D-Backs Recall Tommy Henry, Place Merrill Kelly On IL
April 23: The Diamondbacks announced today that they have recalled Henry as well as left-hander Andrew Saalfrank. Kelly has been placed on the 15-day IL due to a right shoulder strain while righty Miguel Castro also landed on the IL, with his ailment listed as right shoulder inflammation. Kelly’s move is retroactive to April 20 and Castro’s to April 21.
April 22: The Diamondbacks will recall left-hander Tommy Henry from Triple-A Reno to start tomorrow evening’s game against the Cardinals, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Theo Mackie of AZ Central). Arizona optioned Henry five days ago. Pitchers need to stay on optional assignment for at least 15 days unless they’re recalled to replace a player who is going on the injured list, so Arizona will need to make an IL move tomorrow.
Lovullo confirmed that the “most likely” option would be placing Merrill Kelly on the 15-day IL, although the skipper noted that one of Arizona’s relievers could land on the shelf instead. Kelly was recently sent for imaging on his shoulder after suffering some kind of injury to his teres major muscle. The 35-year-old righty was scratched from his scheduled start yesterday as a result.
If Kelly hits the IL, he’ll join Eduardo Rodriguez and Ryne Nelson on the shelf. Jordan Montgomery made his team debut last Friday and tossed six solid innings against the Giants. Montgomery’s presence becomes all the more meaningful if Kelly is out, as Arizona’s staff otherwise looks very thin behind Zac Gallen and Brandon Pfaadt. The D-Backs brought up Slade Cecconi to take Kelly’s start yesterday. Henry would seem the choice for the final spot, although he hasn’t had a great start to the year.
The Michigan product has taken the ball four times. Over 18 1/3 innings, he’s given up 15 runs (14 of them earned) on 25 hits. Henry has walked eight (9% rate) while striking out 18 (20.8%). The 26-year-old has worked as a depth starter over the past three years. In 154 1/3 frames covering 30 appearances — roughly the equivalent of one full season — Henry has allowed 4.84 earned runs per nine with worse than average strikeout and walk rates.
Kelly has continued to excel in his sixth season in Arizona. Over his first four starts, he owns a 2.19 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. Kelly hasn’t posted an ERA above 3.37 since 2021. He missed a couple weeks last season with calf inflammation but reached the 30-start threshold for a second straight year. Kelly topped 150 frames each season between 2021-23.
D-backs Claim Joe Jacques From Red Sox, Acquire Sergio Alcantara From Pirates
The Diamondbacks announced a pair of acquisitions Tuesday: left-hander Joe Jacques was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox, while infielder Sergio Alcantara was acquired from the Pirates in exchange for cash. Both players are headed to Triple-A Reno. Jacques is on the 40-man roster, but Alcantara — who’d signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh — is not. Arizona’s 40-man roster is now at capacity.
Jacques, 29, appeared in just one game for the Red Sox this season, allowing a run in 1 2/3 innings. He yielded three hits but didn’t issue a walk and also picked up a pair of strikeouts. Dating back to last season’s MLB debut, he’s pitched to a 5.08 earned run average in 28 1/3 innings with a 16.8% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate and massive 64.8% ground-ball rate.
Although the sidearming lefty’s track record in the big leagues is minimal, Jacques has pitched in parts of four Triple-A seasons and worked to a 3.93 ERA in 128 1/3 innings. Boston originally acquired the former 10th-rounder from the Pirates in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. He was designated for assignment Friday when the Sox selected the contract of fellow left-hander Cam Booser from Triple-A Worcester.
Arizona currently has three lefties in the big league bullpen: Joe Mantiply, Kyle Nelson and Logan Allen. Neither Mantiply nor Nelson has pitched especially well in 2024, and while Allen’s lone appearance yielded solid results, the former Guardians, Rockies and Orioles left-hander has a spotty track record in the big leagues, to put it mildly. Jacques will add a depth option who’s had success in Triple-A and who can potentially pile up grounders in Chase Field, which has been quite homer-happy for right-handed hitters in the early stages of the 2024 season. Jacques is in the second of his three option years and thus gives the D-backs some flexibility in the ‘pen.
As for Alcantara, he’s no stranger to the Diamondbacks organization. The now-27-year-old infielder spent the bulk of the 2022 season there, appearing in 71 big league games and batting .241/.283/.406 in 186 trips to the plate. He’s a career .209/.281/.343 batter in 502 MLB plate appearances who’s drawn strong defensive grades at shortstop, per both Defensive Runs Saved (4) and Outs Above Average (7). Those strong marks have come in a sample of just 530 plate appearances.
The Diamondbacks recently lost starting shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to a torn meniscus. Top prospect Jordan Lawlar suffered a torn ligament in his thumb late in spring training — an injury that’s expected to shelve him for several months. With that pair of injuries, have been using hot-hitting rookie Blaze Alexander and glove-first veteran Kevin Newman as the primary options at short. Alcantara will give them some depth at the Triple-A level, where he’s a career .268/.386/.397 hitter in 548 trips to the plate.
Alcantara is out of minor league options, so if the Diamondbacks end up selecting him to the 40-man roster, he’ll have to either stick in the majors or else be passed through waivers. Upon clearing, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Diamondbacks Release Jace Peterson
The D-Backs have released Jace Peterson, according to the infielder’s transaction log at MLB.com. That was expected after Arizona designated him for assignment last week.
That ends Peterson’s tenure with the Snakes, which began last summer. The D-Backs sent minor league righty Chad Patrick to the A’s to take a flier on the versatile infielder. Peterson was sitting on a middling .221/.313/.324 slash line at the time of the trade, but he’d been a more productive player for the Brewers over the preceding two seasons. Between 2021-22, the left-handed hitter posted a .243/.332/.376 slash in over 600 plate appearances.
Moving to the desert didn’t spark the turnaround for which Arizona was hoping. Peterson’s bat faded further down the stretch, as he hit .183/.276/.258 in 41 games. He got off to an even slower start this year. Peterson collected one hit and three walks over his first 26 plate appearances before Arizona took him off the roster.
The 33-year-old (34 next month) is free to explore other opportunities. He’s still due what remains of this season’s $5MM salary. The A’s agreed to pay $2MM of that sum as part of last summer’s trade, while Arizona is on the hook for the other $3MM. Any team that signs Peterson would only owe him the prorated portion of the $740K minimum for whatever time he spends in the big leagues this year. Nevertheless, his offensive downturn could require that he take a minor league deal and look to play his way back to the majors.
NL West Notes: Kelly, Buehler, Cobb
Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly was scratched from his start in San Francisco this afternoon, with Kelly telling Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that he’s suffering from an injury involving his teres major strain. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic adds that, per manager Torey Lovullo, Kelly has already undergone an MRI and is going to head back to Phoenix to be evaluated by team doctors. Piecoro adds that the club remains hopeful that the veteran hurler can avoid a stint on the injured list.
Missed time for Kelly would be a serious blow to the Diamondbacks’ rotation, which has already been without veteran southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez to this point in a season due to a lat strain. Losing Kelly, who sports a 3.26 ERA and 3.75 FIP over 67 starts dating back to the 2022 campaign, would compound the loss of Rodriguez and right-hander Ryne Nelson, who was placed on the injured list with a right elbow contusion last week. Kelly’s start this afternoon will instead go to right-hander Slade Cecconi, who posted a 4.33 ERA and 4.37 FIP in 27 innings of work for Dbacks last year.
If Kelly misses more than just today’s start, the club would likely need a fifth starter to go along with Cecconi, Zac Gallen, Jordan Montgomery, and Brandon Pfaadt. One possible option could be left-hander Tommy Henry, who has pitched 154 1/3 innings of work across 30 appearances with the Diamondbacks since his debut in 2022 but has generally struggled in those appearances. While he posted a roughly league average ERA of 4.15 with the club last year, he allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in just 18 1/3 innings across four starts in the majors this year and holds a career ERA in the big leagues of 4.84 with a 5.18 FIP.
More from around the NL West…
- The Dodgers are having some rotation issues of their own, with Bobby Miller, Kyle Hurt, and Emmet Sheehan all joining arms such as Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin on the shelf in recent weeks. Of the club’s many injured starters, right-hander Walker Buehler appears to be the only one nearing a return, though even he won’t be an immediate solution to the club’s rotation puzzle. As noted by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, manager Dave Roberts recently told reporters that Buehler will make at least one more rehab start before returning to the big league club. Said start is scheduled for Wednesday, meaning the earliest Buehler could be expected to pitch in the majors would be April 29. In the meantime, the club figures to lean on right-hander Landon Knack to fill out the rotation alongside Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, James Paxton, and Gavin Stone.
- The Giants placed right-hander Alex Cobb on the 60-day IL yesterday after the right-hander suffered a setback in his rehab from hip surgery earlier this week. While that news initially appeared to be somewhat ominous, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relays this afternoon that manager Bob Melvin told reporters that it’s “realistic” that Cobb could be activated as soon as he’s first eligible to return on May 27. That’s great news for San Francisco, as the club has leaned on Cobb more than any pitcher besides Logan Webb since he joined the club on a two-year deal prior to the 2022 season. In that time, he’s made 56 starts for the Giants while pitching to a 3.80 ERA with an even stronger 3.41 FIP. Young righty Keaton Winn has filled out the club’s rotation alongside Webb, Blake Snell, Kyle Harrison, and Jordan Hicks while Cobb has been out of commission.
D-Backs Recall Jordan Montgomery, Designate Jace Peterson
The Diamondbacks announced they’ve recalled Jordan Montgomery to make his team debut tonight against the Giants. Arizona also recalled outfielder Pavin Smith from Triple-A Reno. In corresponding moves, they placed starter Ryne Nelson on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow contusion and designated veteran infielder Jace Peterson for assignment.
Montgomery will take the ball opposite Blake Snell in the second game of their intra-division series. The southpaw officially signed with the D-Backs on Opening Day but agreed to an optional assignment to build into game shape. He started twice for Reno, allowing nine runs in 7 2/3 innings. While that’s clearly not the most impressive showing, his primary focus was building his workload. He threw 71 pitches in his start last Saturday. Montgomery’s contract stipulated that he’d be back in the majors no later than April 19, so the Snakes bring him up after a pair of rehab outings.
He joins Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly at the top half of the rotation. The D-Backs envisioned Eduardo Rodriguez holding a mid-rotation spot, but he’ll be out until at least late May because of shoulder issues. Brandon Pfaadt and Tommy Henry round out the starting five for now, as Montgomery steps into the spot which Nelson had been holding.
Nelson has allowed nine runs (eight earned) over his first 15 2/3 innings. The Oregon product has picked up 13 strikeouts and walked five. It was a slightly improved start relative to last season, when he pitched to a 5.31 ERA with a below-average 15.5% strikeout rate over 144 innings. A comebacker off the bat of Mike Yastrzemski got him in the throwing elbow last night, forcing him out of the game after two innings. It’ll cost him at least two weeks of action.
Arizona also makes a move on the position player side, almost certainly bringing an end to Peterson’s time in the desert. The D-Backs acquired him from the A’s in a deadline deal last summer. The versatile infielder was hitting .221/.313/.324 at the time. His bat slumped further after the trade, as he hit .183/.276/.258 without a home run in 41 games. Peterson didn’t play much of a role in the team’s pennant run and has gotten off to a very slow start in 2024.
The 33-year-old has collected just one hit, a single, in his first 22 at-bats. Since the D-Backs acquired him, Peterson owns a .157/.252/.217 slash line over 132 plate appearances. His recent production is a notable drop-off from the .243/.332/.376 mark which he managed for the Brewers between 2021-22.
That solid run in Milwaukee secured Peterson a two-year, $9.5MM free agent deal from Oakland. He’s making $5MM this year. The A’s agreed to pay $2MM as part of the trade, leaving the D-Backs on the hook for the remaining $3MM. That salary makes it a virtual lock he’ll go unclaimed on waivers. Peterson has more than enough service time to decline an outright assignment while retaining his entire salary, so the Snakes could simply release him within the next week. If he hits free agency, any team that signs him would pay him at the prorated $740K league minimum for whatever time he spends in the majors.
D-backs Select Logan Allen, Transfer Eduardo Rodriguez To 60-Day IL
The D-backs announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Logan Allen from Triple-A Reno and transferred lefty Eduardo Rodriguez from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a roster spot. The Snakes also recalled righty Justin Martinez from Triple-A. Right-hander Luis Frias and left-hander Tommy Henry were optioned to Reno to creative active roster space for Allen and Martinez.
It’ll be the first big league action since 2022 for the 26-year-old Allen (not to be confused by the other left-hander named Logan Allen, who solidified himself in the Guardians’ rotation with a strong rookie campaign in 2023).
The older Allen also pitched for Cleveland previously, to make matters more confusing. He’s a former eighth-round draft pick who’s appeared in parts of four big league seasons, working to a combined 5.89 ERA in 96 1/3 frames between Cleveland, San Diego and Baltimore. In a dozen innings with Reno, he’s pitched to a 3.00 ERA with nine strikeouts, three walks and a 50% ground-ball rate.
The “60-day” term on Rodriguez’s IL stint is retroactive to his original placement and does not reset to today. While Arizona had hoped he’d only miss a month originally, the veteran southpaw recently experienced renewed shoulder discomfort during a throwing session and had his rehab program paused. In light of that setback, it’s not especially surprising to see him pushed to the 60-day IL. His original placement was retroactive to March 25, meaning he’s now sidelined through at least Friday, May 24.
With Rodriguez now shelved for another five weeks at least, Arizona’s rotation will consist of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Jordan Montgomery and Brandon Pfaadt in the top four spots. Montgomery has also yet to make his season debut but it scheduled to do so on Friday. Twenty-six-year-old righty Ryne Nelson currently holds the fifth spot, but he’s yielded eight runs in 13 2/3 innings this season and carries a 5.31 ERA in 157 2/3 frames dating back to last year. His grip on that rotation spot is not exactly iron-clad.
NL West Notes: Padres, Yankees, Soto, Montgomery, Treinen, Bryant
As one might expect, December’s blockbuster Juan Soto trade between the Padres and Yankees took on several different permutations before the two sides finally agreed on the seven players involved. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that the Padres had interest in 17 different Yankees players before finally agreeing on a package of four pitchers (Michael King, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito, Drew Thorpe) and catcher Kyle Higashioka in exchange for Soto and Trent Grisham. Clarke Schmidt and Chase Hampton were two of the other pitchers known to be considered when reports began to surface about the trade negotiations, and Heyman adds that the Yankees agreeing to include Thorpe instead of Hampton was one of the turning points in getting the deal done.
Though San Diego ended up taking a pitching-heavy mix of players, Heyman writes that the Friars also asked about such noteworthy position-player prospects as Spencer Jones, Roderick Arias, and George Lombard Jr. Jones is a top-100 prospect and the 25th overall pick of the 2022 draft, and he has already drawn lots of trade buzz early in his pro career. The Yankees have thus far balked at moving Jones, even in past talks with the Brewers and White Sox about Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease, respectively.
More from around the NL West…
- Jordan Montgomery will likely make his Diamondbacks debut on April 18, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Alex Weiner of KTAR 92.3 radio). Because he didn’t sign until just prior to Opening Day and therefore missed Spring Training, Montgomery started his D’Backs tenure in the minors in order to get some ramp-up work under his belt. Montgomery got up to 71 pitches over 3 2/3 innings in a Triple-A start yesterday, and though he was tagged for seven unearned runs, Lovullo said Montgomery was just working out his fastball rather than worrying about on-field results. It remains to be seen if Tommy Henry or Ryne Nelson will be removed from the rotation to make way for Montgomery, though if Montgomery is eased back into action, one of Henry or Nelson could speculatively be paired with the southpaw in something of a piggyback capacity for a turn or two through the rotation.
- Blake Treinen threw to live hitters today, in the latest step of his recovery process after suffered a bruised lung over a month ago. Treinen was hit in the chest by a line drive during a Spring Training game, and he told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) that a later MRI revealed two fractured ribs in addition to the bruised lung, though the reliever is now feeling pain-free. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that the plan is to have Treinen face live hitters twice more over the next week, and then begin a minor league rehab assignment during the week of April 22.
- Kris Bryant wasn’t in the Rockies‘ lineup today after making an early exit from Saturday’s game due to back stiffness. Bryant collided with the right field wall while catching a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fly ball in the first inning Saturday, and remained in the game until being replaced in the bottom of the fourth. Bryant is considered day-to-day and manager Bud Black said he was available to pinch-hit today if necessary, though given Bryant’s lengthy injury history, any sort of health issue will naturally cause some extra concern.
Brewers Claim Corbin Martin
The Brewers have claimed right-hander Corbin Martin off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hogg adds that right-hander Kevin Herget was designated for assignment to make room for Martin on the club’s 40-man roster. The Brewers subsequently optioned Martin to Triple-A.
Martin, 28, was a second-round pick by the Astros in the 2017 draft and, after dominating the Double-A level of the minors in his first full pro season, garnered plenty of top-100 prospect buzz prior to the 2019 season, even making his big league debut early in the season. Martin’s rise was thrown off course by him undergoing Tommy John surgery midway through the 2019 campaign, but that didn’t stop Houston from packaging him alongside Seth Beer, JB Bukauskas, and Josh Rojas to acquire future Hall of Famer Zack Greinke from the Diamondbacks in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline that summer.
The right-hander’s career began to come off the rails once he arrived in Arizona, however. Martin missed the entire 2020 season while rehabbing from surgery and didn’t make his organizational debut with Arizona until May of that year. He struggled through 43 1/3 innings of work split between the major league level and Triple-A that year, posting a whopping 10.69 ERA in five big league appearances along with a 5.93 ERA in 27 1/3 frames with the club’s affiliate in Reno. Martin’s struggles continued in 2022 as Martin pitched to a 4.84 ERA and 4.59 FIP in seven appearances for the big league club. The righty spent the majority of the season in the minors before once again being shut down due to injury in August of that year.
That proved to be the last time Martin would pitch in the majors for the Diamondbacks. The right-hander missed the entire 2023 campaign after suffering a lat tendon tear in his right shoulder that ended up requiring surgery. He returned to action with the beginning of the 2024 season, but allowed a 9.00 ERA in three innings of work before being designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks last week.
Now with the Brewers, Martin will be reunited with Bukauskas as a potential bullpen option in Milwaukee, though the right-hander will begin his tenure with the club in the minor leagues. Given Martin’s previous prospect pedigree and impressive results when healthier earlier in his career, the Brewers are no doubt hoping they can tap into some of that potential Martin has flashed throughout his career now that he’s fully healthy. If he does enough to earn himself an opportunity in the majors, he’ll enter the club’s middle relief mix alongside the likes of Bryse Wilson and Thyago Vieira.
Making room for Martin on the Brewers’ 40-man roster is Herget, who was selected to the club’s roster earlier this week after signing with Milwaukee on a minor league deal last month. The 33-year-old ultimately did not make an appearance with the Brewers at the big league level, though he had posted 5 1/3 scoreless innings of work in Triple-A. After being drafted by the Cardinals in the 39th round of the 2013 draft, Herget bounced around the minor leagues before eventually making his big league debut with the Rays in 2022. He’s made brief cameos in the majors in each of the past two seasons with Tampa and Cincinnati, pitching to a combined 5.74 ERA and 4.56 FIP in 31 1/3 innings of work. The Brewers will now have one week to waive, trade, or release Herget.
D-Backs Pause Eduardo Rodriguez’s Throwing Program
The Diamondbacks are pausing Eduardo Rodriguez’s throwing program after the southpaw reported continued lat tightness, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (video provided by Arizona Sports). It’s unclear for how long he’ll be shut down, but it represents a setback in his efforts to make his team debut.
Rodriguez suffered a lat strain during his fourth Spring Training appearance. He started the season on the 15-day injured list. The Snakes reportedly expected him to be sidelined for around a month, though this will surely push that timetable back. It’s an inauspicious start to his four-year, $80MM free agent deal.
Arizona viewed Rodriguez as the necessary upper mid-rotation arm to slot behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. He turned in that level of production for the Tigers a year ago, working to a career-low 3.30 ERA with solid strikeout and walk rates over 152 2/3 innings. While there’s still plenty of time for Rodriguez to meet the organization’s expectations, it seems likely he’ll at least be out of action into May.
Within weeks of Rodriguez’s injury, the D-Backs made a surprising late strike for Jordan Montgomery. Perhaps Arizona would have found the southpaw’s asking price (one year, $25MM with a vesting player option for 2025) too good to pass up in any case. That addition could take on added importance in the wake of this setback. Montgomery is building into game shape with Triple-A Reno and is expected to be called to the majors by the end of next week.
Gallen and Kelly are again off to excellent starts, yet the final three rotation spots have been a problem. Brandon Pfaadt isn’t in any danger of losing his job but is sitting on a 6.48 ERA through his first three starts. Tommy Henry has allowed 10 runs over 14 innings, while Ryne Nelson has been tagged for eight runs in 7 2/3 frames over his first two outings. One of Nelson or Henry seems likely to head to Triple-A once Montgomery is ready to step into the big league staff.
Jordan Montgomery Switches Agencies, Hires Wasserman
Diamondbacks left-hander Jordan Montgomery has changed representatives, per Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The southpaw had previously been with the Boras Corporation but will now be repped by Joel Wolfe and Nick Chanock of Wasserman.
Montgomery, 31, was just a free agent for the first time in the most recent offseason. He was coming off a strong three-year run between the Yankees, Cardinals and Rangers, posting a 3.48 earned run average over 524 1/3 innings. He also added 31 innings in last year’s postseason with a 2.90 ERA, helping the Rangers win their first World Series in franchise history.
Coming into the offseason, MLBTR predicted the lefty for a contract worth $150MM over six years while other outlets were in a similar range. But the offseason free agent market ended up being weaker than projected. The latter half of the winter was defined by the various players who remained unsigned, with the so-called “Boras Four” being the headliners.
Montgomery, Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman, all repped by Scott Boras, were projected for nine-figure deals at the outset of the offseason. But the four of them lingered on the market past the start of Spring Training and each one eventually pivoted to some form of short-term deal. In Montgomery’s case, he signed a one-year pact with the Diamondbacks with a $25MM guarantee. There’s also a $20MM vesting player option for 2025, which is available to Montgomery as long as he makes 10 starts this year. He can also add $5MM more to the value of that option, $2.5MM at 18 starts and $2.5MM at 23 starts.
The southpaw is highly likely to return to free agency again this winter. Even if he unlocks that player option, he probably won’t trigger it unless he’s facing some kind of injury absence, since finding $20-25MM again shouldn’t be tough to do if he has a fairly normal season. He hasn’t yet made his debut with the Diamondbacks since he didn’t agree to terms with them until the end of March and is still getting himself in game shape. He tossed four innings in a Triple-A game on Sunday.
For his second go at free agency, it seems he’s looking for a different approach, hiring Wolfe and Chanock to handle his negotiations. While losing a notable client like Montgomery is tough for Boras, he still figures to play a prominent role in the coming offseason. Each of Bellinger, Snell and Chapman could be free agents again while Boras also represents star players heading into free agency for the first time such as Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso.