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Luis Arraez To Be Placed On Concussion IL

By Mark Polishuk | April 21, 2025 at 3:04pm CDT

April 21: Arraez is in concussion protocol and will go on the 7-day concussion IL, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Infielder Mason McCoy will be recalled as the corresponding move, per Acee.

April 20, 10:11PM: In what appears to be great news, Arraez returned to the Padres clubhouse postgame and was happily chatting with teammates, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.  Arraez will stay in Houston overnight for observation, but could rejoin the team in Detroit as early as tomorrow.

7:23PM: During an in-game interview with ESPN’s Buster Olney, Padres manager Mike Shildt said initial concerns were about Arraez’s neck and jaw.  For the latter, Shildt said Arraez “has a little bit of a cut on the jaw, [we’re] worried about the jaw, stability of that.”  (Hat tip to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome)

6:53PM: Padres designated hitter Luis Arraez suffered an apparent head or neck injury after a big collision with Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubon in tonight’s game.  Arraez was thrown out at first base while trying to bunt for a base hit, and ran headfirst into Dubon’s shoulder while the second baseman was covering the bag.  Arraez was down on the field and almost motionless for several minutes, and had to be carted off once his head and neck area was stabilized by a brace.  He was conscious, and gave a thumbs up while being removed from the field.

The Padres provided an update on their X account, saying that Arraez was “currently stable, conscious, responsive, and able to move his extremities.”  The infielder is receiving further examination and treatment at a Houston hospital.

We’ll undoubtedly get more updates over the course of the evening, but at the very least, it seems like Arraez is heading to the injured list (either the normal 10-day IL or the seven-day IL for concussion-related issues).  Given how scary the incident looked, one can only hope that Arraez avoided any kind of serious injury to his neck or head that would impact his day-to-day-life, to say nothing of his baseball career.

Arraez entered tonight’s action hitting a solid .287/.330/.425 over his first 95 plate appearances of the 2025 season, again acting as San Diego’s everyday first baseman.  The extreme contact hitter has been baseball’s toughest batter to strike out essentially since he made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2019, though Arraez’s contact rarely translates into any sort of power.  The old-school approach has undoubtedly been productive, as Arraez is the only player in the history of the sport to win three straight batting titles with three different teams — he won the AL batting crown with the Twins in 2022, with the Marlins in 2023, and then mostly with the Padres in 2024 after Miami dealt him to San Diego 33 games into last season.

This throwback nature has made Arraez a fan favorite, and his contributions both on the field and within the Padres’ clubhouse were viewed as a catalyst for San Diego’s success in 2024.  Since Arraez will surely have to miss some time in the wake of tonight’s collision, he’ll represent yet another key Padres player on the injured list.  The Friars are already trying to get by without Yu Darvish, Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth, and others, yet San Diego still took a league-best 15-6 record into tonight’s game in Houston.

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Houston Astros San Diego Padres Luis Arraez Mason McCoy

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Marlins Recall Agustin Ramirez For MLB Debut

By Mark Polishuk | April 21, 2025 at 12:00pm CDT

April 21: Ramirez’s promotion to the majors is official, per a team announcement. Miami officially recalled Ramirez and righty George Soriano from Triple-A Jacksonville. Lefty Cade Gibson was optioned to Triple-A to open one spot, while Brantly was placed on the 10-day IL due to a right lat strain in order to open the other.

April 20: The Marlins are calling up catching prospect Agustin Ramirez prior to tomorrow’s game against the Reds, SportsGrid’s Craig Mish reports.  Ramirez will be making his Major League debut whenever the 23-year-old backstop appears in a game.

The corresponding moves aren’t yet known, though Ramirez is already on Miami’s 40-man roster.  The likeliest 26-man roster move probably relates to catcher Rob Brantly, who made an early exit from today’s 7-5 win over the Phillies due to right shoulder discomfort.  As per the Fish On First blog, the Marlins were already planning to call Ramirez up prior to today’s game and Brantly’s injury, so it’s a rough outcome for Brantly if he got hurt and lost his roster spot in the same day (though if he was on the cusp of a DFA anyhow, he’ll at least continue to accrue MLB service time and pay a bit longer this way).

Baseball Prospectus ranked Ramirez as the 55th-best prospect in baseball prior to the 2025 season, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel also had Ramirez 96th on his top-100 list.  In their ranking of Marlins prospects only, Baseball America slots Ramirez third and MLB Pipeline has him fourth.  The pundits agree that Ramirez has a lot of hitting potential, with plus power and good contact numbers, plus a good batting eye.  While not a quick baserunner, Ramirez is a canny baserunner who has stolen 53 bases (out of 63 attempts) during his minor league career — “in particular, he loves to steal third base by timing up pitchers’ looks,” as per BA’s scouting report.

It remains to be seen if Ramirez will stick behind the plate, as he is considered below average in pretty much every defensive category.  Ramirez does has a strong throwing arm, but evaluators note that he can’t take full advantage due to a lack of accuracy, plus he isn’t quick in getting the ball out of his glove.  If former first-rounder Joe Mack is the Marlins’ true catcher of the future, Ramirez’s eventual home might be first base, so that will put more pressure on Ramirez to produce at the bat-first position.

The Marlins have used Ramirez just as a catcher (and DH) during his two years in their organization.  Ramirez was an international signing for the Yankees during the 2018 int’l window, and was dealt to Miami last July as part of the three-player return the Marlins received for Jazz Chisholm Jr. Over 86 games and 362 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Ramirez has hit .248/.340/.430, with 12 home runs, 19 doubles, and 14 steals in 15 attempts.

Since starting catcher Nick Fortes is also on the 10-day IL recovering from an oblique injury, the Marlins’ decision to promote Ramirez may have been at least partially forced by a lack of depth behind the plate, which has now become pronounced if Brantly is out.  Ramirez and Rule 5 Draft pick Liam Hicks now comprise Miami’s catching corps, and if Ramirez hits well, the rebuilding Marlins will likely let him stick around on the big league roster in order to get more experience in the Show.

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Miami Marlins Transactions Agustin Ramirez

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Kris Bryant Discusses “Extremely Frustrating” Back Injuries

By Mark Polishuk | April 20, 2025 at 11:18pm CDT

Kris Bryant’s star-crossed Rockies tenure added another chapter earlier this week when the former NL MVP was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier this week due to lumbar degenerative disc disease.  Recurring back issues are just one variety of the of several injuries that have limited Bryant to 170 games over his three-plus seasons with Colorado, yet it appears to be the most persistent obstacle keeping Bryant from getting onto the field for any sustained length of time.

Bryant shared some details about his situation with reporters (including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding) on Sunday, including some of the side effects of his current back problem.  After undergoing an exercise program yesterday, Bryant said “I woke up not feeling great,” and described himself as being “in constant pain and nauseous, where I can’t eat, which was the situation today.”  The nature of the back injury can come and go, as Bryant described a game situation where he was feeling fine for most of the contest, but by his final at-bat could barely swing.

The “extremely frustrating” degenerative disc disease has left Bryant at least thinking about a surgery, though “the doctors aren’t there yet” in recommending it.  Such a procedure would almost surely end Bryant’s 2025 season and put him onto another lengthy cycle of rehabilitation and workouts with an eye towards Opening Day 2026, maybe as a best-case scenario.

For now, Bryant isn’t sure when he’ll feel well enough that a return to the field is feasible.  He received two anti-inflammatory shots on Tuesday, though the injections apparently only provided limited help given his nausea today.  In the bigger picture, Bryant also said he isn’t considering retirement, stating plainly that “I want to play.  I want to talk to doctors, see if there’s anything else we can do.  But, yeah, I want to not give up.”

Bryant’s seven-year, $182MM contract with the Rockies can’t be considered anything but a bust, as Bryant has hit only .244/.324/.370 over 712 plate appearances during the life of the deal, and the Rox have a disastrous 192-315 record since Opening Day 2022.  Beyond all the talk of salaries and second-guessing front office decisions, one can’t help but feel sympathy for Bryant as he is struggling through what is clearly a painful situation that is impacting the quality of his life.

Until a health breakthrough emerges or perhaps until Bryant decides to get surgery, all he and the Rockies can do is play the waiting game.  Colorado’s dismal 4-17 start has almost surely sunk whatever chance the team had at a competitive season, and the Rox have increasingly turned to a number of younger players making their MLB debuts as a possible glimpse into the future.

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Colorado Rockies Kris Bryant

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AL Central Notes: Carpenter, Erceg, Meidroth

By Mark Polishuk | April 20, 2025 at 10:18pm CDT

With four outfielders already on the injured list, the Tigers might’ve lost another key contributor when Kerry Carpenter left today’s 4-3 loss to the Royals with what manager A.J. Hinch described as right hamstring soreness.  As Hinch told the Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and other reporters, Carpenter suffered the injury while running out an infield single in the seventh inning.  Nothing appeared to be amiss until Carpenter was replaced in left field in the top of the ninth inning.

More will be known about Carpenter’s status tomorrow, but if he has to miss time, he’ll join Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling, Wenceel Perez, and Manuel Margot (who was signed in late March to help address the outfield depth issue) on the increasingly crowded Detroit injured list.  Carpenter likely would’ve been a part-time outfielder and part-time DH in the world where everyone was healthy, but he has played only twice at the DH position this season.  Beyond the outfield crunch, Carpenter’s absence would also remove a big bat from the Tigers’ lineup, as the slugger is hitting .315/.338/.562 with five homers in his first 77 plate appearances of 2025.

More from around the AL Central…

  • Returning to that same Royals/Tigers game, Carlos Estevez tossed two innings of relief work, as setup man Lucas Erceg is still recovering from a contusion on his left foot.  Erceg left Friday’s game in obvious discomfort after being hit in the foot by a Riley Greene comebacker, though the good news is that tests came back negative for any structural damage.  Erceg told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters on Friday that he was day-to-day and didn’t think he would require an IL trip.  The hope is that with now two days of rest and an off-day on Monday, Erceg might ready to pitch for Tuesday’s game with the Rockies.  The Estevez/Erceg combination has been a shutdown late-inning duo for K.C. thus far, with Erceg contributing a 1.23 ERA over nine appearances and 7 1/3 innings.
  • Chase Meidroth was a late scratch from today’s White Sox lineup, though he did play the last two innings of the 8-4 win over the Red Sox as a defensive sub at shortstop. Pale Hose manager Will Venable told reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin) that Meidroth is dealing with right thumb inflammation, and was limited to fielding only due to the thumb discomfort.  The rookie will receive some imaging on his thumb before a decision is made about a possible IL stint.  Meidroth is a well-regarded infield prospect who has hit .269/.387/.269 in his first 31 PA and nine games of his big league career, and it would be a tough break to see him sidelined so soon after appearing in the Show.
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Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Notes Chase Meidroth Kerry Carpenter Lucas Erceg

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Dodgers Notes: Treinen, Snell, Glasnow

By Mark Polishuk | April 20, 2025 at 8:52pm CDT

Veteran reliever Blake Treinen was placed on the 15-day injured list yesterday due to tightness in his right forearm, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shed more light on Treinen’s situation when speaking with the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett and other reporters today.  Specifically, Treinen has a “low-grade sprain of the forearm,” as Roberts described it, as some forearm discomfort throughout the week resurfaced Friday when Treinen was warming up to enter the game.

“He was one hitter away as he was warming up to go into the game,” Roberts said.  “Obviously, if he were to pitch, it could have been potentially worse.  So I would say we’re in the dodged-a-bullet category.”

An MRI revealed the sprain yesterday, and Treinen will get more testing done before a recovery timeline is established.  Roberts’ view of the injury seemed relatively positive, though even if Treinen has avoided a more long-term problem, it stands to reason that he’ll miss more than just 15 days just out of natural precaution when dealing with forearm-related injuries.

Treinen’s first four seasons in Los Angeles yielded excellent (if often injury-plagued) results, leading to a two-year, $22MM deal to rejoin the club this past offseason.  Treinen was off to a solid start in 2025, if a bit of a step back only in comparison to his past standards since coming to the Dodgers prior to the 2020 season.  Over eight innings and eight appearances this year, Treinen has a 3.38 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, and 8.3% walk rate.

Turning to another Blake on the Dodgers’ injured list, Saturday marked Blake Snell’s first bullpen session since he was placed on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation.  Snell told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya that he will need at least one more bullpen and simulated game before exploring a rehab assignment, but as for the first step, Snell left his initial bullpen session feeling “way better.”

Snell hasn’t pitched since April 2, and it would seem like his IL stint will last over a month, given the number of steps remaining in the recovery process.  While the shoulder inflammation doesn’t seem like anything too serious, it does add to Snell’s history of both injuries and first-half struggles.  Snell did have a 2.00 ERA in his first two starts and nine innings of the 2025 season, but for his career, he has a 3.95 ERA prior to the All-Star break and then a 2.34 ERA in the second half.

The L.A. rotation had another minor injury scare in today’s 1-0 win over the Rangers, as Tyler Glasnow left with an apparent leg injury after throwing his first pitch of the fifth inning.  Fortunately, the team announced that Glasnow left due to only leg cramps, and Glasnow told MLB.com’s Sonja Chen and other reporters that he believes he’ll be able to make his next start.  The Dodgers have off-days on both Monday and Thursday this week, so Glasnow will get a full week before he is next scheduled to take the mound on April 27 against the Pirates.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Notes Blake Snell Blake Treinen Tyler Glasnow

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Braves Acquire Scott Blewett

By Mark Polishuk | April 20, 2025 at 7:55pm CDT

The Braves acquired right-hander Scott Blewett from the Orioles in a trade for cash considerations, as announced by both teams.  Blewett was designated for assignment by Baltimore yesterday.

This is the second time in less than a week that Blewett has changed teams after being designated for assignment.  Blewett began the season with the Twins and made two appearances before he was DFA’d and then claimed off waivers by the Orioles.  Two more appearances followed in an O’s uniform before Blewett was designated again.

The roster shuffling is nothing new for Blewett, who had been DFA’d and outrighted several times in his career even before this month’s transactions.  His chances of sticking with the Braves are complicated by the fact that he is out of minor league options, so the Twins and Orioles had no choice but to first designate the right-hander before trying to send him down to the farm.

All these moves belie the fact that Blewett has actually pitched pretty well during his relatively brief time in the big leagues.  Over parts of four seasons with the Royals, Twins, and Orioles, Blewett has a 1.93 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, and 9.4% walk rate in 37 1/3 career relief innings.  His 2.16 SIERA is only a shade higher than his ERA, and an inflated 85.4% strand rate is countered by a .317 BABIP.

While Blewett isn’t a hard thrower and he gives up a lot of solid contact, there’s enough there that multiple teams keep showing interest in the 29-year-old’s services.  He’ll become the latest new face in a Braves bullpen that has been a bit of a revolving door, as the club brought several veterans to camp on minor league deals in a search for inexpensive relief depth, and both Rafael Montero and Jose Suarez were acquired in trades (from the Astros and Angels respectively) within the last month.

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Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Transactions Scott Blewett

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MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Mark Polishuk | April 20, 2025 at 6:19pm CDT

Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat

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MLBTR Chats

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Rockies Place Ezequiel Tovar On 10-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | April 19, 2025 at 2:14pm CDT

2:14PM: Gomber provided an update on his situation to Just Baseball’s Patrick Lyons, saying that he hasn’t thrown since March 28 and that he received a PRP injection two weeks ago.  “It’s definitely going to be more of a buildup than it was in Spring Training,” Gomber said, though he noted that the range of motion in his left arm has returned in the aftermath of the injection.

12:16PM: The Rockies announced a collection of roster moves, including the news that shortstop Ezequiel Tovar has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 16) due to a left hip contusion.  Outfielder Brenton Doyle was also placed on the bereavement list (retroactive to April 17), and Colorado filled the two roster spots by calling up outfielder Jordan Beck from Triple-A and selecting Aaron Schunk’s contract from Triple-A.  Left-hander Austin Gomber was moved to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot for Schunk.

Tovar’s injury adds to what has been a lackluster start to the shortstop’s third full MLB season.  While far from the only Rockies hitter who is struggling at the plate, Tovar is hitting only .212/.257/.303 through 70 plate appearances, after he delivered a .269/.295/.469 slash line (plus 26 homers and a league-leading 45 doubles) in 2024.  Colorado’s road-heavy early schedule might have something to do with Tovar’s slow start and the team’s lack of hitting in general to date, yet naturally the Rox were hopeful that Tovar’s continued development would include more consistency outside of Coors Field.

Beck is a former top prospect that will get another chance to show what he can do after a lackluster 207 MLB plate appearances over the last two seasons.  He’ll be joined on the active roster by Schunk, who also made his big league debut in 2024 in the form of 39 games and 98 PA (with a .234/.265/.330 slash line) for Colorado.  Schunk has spent most of his minor league career at third base but he has plenty of experience at the middle infield spots, so he can act as a utility infielder to add depth with Tovar out.  Kyle Farmer seems likeliest to move into an everyday shortstop role in Tovar’s absence, and Farmer has already been a fixture in the Rockies’ lineup given his hot bat.

Gomber started the season on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation, and his move to the 60-day now puts him on the sidelines until at least the last week of May.  Gomber was seemingly on track for a relatively quick return to action in early April but his second minor league rehab start was scratched due to more shoulder inflammation, and that setback has now considerably lengthened the southpaw’s time away from Colorado’s rotation.

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Colorado Rockies Transactions Aaron Schunk Austin Gomber Brenton Doyle Ezequiel Tovar Jordan Beck

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Dodgers Activate Evan Phillips, Place Blake Treinen On 15-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | April 19, 2025 at 1:34pm CDT

The Dodgers will be activating right-hander Evan Phillips from the 15-day injured list prior to today’s game with the Rangers.  In the corresponding move, righty Blake Treinen will be placed on the 15-day IL due to forearm tightness, as initially reported by The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya.

As manager Dave Roberts told Ardaya and other media members, Treinen has been feeling forearm discomfort for the last few days, and the discomfort increased yesterday during a bullpen session.  The decision was then made to put Treinen on the injured list, and the reliever will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the problem.

Any forearm injury naturally seems a little ominous, and it would be another blow for a veteran reliever who has already spent a lot of time on the IL in recent years.  Los Angeles also signed Treinen to a two-year, $22MM contract last winter, and as logical as that investment seemed based on Treinen’s on-field results, today’s news underlines the risk of committing bigger money to a veteran reliever (Treinen turns 37 in June) with a checkered injury history.

Shoulder problems kept Treinen out for most of the 2022 season and the entirety of the 2023 season, as he eventually required labrum and rotator cuff surgeries to fully correct the problem.  His planned return for the start of the 2024 campaign was delayed by a bruised lung in Spring Training, and Treinen also had a brief IL stint during last season due to a hip issue.

Through it all, of course, Treinen has been good to great when he has been able to pitch.  The righty’s five seasons in L.A. have resulted in a 2.34 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, and 7.6% walk rate across 157 2/3 relief innings.  Treinen also has a 3.24 ERA in 33 1/3 postseason frames during his time with the Dodgers, earning championship rings in both 2020 and 2024.

Just as Treinen goes down, however, the Dodgers’ remarkable depth chart allows the club to immediately replace him with another high-leverage reliever just back from his own IL stint.  Phillips was left off the World Series roster due to multiple injuries, most prominently a tear in a rotator cuff tendon that then delayed his usual offseason preparations.  As a result, L.A. placed Phillips on the 15-day IL to begin the season in order to give the reliever more time to properly ramp up, and he’ll now be ready to make his 2025 debut as early as today.

Phillips’ exact role will be interesting to monitor, as he was the Dodgers’ primary closer in the previous two seasons yet Tanner Scott has now assumed that role in 2025.  The club’s four-year, $72MM deal with Scott underlines the team’s commitment to giving Scott plenty of looks in late-game situations, though in February, Roberts said Scott would only receive the “brunt” of save chances, not all of them.  As circumstances, matchups, injuries, and performance will dictate over the course of the season and into the playoffs, the Dodgers figure to give multiple pitchers the chance to earn saves.  The left-handed Scott, for instance, could be brought into a game prior to the ninth inning should a rival team have an imposing set of left-handed hitters coming to the plate.

It makes for a pretty nice “problem” to have when a team can pick and choose between its many elite relievers, and Phillips has moved into that category over the last three seasons.  Claimed off waivers from the Rays in an under-the-radar move in August 2021, Phillips posted a 2.21 ERA, 29.6% strikeout rate, and 6.5% walk rate over 179 innings from 2022-24.  He has 45 career saves out of 54 chances, all with the Dodgers except for one save recorded with Tampa Bay in 2021.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions Blake Treinen Evan Phillips

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Diamondbacks Place A.J. Puk On 15-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | April 19, 2025 at 11:46am CDT

The Diamondbacks announced several transactions in a shake-up of the club’s bullpen mix today.  The headline news is that closer A.J. Puk has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to April 18) due to inflammation in his left elbow.  Righty Bryce Jarvis and left-hander Joe Mantiply were optioned to Triple-A, and Arizona filled those three bullpen spots by calling up right-hander Drey Jameson, and selecting the contracts of right-handers Juan Morillo and J.P. Feyereisen.  To create roster space, the D’Backs also designated infielder Grae Kessinger for assignment.

Puk excelled after the Diamondbacks acquired him from the Marlins at last year’s trade deadline, and the southpaw has kept going this year by posting a 3.38 ERA in eight innings this season.  Even with the benefit of an absurd 97.6% strand rate, Puk has backed up his work with an excellent 34.3% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate.  In addition to all the swings and misses, Puk isn’t allowing much hard contact when his offerings do find a bat, and he has closed out all four of his save chances this season.

Unfortunately, his strong start has now been interrupted by a trip to the IL.  Puk’s lengthy injury history (which includes a Tommy John surgery) puts some extra focus on any elbow-related ailment, though there isn’t any indication at this point that his current issue is anything more than just inflammation.  Assuming no structural damage, Puk might be able to return after just a 15-day minimum, though it is just a matter of how long his elbow discomfort continues to linger.

Justin Martinez is now the likeliest candidate to step up as the new closer, with Shelby Miller and Jalen Beeks continuing in high-leverage setup roles.  Beeks is also the only southpaw in Arizona’s bullpen now that Mantiply has been sent to Reno.

Arizona’s 13-11 slugfest loss to the Cubs yesterday saw both Jarvis and Mantiply charged with three earned runs apiece, with each reliever throwing two-thirds of an inning.  The demotions to Triple-A can allow both pitchers to gather themselves after a difficult start to their seasons, while the D’Backs can get a few fresher arms into the bullpen.  This means Jameson is now in line to make his first MLB appearance since the 2023 season, Feyereisen will make his D’Backs debut after signing a minor league deal with the team in March, and Morillo is set to make his Major League debut after eight pro seasons.

Jameson last pitched in a big league game on July 6, 2023, as he underwent a Tommy John surgery that September that cost him the entirety of the 2024 campaign.  The 34th overall pick of the 2019 draft had posted a 2.63 ERA over 65 innings during the 2022-23 seasons, starting seven of 19 games but pitching mostly in a relief role as the 2023 season developed prior to his UCL injury.  The righty has worked exclusively out of the pen at Triple-A this season, and he has a 2.70 ERA over 6 2/3 innings in Reno while recording 11 strikeouts against zero walks.

Now that he’s back in good health, Jameson can resume his career and perhaps carve out a firm place for himself within Arizona’s bullpen.  He showed quite a bit of promise as a multi-inning reliever, as his past history as a starter gave him some extra durability coming out of the pen.  The D’Backs could look to deploy Jameson as a long man or a swingman, at least letting him get some innings under his belt before perhaps trying him for higher-leverage work.

The 26-year-old Morillo spent his entire career in the Dodgers organization before joining the D’Backs as a minor league free agent back in November.  Making his Triple-A debut this season, Morillo has thrown 6 1/3 innings of 1.42 ERA ball in Reno, with a 29.6% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate, and a huge 68.8% grounder rate to boot.  The latter number stands out even amidst Morillo’s history as a groundball pitcher, and the solid walk rate is also noteworthy given his control problems earlier in his minor league career.

Between his high velocity, strikeout potential, and ability to keep the ball on the ground, there’s plenty to like about Morillo if he can find the consistency that has eluded him for a good chunk of his minors career.  He’ll get a chance to show what he can do against MLB hitters during what might be a cup of coffee in the big leagues, depending on how Arizona chooses to align its bullpen beyond just this weekend.

Feyereisen has a 2.95 ERA over his 100 2/3 career innings in the majors, which covers parts of four seasons with the Brewers, Rays, and Dodgers from 2020-24.  Feyereisen had solid numbers in 2021 and looked to be breaking out as a high-leverage reliever in Tampa’s bullpen in 2022 before a shoulder injury resulted in surgery that cost him the entire 2023 season.

Resurfacing in L.A. last year, he had an 8.18 ERA in 11 innings at the big league level, as Feyereisen clearly still had some rust from his long layoff.  His 0.96 ERA in 9 1/3 innings in Reno this season is much more promising, and it was enough to give Feyereisen a shot with another NL West team as he looks to finally establish himself for steady bullpen work.

Kessinger played all over the infield in a backup capacity with the Astros during the 2023-24 seasons, appearing in 48 total games and hitting .131/.243/.213 in 70 plate appearances.  His career Triple-A slash line of .268/.370/.401 is much more impressive on paper, if undermined by the fact that those seemingly solid numbers are barely average in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

The Diamondbacks acquired Kessinger in a trade in January but he hadn’t yet seen any action on Arizona’s big league roster, and his tenure with the organization might already be over if he is claimed on waivers or traded.  Kessinger’s trade to Arizona in fact came after the Astros designated him for assignment previously, so history could repeat itself if another infield-needy team comes calling.  If Kessinger clears waivers and is outrighted off the 40-man roster, he must accept the assignment since he doesn’t have the MLB service time or a past outright that would allow him to opt into free agency.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Transactions A.J. Puk Bryce Jarvis Drey Jameson Grae Kessinger J.P. Feyereisen Joe Mantiply Juan Morillo

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