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Diamondbacks Promote Blake Walston For MLB Debut

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have optioned left-hander Andrew Saalfrank, with fellow lefty Blake Walston recalled in a corresponding move. The latter will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Walston, 23 next month, was the club’s first round pick in 2019. The Diamondbacks used the 26th overall pick of that year’s draft to grab Walston out of New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina.

He got a brief debut in the professional ranks in 2019, but then the minors were canceled due to the pandemic in 2020. He tossed 95 2/3 innings in 2021 between Single-A and High-A with a 3.76 earned run average, 28.8% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate.

In 2022, he returned to High-A but cruised through four starts before getting bumped up. He had a 5.16 ERA over his 21 Double-A starts that year, despite decent peripherals. He struck out 24% of batters faced and walked 8.5%, but a .341 batting average on balls in play and 14.5% home run per flyball rate added some extra runs.

Last year, he was sent to Triple-A and had a 4.52 ERA over 30 starts. He walked 14% of batters faced while only striking out 15.6% of them. He was added to Arizona’s 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft and returned to Triple-A this year. Through 20 2/3 innings this season, he has walked 15.3% of batters faced, striking out 19.4%, leading to a 4.79 ERA. Were it not for a 77.6% strand rate, he may have fared worse, which is why his FIP is at 6.36.

That lack of control perhaps points to a future relief role but he is still quite young and has time to rein in his stuff. The Diamondbacks have continued to stretch him out, suggesting they still believe in his potential to stick in a rotation at some point. Baseball America ranked him the #11 prospect in the club’s system coming into this year.

For now, he’s likely on the roster to give the club a multi-inning option out of the bullpen due to some strange circumstances. Jordan Montgomery was supposed to start yesterday’s game before it was delayed by a colony of bees that had taken up residence in the netting behind home plate. The start of the contest was delayed by about two hours while was called who could remove the bees, and the club decided to scratch Montgomery in that time. It seems fair to assume that Montgomery had already gone through some pregame preparations and the club didn’t want to ramp him back up again after a lengthy shutdown, similar to how pitchers often don’t return after long rain delays.

In the end, the Snakes went with a bullpen game and used seven different pitchers to cover 10 innings, as they eventually defeated the Dodgers in extra innings. Montgomery is taking the ball tonight but with a weakened bullpen, so Walston may be tapped, especially if Montgomery is bounced early.

D-Backs’ Kyle Nelson To Undergo Thoracic Outlet Surgery

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Diamondbacks reliever Kyle Nelson will undergo surgery to treat thoracic outlet syndrome, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (link via Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports). There’s no official timetable for Nelson’s return to game action, but the Snakes placed him on the 60-day injured list when they called up Brandon Hughes this afternoon.

The track record for players, especially pitchers, returning from thoracic outlet surgery is mixed. Players like Matt Harvey and Chris Archer never regained their pre-surgery form, while the condition essentially ended Stephen Strasburg’s career. On the other hand, Nelson’s teammate Merrill Kelly has perhaps had the best post-TOS career of anyone to undergo the procedure to date. Kelly recently suffered a shoulder injury but had been healthy and very effective between his 2020 surgery and this April. Nelson’s bullpen mate Ryan Thompson has also rebounded after undergoing a TOS procedure while he was a member of the Rays in 2021.

However Nelson’s long-term recovery plays out, his loss deals an immediate hit to the Arizona relief group. A waiver claim from the Guardians three years ago, he owns a 3.47 ERA in 114 innings with the Snakes. Nelson outperformed middling strikeout and walk numbers in 2022 before flipping the script a year ago.

While his ERA jumped nearly two runs between 2022 and ’23, Nelson dramatically increased his strikeout rate and sliced his walk percentage. He has made 11 appearances this year. He opened the season by rattling off eight consecutive scoreless outings before giving up a combined five runs in 1 2/3 frames over his last three games. Nelson will be eligible for arbitration for the first time next offseason.

Arizona has four left-handers in the current bullpen mix: Hughes, Andrew Saalfrank, Joe Mantiply and long man Logan Allen. Hughes and Allen were recent additions to the 40-man roster who might not hold long-term spots, while Saalfrank has spent most of the season in the minors. The Snakes recently snagged grounder specialist Joe Jacques off waivers from the Red Sox and optioned him to Triple-A Reno. Adding a more proven lefty relief arm could be a midseason goal if the D-Backs stick in the playoff mix.

Diamondbacks Select Brandon Hughes

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Brandon Hughes. Fellow lefty Tommy Henry was optioned to Triple-A Reno to open an active roster spot. To get Hughes onto the 40-man, lefty Kyle Nelson was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Hughes, now 28, had a solid debut with the Cubs in 2022. He tossed 57 2/3 innings that year with a 3.12 earned run average, striking out 28.5% of batters faced while giving out walks at an 8.8% clip. He even moved into a leverage role, securing eight saves and eight holds that year.

But he found some struggles last year, going on and off the injured list throughout the season due to left knee inflammation. He made just 17 appearances with a bloated 7.24 ERA before eventually requiring surgery in June. He underwent a debridement procedure on that left knee and wasn’t able to return to the big league club in the final months of the season.

The Cubs non-tendered Hughes at the end of last year and he landed with the Snakes on a minor league deal. He has been getting good results in Triple-A so far, with a 1.84 ERA through 14 2/3 innings for Reno. However, those results are in spite of subpar strikeout and walk rates of 20% and 15%, respectively.

This is the second time Henry has been optioned, as he has been helping the club cover for some rotation injuries, posting a 5.40 ERA in six starts. Him being optioned today leaves the Diamondbacks with a rotation of Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt, Jordan Montgomery and Slade Cecconi, while Eduardo Rodríguez, Merrill Kelly and Ryne Nelson are on the injured list.

They will need a fifth starter but not right away. They have an off-day on Thursday and another on Monday, therefore allowing them to use just four starters until next weekend, if they so choose. Manager Torey Lovullo said that Ryne Nelson recently threw a sim game of five innings and 75 pitches, per Alex Weiner of AZSports. That perhaps suggests he’s not far off from a return to the club. But for now, Hughes will give Lovullo another bullpen lefty alongside Joe Mantiply, Andrew Saalfrank and Logan Allen.

As for the other Nelson, Kyle was placed on the 15-day injured list a week ago due to left shoulder inflammation. It’s unclear how long the club expects him to be out of action but this transfer means he’s ineligible to be reinstated until mid-June.

D-backs, Ian Clarkin Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks signed left-hander Ian Clarkin to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Reno, per the club’s transaction log at MLB.com. The former Yankees first-rounder and top prospect — selected one pick after Aaron Judge — had been pitching in the Mexican League.

Now 29 years old, Clarkin has yet to make his big league debut despite a long run as a prospect of note. Baseball America ranked him as the No. 17 prospect in the 2013 draft and placed him 16th or better in New York’s system in the three years following his selection. The Yankees sent him to the White Sox alongside another former top prospect and first-rounder, outfielder Blake Rutherford, in the 2017 deadline deal that brought Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle back to the Bronx. The ChiSox and Cubs passed Clarkin back and forth a few times on waivers early in 2019.

Clarkin posted strong numbers up through High-A but was inconsistent in Double-A and struggled greatly in his lone season of Triple-A ball in 2021 (8.77 ERA, more walks than strikeouts in the Rockies’ system). He spent the 2020 and 2023 seasons pitching on the independent circuit, including 79 1/3 innings for the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks last year. He’s posted an overall 4.23 ERA in 431 2/3 minor league frames and had allowed three runs in five innings with six strikeouts (23 batters faced) in the Mexican League this year.

Clarkin becomes the second left-handed depth option for the bullpen the D-backs have added in  the past week. Arizona also claimed southpaw Joe Jacques off waivers from the Red Sox. The Snakes currently have three lefties in manager Torey Lovullo’s bullpen: Joe Mantiply, Andrew Saalfrank and Logan Allen.

NL West Notes: Glasnow, Cobb, Sewald

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Dodgers right-hander exited today’s game against the Blue Jays after being visited by the team trainer and manager Dave Roberts following the sixth inning. While the circumstances of Glasnow’s departure were surely concerning for fans in Los Angeles, Glasnow told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that he was dealing with cramping in his right calf and right hand when he left the game. Glasnow added that he believed the incident was due to dehydration from unexpectedly humid conditions in Toronto this afternoon. Roberts went on to confirm to reporters (including Jack Harris of the L.A. Times) that the club does not have “any level of concern” regarding Glasnow’s health going forward.

The news surely comes as a relief for Dodgers fans, as Glasnow has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. The righty made a career-high 21 starts with the Rays last year after pitching just 212 2/3 combined innings for the Rays between 2019 and 2022. Aside from his injury history, any injury scare for Glasnow would be particularly unwelcome for the club given the fact that he’s led the club’s rotation to this point in the season. Including today’s start, Glasnow has a 2.72 ERA in 43 innings of work across seven starts for the club this season with a 31.5% strikeout rate.

That dominance has been particularly welcome given the Dodgers’ lengthy list of starting pitching injuries. Each of Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Emmett Sheehan, and Kyle Hurt are currently on the injured list, and of that group only Buehler appears to be particularly close to returning. Fortunately, it appears that Glasnow should be fine to make his next start, remaining the club’s rotation mix alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto, James Paxton, Gavin Stone, and Landon Knack.

More from the NL West…

  • The Giants recently transferred veteran hurler Alex Cobb to the 60-day injured list in the wake of the right-hander being slowed in his return from offseason hip surgery by a bout of shoulder inflammation. Per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Cobb received a cortisone shot in his shoulder on Friday and a subsequent MRI on his shoulder showed enough improvement that the club is hopeful his discomfort will fade in the coming days. Presumably, Cobb will resume throwing once the discomfort subsides. The righty will first be eligible to return from the injured list on May 27, and manager Bob Melvin indicated last week that the a minimum stay on the shelf was a “realistic” timeline for the veteran. Cobb, 36, has pitched to a 3.80 ERA with a 3.41 FIP across 56 starts with the Giants the past two seasons.
  • Diamondbacks fans received some disappointing news regarding injured closer Paul Sewald this evening, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert relayed that (according to GM Mike Hazen) the right-hander’s rehab process is going to be “slowed” after Sewald experienced some soreness in the aftermath of his most recent rehab appearance. Hazen added that an MRI of Sewald’s oblique showed that he’s made good progress in his recovery but that the team will be cautious to avoid aggravating the injury. Sewald, 34 next month, was acquired by Arizona from Seattle prior to last year’s trade deadline and posted a 3.12 ERA and 3.57 FIP with 34 saves in 65 appearances between the Mariners and DBacks last year. Veteran righty Kevin Ginkel has handled the closer’s role in Sewald’s absence, with Ryan Thompson and Bryce Jarvis also contributing to the late-inning mix.

D-Backs Sign Chris Ellis To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Chris Ellis to a minor league contract. The deal was announced by the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks, with whom Ellis had been slated to pitch. Ellis is one of two players signed from the Ducks today, as veteran righty Dan Straily landed with the Cubs on a minor league deal.

Ellis, 31, is a former third-round draftee who has appeared in parts of three big league campaigns. Originally selected by the Angels out of Ole Miss, he was dealt to the Braves alongside Sean Newcomb in the Andrelton Simmons trade. Atlanta subsequently moved him to the Cardinals as part of a package for Jaime García, but Ellis peaked at Triple-A in the St. Louis system.

He made his big league debut with a lone appearance for the Royals in 2019. It’d take two more years for him to get a somewhat longer look, as he logged 29 1/3 frames between the Rays and Orioles. Ellis turned in a 2.15 ERA but had a below-average 19.6% strikeout rate and an elevated 11.6% walk percentage. He started two games for the O’s the following year, allowing five runs over 4 1/3 innings. He promptly underwent season-ending shoulder surgery and was outrighted off the roster at the end of that season.

Ellis sat out the entire 2023 campaign. He’s apparently healthy enough to get back on the mound and figures to join Triple-A Reno as non-roster rotation depth. The Diamondbacks have taken a few hits to their rotation in recent weeks. Eduardo Rodriguez will be out at least into late May because of a Spring Training lat injury. Ryne Nelson was knocked out for at least a few weeks by a comebacker. The biggest hit came earlier this week, as Merrill Kelly looks to be in for a lengthy absence due to a shoulder strain. That pushed Tommy Henry and Slade Cecconi into the starting five behind Zac Gallen, Jordan Montgomery and Brandon Pfaadt.

Merrill Kelly Expected To Miss More Than A Month

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The Diamondbacks placed Merrill Kelly on the 15-day injured list this evening due to a shoulder strain. After tonight’s 14-1 drubbing of the Cardinals, manager Torey Lovullo said the Snakes expected Kelly to be out for an extended stretch.

“We’re not looking in terms of weeks as what we had hoped for,” Lovullo admitted (link via Theo Mackie of AZ Central). “So I think the next step up is a month, more than that.” While the manager said that surgery is not under consideration, he was noncommittal when asked if Kelly would be back before the All-Star Break.

It’s another hit to a rotation that’s already without Eduardo Rodriguez until at least the end of May. Arizona’s biggest offseason signee suffered a lat strain in Spring Training. A recent setback resulted in a move to the 60-day IL. The D-Backs subsequently signed Jordan Montgomery to offset some of the impact of losing Rodriguez, yet Kelly’s absence adds more uncertainty to what is arguably the team’s weakest area: rotation depth.

Zac Gallen, Montgomery and Brandon Pfaadt will hold the top three spots. Ryne Nelson opened the season in the rotation before taking a comebacker off his elbow and landing on the IL last week. Slade Cecconi and Tommy Henry seem like the top options for the #4/5 spots until Nelson returns. There’s very little experience behind them. Cristian Mena and Blake Walston are on the 40-man roster but have yet to make their MLB debuts. Humberto Castellanos and Konnor Pilkington have limited big league experience and are in the organization as non-roster players at Triple-A Reno.

No one from that group can be expected to come particularly close to matching Kelly’s reliability. The veteran righty has allowed fewer than 3.40 earned runs per nine while reaching 30 starts in each of the past two seasons. He’d gotten out to another excellent April, working to a 2.19 ERA in his first 24 2/3 frames.

The defending NL champs have had a pedestrian start overall, posting a 12-13 record. They’ll hope a talented lineup keeps them in the playoff mix until their rotation gets closer to full strength. Rodriguez and Kelly could be back well in advance of deadline season, but an extended absence from one or both may increase the pressure on the front office to upgrade the starting pitching this summer.

D-Backs Recall Tommy Henry, Place Merrill Kelly On IL

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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

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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

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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.

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