERA in 103 frames. Biddle has fanned 22.2% of his opponents, issued walks at a bloated 13.1% clip and also recorded a hefty 52.8% ground-ball rate in that time.

Back in 2018, the Braves looked like they might’ve benefited from a shrewd waiver claim of Biddle, who pitched 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball for them as a rookie that season. Since that solid debut, however, Biddle has been tagged for an 8.24 ERA in 39 1/3 big league innings.

Both pitchers will have the chance to factor into the Arizona bullpen at some point during the 2023 season. The Snakes have a handful of veterans on guaranteed contracts, including Mark Melancon, Miguel Castro and Scott McGough. They also enjoyed a breakout year from lefty Joe Mantiply and a strong 30-game run from 28-year-old Kevin Ginkel in the season’s second half. There are still multiple spots up for grabs, however, and injuries throughout the year will of course create additional opportunities for veterans of this ilk.

Diamondbacks Sign Jeurys Familia To Minor League Deal

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5:22pm: Familia will make $1.5MM if he makes it to the majors with $500K in performance bonuses also available, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post.

4:55pm: The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Jeurys Familia to a minor league deal, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The ACES client will receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Familia, 33, has had many good years in the big leagues but is coming off a terrible campaign in 2022. From 2014 to 2021, he made 482 appearances, mostly with the Mets, with a 3.20 ERA in that time. His 10.5% walk rate was a bit on the high side but he struck out 25.2% of batters faced in that time and got grounders on 55.5% of balls in play.

Last year, however, was a completely different story. He signed a $6MM deal with the Phillies and made 38 appearances for them but posted a 6.09 ERA in that time while his strikeout rate fell to 20.9%. He was released in August and latched on with the Red Sox for a while but posted a 6.10 ERA in 10 appearances for them. A .386 batting average on balls in play could have made things look worse than they really were, but it’s not like everything can be explained away by bad luck. Familia’s Statcast page is an icy blue, since he was in the third percentile in terms of hard hit rate, fourth percentile for average exit velocity and eighth percentile in barrel rate.

The Diamondbacks had a rough showing from their bullpen last year. Their relievers posted a collective 4.58 ERA for the year, a mark that bested just five other teams in the majors. They’ve made a few moves to address the relief corps for the upcoming season, including signing Miguel Castro and Scott McGough, grabbing Cole Sulser off waivers and trading for Carlos Vargas. By signing Familia, they’ve essentially taken a no-risk flier on a veteran with a lengthy track record of success. He’ll give them some extra depth without taking up a roster spot for the time being.

Make Or Break Year: Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

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The Diamondbacks and Blue Jays combined on one of the winter’s biggest trades back in December, though for all of the attention the deal received, much more focus was (understandably) placed on the involvement of Daulton Varsho and Gabriel Moreno than on the fact that Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was now headed to Arizona.  Varsho is a very promising young player and already an ace defender, while Moreno is arguably baseball’s best prospect — with all these future potential in mind, it isn’t necessarily surprising that Gurriel was something of an afterthought.

It wasn’t that long ago that Gurriel was himself a sought-after young talent, when he defected from Cuba in 2016 and signed a seven-year, $22MM deal with Toronto later that year.  He made his MLB debut in April 2018 at age 24 and has since carved out a solid career for himself over five seasons in the Show, yet in some ways, Gurriel has been hampered by those initial high expectations.  Though Gurriel has been much better than many prospects (both international and from the domestic draft) over the years who carried a lot more hype, having “only” a solid career to date has perhaps been a little underwhelming considering how good Gurriel has looked when he has been in top form.

Gurriel’s .285/.329/.468 slash line and 68 homers over 1864 career MLB plate appearances translates to a 115 wRC+, well above the league average.  He has consistently delivered good (and in 2020, elite) hard-hit ball rates, and his barrel rates were similarly pretty consistent before plummeting downwards in 2022.  While Gurriel doesn’t walk much, his strikeout and whiff rates have steadily improved over the last four seasons, with Gurriel topping out in the 78th percentile of all hitters in K% and in the 71st percentile in whiff rate last year.

With all this in mind, however, Gurriel has amassed only 6.2 fWAR over his 468 big league games.  For comparison’s sake, Varsho has 7.1 fWAR over 283 games and 1022 PA, with 4.6 fWAR coming in the 2022 season alone.  Defense accounts for much of Varsho’s advantage, as Gurriel has been roughly an average left fielder since the start of the 2019 season, when factoring in all of the public defensive metrics.  Defensive Runs Saved (+4) likes Gurriel’s outfield work, while UZR/150 (-2.7) and especially Outs Above Average (-16) have been a lot less impressed.  It is worth noting, however, that Gurriel was a finalist for the AL left field Gold Glove in both 2020 and 2021, somewhat in defiance of the mixed reviews from the metrics.

Glovework has been an element of Gurriel’s big league career from the start, as the Blue Jays initially hoped he could be a shortstop prospect or at least a second baseman, but he struggled badly as an infielder.  Fortunately for both Gurriel and the Jays, a position change to left field allowed him to settle in both as a defender and at the plate, even if it limited Gurriel’s overall value in the long term.  As he heads into his age-29 season, Gurriel has only moderate defensive utility as a passable left fielder and as a part-time first baseman, though his solid arm strength suggests that he might be an option in right field (a position he has never played in the majors).

Looking at Gurriel’s batting statistics, his good overall numbers smooth over a lot of streakiness at the plate.  The outfielder is prone to extreme hot and cold stretches, with injuries sometimes factoring into that variance.  Just in 2022, Gurriel had a .601 OPS over his first 154 plate appearances, then posted a .901 OPS in his next 241 PA, then slumped to a .554 OPS in his final 98 PA prior to a hamstring injury that prematurely ended his season in early September.

While that roller-coaster of a season evened out to 114 wRC+ in 493 PA, Gurriel’s sudden lack of power was a concern, as his .108 Isolated Power total was far below the .209 ISO he had previously posted during his career.  Again, injuries might have been a reason, as Gurriel dealt with a wrist problem during the season that eventually required surgery in October, and he is expected to be ready for his first Spring Training with the D’Backs.

It all adds up to a career that has been both inconsistent, yet somewhat predictably inconsistent at the same time.  The Diamondbacks have a reasonable expectation of what a healthy Gurriel can deliver as a floor, with hopes that his ceiling might reach higher in a new environment.  Gurriel could also benefit to some extent if the D’Backs use their left-handed hitting outfielders (i.e. Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, Dominic Fletcher) to provide some shield against right-handed pitching, though Gurriel’s career splits are pretty even.

2023 is the final season of Gurriel’s initial seven-year contract, and a clause in the deal makes him automatically eligible for free agency next winter even though Gurriel will be short of six years of MLB service time.  The outfielder will be 30 on Opening Day 2024, so he can still offer some prime years to an interesting team on the open market, but much will be determined by how Gurriel performs this season in Arizona.

Some Toronto fans were surprised that the Blue Jays had to include both Moreno and Gurriel to pry Varsho away from the D’Backs, yet that could reflect what relatively modest trade value Gurriel had around the league, even for a player owed only $5.4MM in 2023.  Even from the Diamondbacks’ perspective, while Gurriel’s inclusion was a factor in finally getting the trade over the finish line, the still-existing outfield surplus within the organization means that Arizona probably sees Gurriel as a one-year rental.  If the D’Backs are again out of contention by the trade deadline, Gurriel might be a prime candidate to be shipped elsewhere.

If Gurriel matches only his 2021-22 numbers, a two-year free agent deal might be his max, and a lot of teams might not be willing to go beyond one guaranteed year.  As we’ve seen this offseason, teams are willing to pay big for superstars, or pay big (either in free agent dollars or in trade return) for younger players with potential to break out.  Clubs are less willing to open their wallets for “just” solid production, thus leaving Gurriel in danger of being squeezed in the market unless he has a quality platform season.

Gurriel could point to older brother Yuli as an example of how later-career production runs in the family.  However, the younger Gurriel will likely need to stay healthy and (perhaps significantly) out-perform his past Toronto production in order to really capitalize on his upcoming trip to the open market.

Mariners Claim J.B. Bukauskas, Designate Alberto Rodriguez

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The Mariners announced that they have claimed right-hander J.B. Bukauskas off waivers from the Diamondbacks. In a corresponding move, outfielder Alberto Rodriguez has been designated for assignment. Bukauskas was designated for assignment last week when the D-Backs re-signed Zach Davies.

Bukauskas, 26, was a first round draft pick of the Astros in 2017 and he landed on top prospect lists shortly thereafter. However, many evaluators predicted his inability to consistently throw strikes would lead to a bullpen move down the line. Those predictions proved to be fairly astute as Bukauskas moved up the minor league ladder and struggled with walks. In 85 2/3 innings for Houston’s Double-A affiliate in 2019, he walked 14.2% of batters faced and posted a 5.25 ERA.

The Diamondbacks acquired Bukauskas alongside three other players when they traded Zack Greinke to Houston and have since had him spend most of his time as a reliever. His control has certainly improved in that time but injuries have limited him to a small workload. In 2021, he only pitched 30 innings between the majors and the minors due to a strain in his throwing elbow. Last year, a Grade 2 strain in the teres major muscle in his shoulder put him on the injured list from the start of the year until July. The D-Backs kept him on the farm once he was healthy, but he fared well there. He posted a 2.42 ERA in 22 1/3 innings while striking out 25.3% of batters faced and walking just 4.6% of them. Most of that work came in the Pacific Coast League as well, which has a reputation for being quite hitter-friendly.

The M’s have decided to take a shot on Bukauskas to see if they can be the ones to benefit from a breakout. The righty still has an option year remaining, allowing them to keep him in the minors until he’s needed with the big league club. He also has just over a year of service time and can be kept around for the foreseeable future as long as he holds a spot on the 40-man.

In order to take a chance on Bukauskas, the M’s are risking losing the 22-year-old Rodriguez. An amateur signing of the Blue Jays, he was traded to the Mariners as part of the 2020 deal that sent Taijuan Walker to the Jays. In 2021, he hit .289/.379/.470 between Single-A and High-A, a strong enough showing to get him added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft. Last year, he went back to High-A and still hit fairly well. His .261/.336/.396 showing was good enough for a 106 wRC+, or 6% above league average. However, he struck out in 26.2% of his plate appearances and only stole six bases after going well into double digits in previous seasons.

The Mariners will now have a week to trade Rodriguez or pass him through waivers. Though his 2022 season wasn’t ideal, he’s still a young and talented outfielder who has a couple of option years remaining. As recently as midway through 2022, Baseball America still considered him one of the club’s top 30 prospects.

Diamondbacks, P.J. Higgins Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks are signing catcher/corner infielder P.J. Higgins to a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster Spring Training invitee.

Higgins, 29, joins the second organization of his career. He’d spent his first eight seasons with the Cubs after being drafted out of Old Dominion in the 12th round in 2015. Higgins slowly climbed the minor league ladder and reached the big leagues for the first time in 2021. He played in nine games before suffering a torn UCL in his throwing elbow that required Tommy John surgery and ended his season.

Chicago ran him through outright waivers after the season but quickly brought him back on a minor league contract. Higgins made the MLB roster in May and tallied 229 plate appearances over 74 games last year. He hit .229/.310/.383, connecting on six home runs while walking at a quality 9.6% clip. He struck out in a little more than a quarter of his trips but generally posted solid offensive numbers for a catcher.

Higgins didn’t perform as well behind the dish, however. He split his defensive time roughly evenly between catcher and first base. In 236 innings as a backstop, he was behind the plate for 13 wild pitches and three passed balls. He had below-average arm strength and cut down only three of 19 attempted basestealers (a 15.8% success rate). Paired with below-average pitch framing marks, Higgins rated a cumulative six runs below average as a catcher, as estimated by Defensive Runs Saved. He graded out as a roughly average defender at first base and also picked up a pair of starts at the hot corner.

After the season, Chicago signed Tucker Barnhart to pair with Yan Gomes at catcher. The Cubs ran Higgins through waivers for a second time, and he again hit minor league free agency. This time, he’ll depart the organization for an opportunity to vie for reps in Arizona.

The D-Backs have three catchers on the 40-man roster. Rookie Gabriel Moreno will be the starter before long after coming over from the Blue Jays in the Daulton Varsho trade. Carson Kelly looks likely to settle into a backup role at that point, while José Herrera could head back to Triple-A Reno as a depth option.

Higgins adds some upper level depth behind them and a right-handed bat to potentially vie for some reps in the infield. He’s a .279/.365/.378 hitter over parts of seven minor league campaigns. He still has all three option years remaining, so the D-Backs would be able to shuttle him between Phoenix and Reno if he eventually grabs a 40-man roster spot.

Diamondbacks Designate J.B. Bukauskas For Assignment

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The Diamdonbacks announced they’ve designated righty J.B. Bukauskas for assignment. The move creates a 40-man roster spot for Zach Davies, who has officially signed his one-year free agent guarantee to return to the desert. According to the team, Davies’ deal also contains a mutual option for the 2024 campaign.

Bukauskas was a first-round pick of the Astros in 2017 and appeared among Baseball America’s top 100 overall prospects the following spring. The University of North Carolina product was credited by scouts with a promising three-pitch mix that included a sinker, slider and high-quality changeup. Evaluators raised questions about how consistently he’d throw strikes thanks to a high-effort delivery, though, with many projecting a future move to the bullpen.

While Bukauskas worked as a starter up through Double-A, he’s indeed moved to relief in recent years. At the 2019 trade deadline, Houston sent him to Arizona alongside Josh Rojas, Seth Beer and Corbin Martin in the Zack Greinke blockbuster. Bukauskas made two Double-A starts the rest of the year and didn’t pitch in 2020 because of the cancelation of the minor league season.

After the 2020 campaign, Arizona added him to the 40-man roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He was called up for his major league debut that April and wound up pitching 21 times out of Torey Lovullo’s bullpen. He allowed 19 runs in his first 17 1/3 innings, thanks largely to the four longballs he served up. Bukauskas struck out 14, walked seven and missed bats on a slightly above-average 12.2% of his offerings.

Unfortunately, injuries have thrown off his attempts to carve out a permanent spot in the Arizona relief corps. Bukauskas missed roughly six weeks in 2021 thanks to a strain in his throwing elbow. More notably, he began last season on the 60-day injured list after suffering a Grade 2 strain in the teres major muscle in his shoulder. That kept him out of action until mid-July, when he was reinstated and optioned to Triple-A Reno. He pitched quite well in that hitter-friendly environment, working to a 2.66 ERA with a solid 23.8% strikeout rate and an excellent 5% walk percentage over 20 1/3 relief innings.

Despite that performance, Arizona never gave him a look in a floundering MLB bullpen in 2022. He’s now been squeezed off the 40-man entirely, with the Snakes having a week to trade him or try to run him through waivers. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Bukauskas land elsewhere given his prospect pedigree and Triple-A performance last year. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so another team could keep him in Triple-A for a season if they’re willing to devote him a 40-man roster spot.

Tigers Claim Edwin Uceta

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The Tigers have claimed right-hander Edwin Uceta off waivers from the Diamondbacks, per a team announcement. Uceta was designated for assignment by Arizona as a corresponding move for the D-backs’ signing of veteran Evan Longoria.

Uceta, who turned 25 just two days ago, has spent time in the Majors in each of the past two seasons, tossing 20 1/3 innings for the Dodgers in 2021 and 17 innings for the D-backs in 2022. He’s struggled to a combined 6.27 ERA in that time, fanning 23% of his opponents against a more troublesome 11.5% walk rate. He’s generally done a decent job limiting hard contact — 88.4 mph average exit velocity, 37.4% hard-hit rate — but Uceta has struggles considerably with runners on base, as evidenced by a dismal 50% left-on-base percentage (roughly 23% lower than league average).

Indeed, when Uceta has had the benefit of pitching with the bases empty, he’s yielded an awful .189/.268/.216 to his opponents. With men on base, those numbers skyrocket to .288/.383/.591. Those glaring splits come in near-identical samples — 82 batters faced with the bases empty, 83 with men on base.

Uceta has roughly average velocity on his fastball (93.4 mph average), though he spins it at a well above-average clip. He complements that offering with a changeup and more seldom-used slider — the latter of which generated above-average spin this past season as well. He has a minor league option year remaining, and while his bottom-line results in Triple-A haven’t been particularly impressive (4.81 ERA in 78 2/3 innings), he’s fanned more than 30% of his opponents at that level. Walks have again been an issue in the upper minors, which is obviously a concern for a pitcher who’s struggled with runners on base.

That said, Uceta’s knack for avoiding hard contact, quality spin profile and ability to miss bats are all surely sources of intrigue for the Tigers. Detroit has thinned out its bullpen this winter, trading Gregory Soto to the Phillies and Joe Jimenez to the Braves while watching Andrew Chafin and Wily Peralta depart as free agents (though both Chafin and Peralta remain unsigned). That should create ample opportunity for Uceta to earn a look at some point, perhaps as early as Opening Day if he impresses during Spring Training.

Diamondbacks Considering Selling Minority Share Of Franchise

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With the Nationals and Angels possibly being sold within the coming months, the Diamondbacks could also be making a portion of their franchise available.  According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, D’Backs managing general partner Ken Kendrick is weighing the possibility of “selling a significant, but still minority share” of the team.

Kendrick is reportedly waiting until after the Angels’ sale is finalized to further explore the possibility of selling the minority stake.  This would seem to suggest that Kendrick might reach out to Angels bidders who fall short in their quest for full ownership of the Halos, as such a bidder (particularly one based in Southern California) might have interest in gaining another foothold in an MLB ownership group with a D’Backs club that is just a short flight away from the greater Los Angeles area.

Majority control of the Diamondbacks is owned by a four-person investment group that took over the club in 2004 from initial majority owner Jerry Colangelo.  Kendrick is the managing general partner of the four-person group, and acts as the public face of the group as well as MLB’s designated control person for the D’Backs franchise.  The exact breakdown of the franchise’s minority owners isn’t known, though the team told The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan in April 2020 that “around 10” minority partners.  That came after a push by Kendrick to consolidate the Diamondbacks’ number of minority partners, which led to a lawsuit filed against the organization by three of the minority owners.

This latest effort to find a new minority owner could be part of Kendrick’s same consolidation plan.  Also, given how the sale is still only a consideration and possibly contingent on what happens with the Angels, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Kendrick’s group might view selling a minority share as the first step in selling the D’Backs as a whole.  That said, buying a minority share in a team can be a path to a larger change in ownership.  Back in June, the Guardians finalized a sale of roughly 25-30% of the team to David Blitzer, and the deal reportedly contains a clause that would allow Blitzer to buy a majority stake in the Cleveland franchise in 2028.

Forbes Magazine approximated the Diamondbacks as being worth $1.38 billion in their most recent (March 2022) listings of Major League Baseball franchise values.  The most recent teams sold were the Mets ($2.4 billion) and Royals ($1 billion) in 2020, though it can be expected that the Nationals and Angels will continue to drive those numbers upwards.  There has been speculation that it will take over $2 billion to buy the Nats, while the Angels might be able to clear the Mets’ total or perhaps even get closer to $3 billion.

During the Winter Meetings, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the league hoped to have the Angels’ sale completed by Opening Day, though there hasn’t been any particular news on that front.  Nightengale writes that the Opening Day deadline doesn’t seem likely, and that interested parties are still being allowed to bid — just this past week, Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob said he was also considering bidding on the Angels.  As such, it could be some time yet before that deal is done, which gives the Diamondbacks more time to monitor the situation.

Outrights: William Woods, Ali Sanchez, Taylor Widener, Jake Reed

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William Woods, Ali Sanchez, Taylor Widener and Jake Reed have all cleared waivers and been outrighted off the 40-man roster of their respective teams, according to the MILB transaction page. All four had been designated for assignment.

The Mets had claimed Woods, 24, off waivers from the Braves in November, but needed the 40-man roster spot to announce the signing of Adam Ottavino last month. Woods pitched two scoreless innings for Atlanta last year, his only taste of big league action. He owns a fastball that has reached triple-digits, but struggled in the minor leagues last year, working to a 6.04 ERA over 25 1/3 innings at various levels. While he hasn’t found a ton of success in recent times, the Braves did see enough in him to add him to their 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, so the Mets will now get to keep hold of an intriguing young relief arm at Triple-A Syracuse.

Widener, 28, was designated for assignment after the Diamondbacks acquired Diego Castillo from the Pirates. Over the past three years in Arizona, he’s made 13 starts and 36 relief appearances. As a starter he owns a 4.28 ERA over 61 innings, while he’s worked to a 4.24 ERA over 46 2/3 innings of relief work. That has come with a 22.3% strikeout rate and an 11% walk rate. Given his solid big league numbers and two option years remaining it certainly won’t hurt Arizona to stash an arm like that at Triple-A Reno as a depth piece this season.

The Dodgers DFA’d Reed, 30, to make room on the 40-man roster for new signing J.D. Martinez. Reed is no stranger to DFA limbo, and this was the fifth time he’d been exposed to waivers in 2022 alone. Reed, a right-handed reliever, made appearances for the Dodgers, Orioles and Mets in 2022, working to a combined 7.36 ERA over 11 innings. At Triple-A, he worked to a much more encouraging 3.09 ERA over 23 1/3 relief innings. After being claimed four times in 2022, he’s passed through waivers this time and the Dodgers have now outrighted him to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The Diamondbacks claimed Sanchez, 25, off waivers from the Pirates last month, but DFA’d him a few weeks later to make room on the 40-man roster after the trade for Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Sanchez didn’t make it to the big leagues in 2022, instead appearing at Triple-A for the Tigers and Cardinals. The right-handed hitting catcher tallied 291 plate appearances over 74 games, posting a .262/.354/.389 line with six home runs. He did get a brief cup of coffee in the majors over 2020-21, appearing in seven games for the Mets and Cardinals and picking up three hits. He’s now been outrighted to Triple-A Reno where he’ll provide some catching depth in the upper minors for the Diamondbacks.

Looking At The Diamondbacks’ Rotation Options

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It’s been a rough few years for the Diamondbacks. After making the playoffs in 2017 and then posting respectable records above .500 in the two following seasons, the last three campaigns have seen their fortunes sink. They finished last in the National League West in 2020 and 2021, then surpassed the Rockies last year for a fourth place finish. During that time, the Dodgers, Giants and Padres have all had strong seasons, making the efforts of the D-Backs feel particularly hopeless. In 2021, they finished 52-110 and 55 games out in the division.

2022 was a step in the right direction, though, and there are some exciting ingredients in place. The position player mix seems to have a lot of good momentum behind it. Even after dealing Daulton Varsho to the Blue Jays, the outfield should feature a crop of exciting youngsters, headlined by Corbin Carroll but with Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy also in the mix. On the infield, Ketel Marte is capable of MVP-level production when healthy and at his best. Christian Walker is underrated at first base while shortstop Jordan Lawlar and catcher Gabriel Moreno are considered some of the best prospects in the league.

However, the pitching staff is a bit more precarious at the moment. In 2022, the position players posted a cumulative tally of 19.8 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, good enough for 15th place in the majors. But the pitchers posted a total of 7.7 fWAR, ranking them 27th. If the team is to re-emerge and start contending again, they will need to get better results from the mound. There were some potentially encouraging developments in their rotation in 2022, but still some uncertainty going forward into 2023.

It’s possible that the club will make further additions via free agency but it’s also possible that they’re done. The club’s payroll is now at $113MM, per the calculations of Roster Resource. They’ve been as high as $132MM in the past, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but they were at just $91MM last year. That means they’ve already boosted the budget by more than $20MM. For now, let’s take a look at the in-house options, starting with the four veterans.

Zac Gallen

Gallen, 27, seemed to emerge as an ace in 2019 and 2020, making 27 starts with a 2.78 ERA. He had a swoon in 2021, dealing with various injuries and his ERA jumped to 4.30, but he was back in form last year. In 2022, he made 31 starts and logged 184 innings with a 2.54 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate. He finished fifth in the voting for the National League Cy Young award and can be controlled via arbitration for three more seasons.

Merrill Kelly

Kelly, 34, parlayed a strong run in the KBO into a two-year deal with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2019 season. That deal also came with a pair of club options. Kelly pitched well enough that they triggered both options and then gave him an extension that runs through 2024 with a club option for 2025. Through four seasons with Arizona so far, he has a 3.96 ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 43% ground ball rate. He’s certainly a notch below Gallen, but he’s a solid mid-rotation option for the club.

Madison Bumgarner

After spending over a decade with the Giants, Bumgarner came to the D-Backs prior to the 2020 season on a five-year, $85MM deal. Unfortunately, his results immediately took a nosedive after the uniform switch. He had a 3.13 career ERA in his time with the Giants but has posted a 4.98 mark in his three seasons as a Snake. His walk rate is still better than average but his strikeouts have vanished. He punched out 23.9% of opponents on his previous team but it’s been just a 17.7% rate for Arizona. Now 33 years old, it’s hard to expect a sudden bounceback, though the Diamondbacks might give him a chance to try since he still has two years and $37MM left on his deal. That gives him negative trade value at this point and it would be a lot of cash to eat for a Diamondbacks team that’s never been a top spender. However, his salary goes from $23MM this year to $14MM in 2024, which could make some kind of transaction more plausible if he can find better results in 2023.

Zach Davies

Davies, 30 in February, pitched for the D-Backs in 2022. He didn’t blow anyone away but he was passable enough. He made 27 starts with a 4.09 ERA. His 17.9% strikeout rate was a few ticks below average but his 9.1% walk rate and 42.9% ground ball rate were both right around league average. He used his five-pitch mix to keep hitters from doing damage, as his hard hit rate was in the 76th percentile among qualified pitchers and his average exit velocity was in the 75th. The club agreed to a new one-year deal with him yesterday, bringing him back to hopefully provide some steady production while they evaluate their younger pitchers.

Ryne Nelson

If those four pitchers are healthy and throwing well, there will be one spot remaining for a younger pitcher. Nelson will certainly be in that mix to secure the final job. He was selected by Arizona in the second round of the 2019 draft and has been considered one of the club’s better prospects since then. He even cracked Baseball America’s top 100 list of all prospects in the league going into 2022. Last year saw him spend most of his time with the Triple-A Reno Aces, who play in the Pacific Coast League. He made 26 starts for that club with a 5.43 ERA in what is a notoriously hitter-friendly environment. His 21.6% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate were solid enough for him to get a major league debut in September. He made three starts in the big leagues with a 1.47 ERA, striking out 23.2% of batters faced while walking 8.7% of them. That’s a very small sample size but an encouraging one nonetheless. He’ll turn 25 in February and still has a full slate of options. He could certainly be sent back to Triple-A but an extended audition at the big leagues could be warranted as well.

Drey Jameson

Jameson and Nelson have a very similar trajectory to this point. Jameson was also selected in the 2019 draft, just ahead of Nelson by being selected between the first and second rounds, with the pick the club received for AJ Pollock signing with the Dodgers. Jameson began 2022 in Double-A but posted a 2.41 ERA in four starts and got quickly moved up to Triple-A. With the Aces, he posted a 6.95 ERA in 114 innings in that pitcher-hostile environment. However, his rate stats were decent, striking out 21.2% of hitters, walking 8.2% of them and getting grounders on 48.6% of balls in play. He also got called up to the big leagues in September, just like Nelson, making four starts with a 1.48 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 56.1% ground ball rate. Just like Nelson, he’ll be 25 years old this season and has a full slate of options. The two seem likely to be battling each other for the final rotation spot with one likely to be optioned, but they could also both be in the mix as soon as an injury pops up.

Tommy Henry

Just like Nelson and Jameson, Henry was also nabbed in the 2019 draft. He was selected in competitive balance round B, between the second and third rounds. He posted stronger Triple-A results than the other two last year, with a 3.74 ERA over 21 starts. However, his first taste of the big leagues didn’t go as smooth as he made nine starts with a 5.36 ERA, striking out just 17.6% of hitters while walking 10.2% of them. He’s also 25 and provides a third competitor in the battle for the last rotation job, but it’s possible he’s a bit behind Nelson and Jameson based on his weaker debut. He still has a full slate of options and could be in line for more work in the minors, ready to make the jump again when needed and ready.

Brandon Pfaadt

Pfaadt, 24, began 2022 in Double-A, making 19 starts and logging 105 1/3 innings there. His 4.53 ERA might not look special, but he posted that number despite striking out 32.2% of batters faced and walking just 4.3% of them. A .370 batting average on balls in play surely inflated that ERA to a level higher than he deserved, though 17.9% of his fly balls turning into home runs may have contributed as well. The D-Backs seemed to be willing to look past that ERA, bumping him to Triple-A in August. Pfaadt took very well to the move, despite the strong offensive environment. He tossed 61 2/3 innings over 10 starts for the Aces with a 2.63 ERA, 30.6% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. Based on that strong finish, he has surged up prospect rankings. He currently has the #83 slot at Baseball America, is #90 at MLB Pipeline, but FanGraphs is especially bullish and considers him the 25th best prospect in the league. He’s not yet on the club’s 40-man roster since he was only drafted in 2020 and isn’t Rule 5 eligible until this coming December, but he seems destined to make a big league debut well before then.

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When combined, there are some strong elements here for the D-Backs. Gallen gives them an ace and Kelly a solid piece for the middle of the rotation. Davies isn’t terribly exciting but is fine as a backend piece. Bumgarner’s contract is underwater at this point, but he could also be a solid backend guy if he puts the past three years behind him. Those four combined don’t give the club an especially strong rotation, but the four guys behind them give the overall group plenty of upside. If one or two of the young guys have a breakout in 2023, then the rotation picture starts to look much better.

The position player core in Arizona is heavily future-focused, with Carroll, Thomas, Marte, Moreno, Lawlar and others starting to develop into a strong core that could allow the club to continually improve over the coming seasons. With the rotation, the path forward could be very similar. Prospects aren’t sure things, especially when it comes to pitchers, but the Diamondbacks need to hit on young players if they’re not going to spend like the Dodgers, Padres and Giants. For now, there are signs of hope in the desert and the upcoming season will be a fascinating one to watch.

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