The Diamondbacks have added former pitcher Rolando Valles to their major league coaching staff, per Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Valles takes the position vacated by former D-Backs bench coach Luis Urueta, who left the team in November to join the Marlins in the same role. When discussing the hiring, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters that Valles will be part of Arizona’s “run-prevention team.”
Diamondbacks Rumors
GMs Ross Atkins, Mike Hazen Share Details On Blue Jays/Diamondbacks Trade
After months of speculation and interest from multiple teams, the Diamondbacks finally traded one of their left-handed hitting outfielders and the Blue Jays finally moved one of their catchers. The two clubs joined forces on Friday’s three-player deal that saw outfielder Daulton Varsho head to Toronto in exchange for catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., in a trade that checks several boxes for both organizations.
Given how the D’Backs and Jays’ needs dovetailed so neatly, it isn’t a surprise that Toronto GM Ross Atkins said it was “from the very beginning of the off-season that dialogue began” between the two sides.
“It absolutely was a great fit with their surplus of outfielders, specifically left-handed hitting centre fielders and us having a surplus of catching and their need,” Atkins told reporters, including TSN’s Scott Mitchell. “Right from the start, we felt that was going to be a very important team and fit.”
The Blue Jays entered the winter with Moreno, Alejandro Kirk, and Danny Jansen all lined up as options behind the plate, with Moreno (one of the game’s best prospects) looking ready for an extended audition after making his MLB debut with 25 games played in 2022. While Varsho has only 283 MLB games on his resume, he was actually the most experienced of Arizona’s outfield core — Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas both made their big league debuts in 2022, and Jake McCarthy has appeared in 123 games for the Diamondbacks over the last two seasons.
Varsho’s longer track record seemingly made him the most sought-after player by interested teams, especially since the D’Backs made Carroll (another elite prospect) all but untouchable in trade negotiations. With the Diamondbacks intent on adding “impact in this trade,” according to Arizona general manager Mike Hazen, that need couldn’t be met just by shopping Thomas or McCarthy.
“I think there was more certainty — and clearly, we have it, too — with Daulton’s performance to this point in his career, and probably rightly so, that teams were willing to pay more for that. I don’t know that we were ever going to cross that divide otherwise,” Hazen told the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro and other reporters.
Such teams as the Yankees, Reds, White Sox, Athletics, Astros, Brewers, and Marlins were also linked to the Diamondbacks’ outfielders on the rumor mill, as both contenders and rebuilding teams alike had interest in Arizona’s mix of controllable young players. Likewise, Toronto got lots of calls about its catchers, but reports suggested that the Blue Jays first wanted to wait and see where some other catchers on the free agent and trade market landed. Once the Braves acquired Sean Murphy from Oakland and once Willson Contreras (Cardinals) and Christian Vazquez (Twins) signed, the road was then a little more clear for the D’Backs and Jays to align on a trade.
Even then, Atkins said that finding a match was tricky since “all three catchers were of some interest to them and all of their outfielders were of some interest to us. The component that made it challenging is that we were both trying to consolidate more talent on our Major League roster. They are looking to take steps forward obviously and push the envelope on the winning front and that’s why Lourdes Gurriel came into the picture and made this deal work.”
Gurriel’s inclusion gives the D’Backs a veteran but not old (Gurriel is entering his age-29) outfield presence to join with Carroll, McCarthy, Thomas, and former AL Rookie Of The Year Kyle Lewis, who was acquired in another trade with the Mariners earlier this winter. “I’m hoping the contact, the on-base, the ability to hit, the two-strike approach, is going to lend itself to making our lineup even tougher to face with the way some of those kids are going to be running around the bases the way they did last year,” Hazen said. “I feel like a lot of that dynamic offense has a chance to be enhanced.”
The trade with the Jays and Mariners represent Arizona’s biggest moves of the winter, as the D’Backs have otherwise mostly focused on their bullpen with relatively lower-tier moves like the signings of Miguel Castro and Scott McGough. Friday also saw the D’Backs complete another trade, bringing Diego Castillo from the Pirates to add more infield depth to the mix.
With Arizona still trying to finds its footing after three straight losing seasons, the Blue Jays are in a different position as a club intending to compete for a World Series in 2023. After a disappointing collapse against Seattle in the Wild Card Series, the Jays have been aggressive in signing right-hander Chris Bassitt to a three-year, $63MM deal, signing Kevin Kiermaier to a one-year contract, and trading Teoscar Hernandez to the Mariners for Erik Swanson and prospect Adam Macko.
Now that the Jays finally pulled the trigger on a catcher trade, Atkins said “I think our heavy lifting is done” for the rest of the offseason, though the front office is “certainly not ruling anything out and would expect some incremental improvements.” Varsho and Kiermaier are both left-handed hitters, and thus the Blue Jays will “look to improve our team from the subtraction of Gurriel, but in our view it doesn’t need to be right-handed or left-handed, it’s more about the impact and the fit beyond that.”
Diamondbacks, Phillip Evans Agree To Minor League Deal
The Diamondbacks are in agreement with utility-man Phillip Evans on a minor league deal, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal comes with an invite to big league spring training.
Evans, 30, didn’t make it to the big leagues last season, playing out the entire year at the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. He slashed .244/.310/.366 with nine home runs and 17 doubles in 400 plate appearances. Defensively, he spent the bulk of his time at third-base and right-field, but also logged some innings at first, second and in left.
Originally drafted by the Mets in the 15th round of the 2011 draft, Evans slowly worked his way up through their minor league system, earning a big league debut in 2017. Over the next two seasons Evans would see brief time in the majors, slashing .241/.328/.278 without a home run in 61 plate appearances before the Mets released him at the end of the 2018 season.
He latched on with the Cubs the following year, but wouldn’t see the big leagues again until the Pirates called him up in 2020. A .359/.444/.487 line in 45 plate appearances that season for the rebuilding Bucs was enough to earn him a bit more playing time in 2021. Across 247 plate appearances, Evans would hit .206/.312/.299 with five home runs before Pittsburgh released him at the end of the year.
Evans could compete for a spot as a utility player on the Diamondbacks’ bench in the spring, or start the year at Triple-A and provide depth in the event of any injuries.
Blue Jays Acquire Daulton Varsho From D-Backs For Gabriel Moreno, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
The Blue Jays announced that they have acquired outfielder Daulton Varsho from the Diamondbacks. Going the other way will be catching prospect Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr..
For the Blue Jays, they’ve long been looking to add a left-handed complement to their right-handed heavy lineup. They’ve also been rumored all offseason to be willing to deal from their catching surplus in order to address other areas of their roster. With Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk and Moreno all jockeying for playing time, it seemed like they would use one of them to line up a deal with a catching-needy team. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, have drawn much trade interest this offseason on their multiple outfielders. Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy and Varsho are all left-handed and have various attributes, but it made for a logjam that many expected to be cleared via trade. Given those factors, the two teams have been frequently made for speculative trade partners, which has come to fruition with this deal.
Varsho, 26, was a top 100 prospect in the minors and debuted for the Diamondbacks in 2020. Though he was primarily a catcher, his natural athleticism has pushed him into more of an outfield role recently. It was reported towards the end of the 2022 campaign that the Diamondbacks were so impressed by his outfield work that they were planning to keep him there going forward. That was a fairly sensible conclusion to draw given his excellent defensive grades on the grass. He was given a +19 from Defensive Runs Saved in the outfield this year, along with an 18.8 from Ultimate Zone Rating and 17 Outs Above Average. All three of those figures were tops among all MLB outfielders this year, with the DRS tally tied with Michael A. Taylor. Varsho has seen time at all three outfield positions in his time in the big leagues thus far, giving the Jays plenty of flexibility in how he fits into their alignments.
The Blue Jays have largely been focused on run prevention this offseason, adding Chris Bassitt to their rotation, Erik Swanson to their bullpen and defensive specialist Kevin Kiermaier to their outfield. Now with Varsho, they’ve continued down that run prevention path by adding the best defensive outfielder of 2022. Varsho isn’t merely limited to being a glove-only contributor, however. He hit 27 home runs this year and stole 16 bases. He finished the season with a .235/.302/.443 batting line, good enough for a wRC+ of 106, indicating he was 6% above league average. Those contributions put together amounted to 4.6 wins above replacement for the year, per the calculations of FanGraphs.
This move, and their other moves this offseason, have resulted in righties Gurriel and Teoscar Hernández being swapped out for lefties Kiermaier and Varsho. Gurriel and Hernandez are more productive at the plate but both are generally regarded as subpar defenders, while Kiermaier and Varsho are generally the inverse, though Varsho took a big step forward at the plate this year. Varsho and Kiermaier should slot into an outfield mix that also includes George Springer and Whit Merrifield. While last year’s alignment saw Springer as the top defensive option, flanked by two bat-first teammates, he now seems like the third best defender in Toronto’s outfield mix.
For the Diamondbacks, they are acquiring one of the top prospects in the sport, regardless of position, but certainly one of the top catching prospects. Moreno, 23 in February, is considered the No. 3 prospect in the game by both Baseball America and FanGraphs. He made his MLB debut in 2022 and carried himself well in over his first 73 plate appearances, hitting .319/.356/.377 for a wRC+ of 113. Spending most of the year in Triple-A, he hit .315/.386/.420 for a wRC+ of 120. Though the power part of his game could be lacking, all reports point to him being an excellent defender who has keen bat-to-ball skills. That’s borne out by his 16.9% strikeout rate in Triple-A this year and 11% rate in his MLB debut.
The club has used Carson Kelly, 28, as its primary catcher over the past four seasons, who has proved inconsistent in that time. His 2019 and 2021 seasons were both above average at the plate, as he hit double-digit home runs and walk rates, leading to a wRC+ of 107 in the former and 103 in the latter. However, his 2020 and 2022 seasons were on the low side, with the walks and the power both dipping. He posted a wRC+ of 70 in 2020 and just 73 in 2022. Defensively, he’s generally considered around average, with DRS have graded him at exactly zero thus far in his career.
Kelly still has two years of arbitration control remaining and likely has the catching job for now, given Moreno’s youth and limited experience. Moreno will also require some time to get to know Arizona’s pitching staff. But as Moreno continues to develop, it’s possible that Kelly will get squeezed out in time and become a trade chip himself before he reaches the open market.
As they subtract from their multitude of left-handed hitting outfielders, the Diamondbacks are bringing in a right-hander for more balance in Gurriel. The 29-year-old has spent the past five seasons with the Jays and has a career batting line of .285/.329/.468 and a wRC+ of 115. He doesn’t come with a noticeable platoon split, as he has an even 115 wRC+ against both righties and lefties. That makes him perfectly capable of playing every day for the Snakes. He is in his final year of control before becoming a free agent, which doesn’t make him a long-term solution in the desert, but he should give the club some time to continue to evaluate young players like Carroll and Thomas. If those younger players take steps forward and command everyday jobs and/or the Diamondbacks aren’t in contention in the middle of 2023, Gurriel would make for an intriguing trade candidate.
Defensively, Gurriel broke in as an infielder but was moved to left field in 2019 and has largely been there since, apart from the occasional turn at first base. Reviews on his glovework are mixed, as he has a +4 in the outfield from DRS, but a -4.7 from UZR and a -16 OAA. That limits his contributions somewhat but his bat has been above average in each of his five seasons thus far.
Financially, the Jays will be saving a bit of money on this deal as Gurriel will be making $5.4MM in 2023, his final year before free agency. Varsho, meanwhile, has four years of control remaining but has qualified for arbitration this winter as a Super Two player. He just squeaked in on that one, as his two years and 128 days of service time are an exact match for this year’s cutoff. He’s projected for a salary of $2.8MM by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz and will get three further arb raises through 2026. Moreno, meanwhile, has yet to reach arbitration with just a couple of months of time in the big leagues thus far, giving the Diamondbacks six further years of control over his services.
The slight financial difference won’t matter much to the Diamondbacks but could have ramifications for the Jays. Roster Resource currently pegs the club’s competitive balance tax figure as just a hair over the lowest luxury tax threshold of $233MM. Those numbers are unofficial and will surely change with future moves throughout the offseason and during the actual season. The arbitration salaries are also just estimates and will have an impact on the tally once they are cemented. But if the Jays continue to hover right around the luxury tax line, the small savings could determine which side of that line they finish on.
In the end, both clubs addressed their needs by dealing from positions of strength. The Jays acquired an all-around player in Varsho who can help them this year and in the future. In order to do so, they’ve subtracted from their prospect capital and catching surplus, as well as dealing an impending free agent in Gurriel. For the Diamondbacks, they’ve sent out a solid contributor but should still have a great outfield without him, and they’ve also loaded their farm for future success. They now have four of the top 20 prospects in baseball, with Moreno at #3 at Baseball America, followed by Carroll at #5, shortstop Jordan Lawlar at #11 and outfielder Druw Jones at #19.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Jays were close to landing Varsho. Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported a deal was in place that involved Varsho and Moreno. Bob Nightengale of USA Today first had the involvement of Gurriel.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Diamondbacks Outright Tyler Gilbert
- Diamondbacks left-hander Tyler Gilbert went through outright waivers after being designated for assignment last week, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. A longtime minor leaguer, Gilbert reached the bigs late in the 2021 campaign. He made three relief appearances before being tabbed for his first start in mid-August. Gilbert went on to no-hit the Padres in that outing, an out-of-nowhere performance that etched his name in the history books. The former sixth-round draftee didn’t find much consistency thereafter, however. He’s allowed a 4.96 ERA across 61 2/3 MLB frames since that no-hitter and lost the final few months of the 2022 season to an elbow sprain. Gilbert has never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse the assignment, so he’ll stick in the system at Triple-A Reno.
Diamondbacks Designate Ali Sanchez For Assignment
The Diamondbacks have designated catcher Ali Sánchez for assignment. The move creates the necessary 40-man roster spot to facilitate today’s major trade sending Daulton Varsho to Toronto for Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Arizona just nabbed Sánchez off waivers from the Pirates a few weeks back. The backstop has moved around the league via waivers fairly frequently in recent months. Dating back to June, he’s gone from the Cardinals to the Tigers, Pirates and Diamondbacks in quick succession. Sánchez didn’t appear at the MLB level with any of the latter three teams, and his time in the Arizona organization could come to a close after less than a month.
Sánchez, 26 next month, is a glove-first catcher. He drew some attention from prospect evaluators while with his original organization, the Mets, as a potential backup on the strength of his glove. He’s yet to carve out a lasting MLB role, though, picking up just seven big league appearances dating back to 2020.
The Venezuela native spent the entire 2022 campaign at Triple-A. He hit .262/.354/.389 through 291 cumulative plate appearances. He’s never shown much power but drew plenty more walks this year than he had in prior seasons. That came with an accompanying uptick in strikeouts but resulted in roughly league average offensive numbers at the top minor league level.
Arizona will have a week to trade Sánchez or waive him. No team has yet managed to run through waivers unclaimed, as he’s landed spots at the back of a few 40-man rosters.
Diamondbacks Acquire Diego Castillo, Designate Taylor Widener
The Diamondbacks announced that they have acquired infielder Diego Castillo from the Pirates. Castillo had been designated for assignment by Pittsburgh earlier in the week. In exchange, the Pirates will receive minor league right-hander Scott Randall. The Diamondbacks designated right-hander Taylor Widener for assignment in a corresponding move.
Castillo, 25, was one of two players traded from the Yankees to the Pirates as part of the July 2021 trade that sent Clay Holmes to the Bronx. He was a contact-over-power guy for the beginnings of his professional career, striking out around 10% of the time in the lower levels of the minors but rarely putting the ball over the fence. 2021 seemed to be a breakout for him, as he hit 19 home runs between the systems of the Yankees and Pirates, finishing the year with a combined slash line of .278/.355/.487 and a wRC+ of 128.
He was selected to Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster in November of last year but couldn’t carry his positive developments forward. He got into 96 games at the big league level in 2022 and hit 11 home runs, but he also struck out in 26.5% of his plate appearances while walking just 4.9% of the time. He finished the season with a batting line of .206/.251/.382, production that was 27% below average, as evidenced by his 73 wRC+. He also got into 35 Triple-A games but the results were only marginally better.
Despite that disappointing season, the D-Backs are likely intrigued by his previous performance and defensive versatility. He’s played all four infield positions and a bit of right field, in addition to having a couple of option years remaining. The Arizona infield should have three spots taken by Christian Walker at first, Ketel Marte at second and Josh Rojas at third. Shortstop is a bit less certain, however, with Nick Ahmed the likely frontrunner at the moment. He’s never been an above-average bat but has long provided excellent defense. However, he’s been frequently injured, is turning 33 in March and is entering the last deal of his extension. Geraldo Perdomo is also on the roster but Castillo can give him some competition for playing time.
Randall, 24, was just drafted by the D-Backs last year and spent 2022 in High-A. He threw 108 1/3 innings over 21 starts with a 3.82 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 37.3% ground ball rate. He’ll add some starting depth to the lower levels of the Pittsburgh system.
Widener, 28, was drafted by the Yankees but came to the Snakes in the three-team trade that sent Brandon Drury to the Bronx. He posted an ERA of 8.10 in 23 Triple-A starts in 2019 and has spent more time in relief since then. In 49 MLB appearances, 13 starts, over the past three major league seasons, he has a 4.26 ERA, 22.3% strikeout rate, 11% walk rate and 34.1% ground ball rate.
In 2022, he spent more time in Triple-A, throwing 36 2/3 innings for the Reno Aces. He posted an ERA of 5.40 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, along with a 29.6% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. The Diamondbacks will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Should any team acquire him, he can provide versatile depth due to his two remaining option years.
Justice delos Santos of MLB.com announced Arizona’s acquisition of Castillo prior to the official announcement.
Diamondbacks Showing Interest In Brandon Drury
9:27pm: The D-Backs have checked in on Drury, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. He’s obviously a familiar target for the organization after spending three seasons there, and he aligns with the team’s search for a righty-hitting infielder.
Arizona GM Mike Hazen has noted a few times this offseason the team was hoping to bring in a right-handed bat. They were linked to Justin Turner before he landed with the Red Sox and have been connected to Evan Longoria, who remains available. Arizona presently looks likely to turn to the lefty-swinging Josh Rojas at third base, though he’s capable of bouncing around the diamond in a bat-first utility role. Emmanuel Rivera, acquired from the Royals midseason, is the top right-handed hitting third base option on the roster. He hit reasonably well in 38 games with Arizona but owns a .238/.298/.393 mark in 457 career plate appearances overall.
1:21pm: Utility player Brandon Drury is one of the most interesting free agents left still unsigned and his market is “very active,” reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.
As Passan notes, many of the bat-first players have been coming off the board recently, with Justin Turner, Michael Brantley and J.D. Martinez all agreeing to terms in the past few days. For teams still looking for an extra bat in their lineup, some of the best names still left out there include Drury, Michael Conforto, Jurickson Profar and Matt Carpenter. No specific teams are connected to Drury, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a deal come together soon on the heels of those other agreements.
The widespread interest for Drury, 30, is understandable given his defensive versatility. In his career, he’s played all four infield positions as well as the outfield corners, making it easy to imagine him on various rosters. His shortstop experience is limited, with most of his work coming at second and third base, but he’s also logged more than 300 innings at first base and each of the outfield corners. He’s not really graded as an expert defender anywhere, but that ability to play passable defense at multiple positions means just about any team could find a way to fit him into their plans one way or another.
Once he’s slotted in somewhere, he should be able to provide an impact bat that would upgrade any lineup, at least based on his 2022 performance. Drury launched 28 home runs this year en route to producing a batting line of .263/.320/.492. That production was 23% better than league average, as evidenced by his 123 wRC+. His maximum exit velocity was in the 85th percentile, his barrel rate in the 72nd and his hard hit rate in the 62nd.
Despite all those reasons for Drury to have plenty of interest, there are also things to be concerned about, which will likely lead to some variance in how teams value him going forward. Drury’s first full season in 2016 was a decent showing, as he hit .282/.329/.458 for the Diamondbacks, leading to a 102 wRC+. However, he slipped to a 92 wRC+ in 2017 and then had a miserable three-year stretch over 2018-2020 with the Yankees and Blue Jays. He dealt with various injuries in that time and hit just .205/.254/.346 for a 56 wRC+. He bounced back with a solid season for the Mets in 2021 and then was even better in 2022, though there’s concern there as well. Drury hit .274/.335/.520 with the Reds but then dipped to .238/.290/.435 after getting traded to the Padres. That latter performance was still above average with a 105 wRC+, but it was a big dip from his 131 wRC+ as a Red.
Even with those concerns, MLBTR predicted he could secure a two-year, $18MM contract. While the early offseason saw many of the top free agents soaring past their predictions, it hasn’t exactly carried down to the lower tiers. Looking at the other bats mentioned off the top, Brantley re-signed with the Astros for one year and $12MM, a bit below MLBTR’s $15MM prediction, though he can come out ahead via $4MM of incentives. Martinez was projected at two years and $30MM but settled for $10MM over a single season with the Dodgers. Turner did well for himself though, as he was predicted for a one-year, $14MM deal but secured a two-year deal with an opt-out. Sources differ on the guarantee but it seems to be in the range of $22MM.
Diamondbacks, Scott McGough Agree To Two-Year Deal
4:32pm: Robert Murray of FanSided relays the terms. It will be two years and $6.25MM with a $4MM mutual option for 2025 that comes with a $750K buyout.
4:12pm: The Diamondbacks officially announced the move, with lefty Tyler Gilbert designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
3:14pm: The Diamondbacks have agreed to a two-year contract with right-hander Scott McGough, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The former Marlins right-hander has spent the past four years pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he’s solidified himself as a quality late-inning reliever. The 33-year-old McGough, who also won a Silver Medal pitching for the United States in the Olympics, will now return to the Majors for the first time since 2015.
McGough has just 6 2/3 innings of Major League experience, during which he yielded seven runs on a dozen hits and four walks with four strikeouts. However, he’s now spent four seasons with NPB’s Yakult Swallows, logging a combined 2.94 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate against a 7.6% walk rate. The 2022 season was his finest in Japan, as McGough notched personal bests in ERA (2.35), saves (38) and walk rate (6%). He’s also upped his strikeout rate over the past two seasons in NPB, jumping from 21% in 2019 to 26% in 2020 before peaking at a combined 28.5% from 2021-22 — his first two seasons as a full-time closer.
It’s not the first time the D-backs have tapped into the NPB and KBO markets to find relatively inexpensive pitching help. Arizona got two strong years out of righty Yoshihisa Hirano, who’d been the closer for NPB’s Orix Buffaloes, back in 2018-19. Even more impactfully, the Snakes been leaning on right-hander Merrill Kelly as a fixture in their rotation for the past four seasons after signing him on the heels of a strong run with the Korea Baseball Organization’s SK Wyverns (now known as the SSG Landers).
McGough, a 2011 fifth-rounder of the Dodgers who was traded to Miami in the 2012 Hanley Ramirez swap, averaged 94 mph with his heater in 2022 and upped the usage of his splitter to a 30.3% clip as well, tweets Sung Min Kim (previously of FanGraphs and The Athletic). The D-backs view McGough as a possible late-inning option in the ’pen, Piecoro writes. He’ll join holdovers Mark Melancon, Joe Mantiply, Kevin Ginkel and fellow offseason signee Miguel Castro in manager Torey Lovullo’s bullpen.
Diamondbacks Designate Tyler Gilbert For Assignment
The Diamondbacks have officially announced their signing of right-hander Scott McGough, with left-hander Tyler Gilbert designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Gilbert, 29 next week, was first selected to the big leagues in August of 2021. Incredibly, he threw a no-hitter in his first ever major league start, becoming the fourth player in MLB history to do so. He finished that season with 40 innings pitched over six starts and three relief appearances, posting a 3.15 ERA, despite a meager 15.9% strikeout rate.
He took a step back in 2022, tossing 34 1/3 innings with a 5.24 ERA and an even lower strikeout rate of 13.7%. He was frequently optioned to the minors, tossing 44 innings in Triple-A with a 7.57 ERA. He was placed on the injured list in late July due to an elbow sprain and never returned.
The Diamondbacks will now have a week to trade Gilbert or pass him through waivers. He still has two option years remaining and less than a year of service time, which perhaps could give him some appeal for a team looking to add depth that they can stash in the minors.
