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Diamondbacks Sign Jake Faria, Designate Ildemaro Vargas

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The Diamondbacks announced the signing of right-hander Jake Faria.  Utilityman Ildemaro Vargas has been designated for assignment to open up a roster spot for Faria.

Faria had been pitching for the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate before he was released earlier this week.  He’ll now join a reeling D’Backs team that is looking for all the pitching help it can find, though Faria has only a 5.65 ERA over 36 2/3 innings with Triple-A Salt Lake City.  The righty does have a 28.05% strikeout rate, but Faria has been hurt by the long ball, with seven homers allowed over those 36 2/3 frames.

Home runs and walks became an increasingly big problem for Faria over 170 1/3 MLB innings with the Rays and Brewers from 2017-19, as he posted a 1.3 HR/9 and 10.4% walk rate to go along with a 4.54 ERA and 20.9% strikeout rate.  A pretty well-regarded arm during his way up the ladder in Tampa Bay’s farm system, the Brewers acquired Faria for Jesus Aguilar in July 2019 but Faria didn’t pitch well during the rest of that season with Milwaukee and he didn’t see any action in 2020.

Vargas has become a regular on the DFA wire, as this marks the fourth time in less than three months that the 29-year-old has been designated.  Vargas began his season with the Cubs, who DFA’ed him twice and then lost him on a waiver claim to the Pirates, and Pittsburgh then traded Vargas to Arizona at the beginning of June.  Vargas spent his first three-plus MLB seasons with the Diamondbacks before they designated him for assignment last August and the Twins claimed him away.

In the midst of this flurry of moves, Vargas has only hit .167/.211/.245 over 109 PA since the start of the 2020 season.  Known more for his versatility than his bat anyways, Vargas has played mostly second base and third base at the big league level but he has also seen some action at four other positions.

Diamondbacks Select Noe Ramirez, Designate Keury Mella

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve selected the contract of righty reliever Noé Ramirez. To create active and 40-man roster space, fellow righty Keury Mella was designated for assignment.

Ramirez has been a member of three organizations this year. The longtime Angel was traded to the Reds as part of the Raisel Iglesias deal over the offseason. He struggled mightily in Spring Training, so Cincinnati released him before the regular season began to avoid committing to his entire $1.175MM arbitration salary. Ramirez quickly re-signed with the Angels on a minor league deal and Los Angeles added him to the big league roster in mid-May. Just five days later, the Angels designated Ramirez for assignment and passed him through waivers. He elected free agency and signed a minors pact with the D-Backs.

The 31-year-old didn’t find much success with Triple-A Reno. He was tagged for eight runs on as many hits (including three homers) and five walks in nine innings, although he did strike out twelve batters in that hitter-friendly environment. Before this year’s trials, Ramirez was a solid middle reliever, pitching to a 3.76 ERA/3.91 FIP from 2019-20.

Arizona just selected Mella to the MLB roster on Tuesday. He made two disastrous appearances in San Francisco this week, allowing six runs while recording just five outs. The 27-year-old has pitched 28 2/3 MLB innings over the past five seasons, compiling a 7.22 ERA/5.10 SIERA. Mella has already passed through waivers once this year and accepted an outright assignment to Reno, although he’ll again have the option to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed on the wire.

Diamondbacks Activate Zac Gallen From Injured List

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JUNE 17: As expected, Arizona reinstated Gallen from the IL this morning. Righty Humberto Castellanos was optioned to Triple-A Reno in a corresponding move.

JUNE 16: The Diamondbacks announced they’re planning to activate Zac Gallen from the injured list. He’ll start tomorrow afternoon’s game in San Francisco, his first MLB action in nearly six weeks.

Gallen went on the IL in mid-May with an ominous-sounding diagnosis: a minor sprain of the UCL in his throwing elbow. He wound missing a fairly notable amount of time, but the D-Backs are surely relieved it didn’t require any sort of surgical repair. Gallen looks like a potential cornerstone rotation piece for Arizona. Since the D-Backs acquired him from the Marlins for Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the 2019 trade deadline, he’s tossed 142 1/3 innings of 2.85 ERA/3.54 FIP ball with a strong 28.4% strikeout rate.

The 25-year-old has been limited to five starts this year, and the D-Backs have certainly felt his absence. Arizona starters have pitched to a disastrous 5.55 ERA, the second-worst mark in the league (the Pirates are at 5.57). Diamondbacks starters also rank near the bottom of the league in strikeout rate (20.4%), strikeout/walk rate differential (11.9 percentage points) and SIERA (4.55).

Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen Discusses Trade Deadline Outlook

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Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen addressed the team’s general plans for the July 30 trade deadline this morning with 98.7 FM Arizona Sports (h/t to Zach Buchanan of the Athletic). Unsurprisingly, he confirmed the 20-48 club has been fielding offers from contenders with the trade deadline coming up.

The Diamondbacks will almost certainly move some veteran players for younger talent in the coming weeks, but Hazen didn’t sound as if he felt the club needed to embark on a full rebuild. He pushed back against characterizing the organization’s approach to the deadline as akin to “open season” and reiterated his belief in the long-term potential of the club’s young, controllable position players. Hazen acknowledged that, given their standing at the bottom of the league, the D-Backs aren’t “in a position to say ’never’ to anything” but quickly added the front office is hoping to “anchor” around a group of core players moving forward.

Asdrúbal Cabrera and Eduardo Escobar look extremely likely to wind up elsewhere before the July 30 trade deadline. The same could be true of fellow impending free agents Stephen Vogt and Joakim Soria, although neither has been especially productive this season. Arizona has also reportedly taken offers on corner outfielder David Peralta, who is under contract through 2022.

Kole Calhoun, controllable via $9MM club option next season, is a plausible trade candidate if he continues to produce once he returns from the injured list. Starter Merrill Kelly is having a bit of a down year but he’s affordable enough (due the balance of a $4.25MM salary this season, with a $5.25MM club option for 2022) to draw some interest. The same is true of swingman Caleb Smith, controllable via arbitration through 2023.

Given Hazen’s comments, it seems more likely the Diamondbacks move those complimentary types rather than part with highly-performing, controllable players like Ketel Marte, Carson Kelly and Josh Rojas. Hazen wouldn’t definitively rule out a deal involving any of that trio (baseball operations leaders don’t tend to think in such absolutes) but his desire to “anchor” around a group of young, productive big leaguers suggests the D-Backs aren’t looking to tear the roster to the studs.

With the deadline approaching, Hazen told 98.7 FM the D-Backs expect to add veteran executive Allard Baird to their baseball operations department in the coming days. Baird spent the early portion of his career in Kansas City, where he ascended to general manager in 2000. He was let go after six seasons as Royals GM but quickly found a role in the Red Sox front office. Baird spent more than a decade in Boston, where he overlapped with Hazen and D-Backs assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye. Most recently, Baird spent the past two seasons with the Mets, but he departed amidst the New York organization’s ownership and front office shakeup last winter.

Hazen took a physical leave of absence from the team last week to spend more time with his family while his wife Nicole battles brain cancer. He remains in consultation with the rest of the front office, with Sawdaye taking control over day-to-day baseball operations. Baird will help shoulder the workload as the club tries to bring back the best possible returns for some of their veteran players.

Diamondbacks Select Contract Of Keury Mella

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Righty reliever Keury Mella is returning to the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster, according to The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan.  The club transferred Seth Frankoff to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot, while Taylor Clarke hit the 10-day IL to create an active roster opening.  Incredibly, the D’Backs are vying for their first road win since April 25th tonight in San Francisco.

Mella, 27, has logged 27 career innings for the Reds and Diamondbacks.  In his 11 appearances at Triple-A Reno this year, he punched out 24.4% of batters and walked 9.0%.  Mella averaged 95.2 miles per hour last year in the bigs, a bit above the average ’21 reliever figure of 93.8.  Two years ago as a Reds farmhand, Mella was considered to be a 45-grade prospect by Baseball America.  The Reds had acquired Mella and Adam Duvall from the Giants in the 2015 trade deadline trade of Mike Leake.  At the time, Mella was thought to have a plus fastball without a “true offspeed weapon.”  Mella was deemed expendable back in February, as Arizona designated him for assignment and he passed through waivers unclaimed.

As you might expect from the worst team in baseball, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen has been pretty bad, with a 4.64 ERA.  But still better than three other NL teams!  Mella joins a D’Backs bullpen consisting of Stefan Crichton, Joakim Soria, Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Buchter, Humberto Castellanos, Joe Mantiply, Riley Smith, and possibly Corbin Martin at present.  Clarke joins relievers J.B. Bukauskas, Tyler Clippard, Chris Devenski on the IL, with Devenski done for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen To Take Physical Leave Of Absence

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The Diamondbacks announced that executive vice president and general manager Mike Hazen is taking a “physical leave of absence” from the team. Assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye will take over day-to-day baseball operations, with Hazen consulting regularly.

Sawdaye has been one of Hazen’s primary lieutenants throughout the duration of their tenures in Arizona. The pair worked together in the Red Sox front office, and Sawdaye followed Hazen to the desert less than two weeks after the latter was hired as Diamondbacks general manager. Sawdaye has long been viewed as a potential future GM, and he was among the finalists for the Angels job that went to Perry Minasian last winter.

Hazen’s wife Nicole has been battling brain cancer, notes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Hazen told reporters (including Bob Nightengale of USA Today) he didn’t feel he could devote the time required to lead the team’s trade deadline and draft preparation while attending to his family responsibilities. MLBTR sends our best wishes to the Hazen family.

Diamondbacks Part Ways With Hitting Coaches Darnell Coles And Eric Hinske

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5:05 pm: General manager Mike Hazen reiterated the organization’s faith in Lovullo, telling Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link) he “still (feels) like Torey is the right person to lead these guys and to right this ship and get us back to where we need to go.”

4:13 pm: The Diamondbacks announced this afternoon they’ve parted ways with hitting coach Darnell Coles and assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske. To replace them, the club has promoted Rick Short, who had been hitting coach with their Triple-A affiliate in Reno, and run production coordinator Drew Hedman. Short and Hedman will serve as co-hitting coaches.

Coles and Hinske were both hired during the 2018-19 offseason. In each of the two-plus seasons since, the D-Backs have run out a below-average offense. Obviously, it’s difficult to tell what extent the blame for that should fall on the coaching staff versus the players, but the organization evidently decided it was time to bring in a pair of new voices.

Given how disastrous this season has been, it’s not hard to see why the club is shaking things up. The Diamondbacks have the league’s worst record at 20-43, and they’re currently amidst a nineteen-game road losing streak, a mark that’s three games shy of an all-time record. The lineup isn’t the only reason for that level of futility, but it hasn’t been a strength either. Diamondbacks hitters have a cumulative .238/.312/.394 slash line, excluding pitchers. The resulting 94 wRC+ places them just twenty-second among the league’s thirty clubs in park-adjusted offense.

Short, who appeared in eleven MLB games as a player with the 2005 Nationals, has spent the past decade in the Arizona organization as a scout and minor league coach. Hedman, who had previously coached at the amateur level, was hired by the D-Backs as a scout in 2018. He was promoted to run production coordinator the following year. David Laurila of FanGraphs examined Hedman’s rapid rise last April.

The firing of Coles and Hinske will only heighten speculation about the future of manager Torey Lovullo. The fifth-year skipper is in the final year of his current contract, and the team’s dreadful performance over the past two seasons has led some fans to suggest Lovullo’s job might be in jeopardy. The front office has continued to stick by him, with CEO Derrick Hall telling reporters last month Lovullo was “not the problem” with the organization (via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). The team’s tailspin has only intensified since then, however.

Diamondbacks Reportedly Listening To Trade Offers For David Peralta

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The Diamondbacks are in last place in the NL West, and already seem to be one of the teams who are looking ahead to 2022.  To this end, “David Peralta is among the players the Diamondbacks have already made available,” FanSided’s Robert Murray hears from rival executives.

Peralta has been mentioned in past trade rumors over the years as the D’Backs have fluctuated between building and rebuilding, though the outfielder is now in the midst of his eighth season with Arizona.  Unfortunately for the Snakes, moving Peralta (who turns 34 in August) right now could count as a sell-low proposition given his underwhelming start to the season.

Peralta is hitting only .245/.302/.409 over 225 plate appearances, and all three of those slash line statistics would represent new career lows.  There aren’t many positives on Peralta’s 2021 Statcast profile, and his .278 xwOBA (compared to a .305 wOBA) suggests that he is perhaps even a bit fortunate to have achieved this modest level of production.  According to Fangraphs, Peralta is making hard contact only 28.4% of the time (the lowest of his career) and his 55.6% grounder rate is the highest of his career.  Never very productive against southpaws, the left-handed hitting Peralta has batted only .251/.311/.406 against right-handed pitching this season.

Even defensively, Peralta has a -6.4 UZR/150 and -3 Defensive Runs Saved over 452 innings in left field.  His glovework has tended to be a little inconsistent through the years, but at his peak Peralta has been a very strong defender, even winning a Gold Glove in 2019.

Despite all these warning signs, there is still a case to made that Peralta represents an upgrade for any number of contending teams.  Peralta was a solidly above-average offensive player over his first seven seasons, and a change of scenery could very well get him back on track.  Contract-wise, Peralta is owed $7.5MM in 2022 and has roughly $4.76MM remaining on his 2021 salary, so he wouldn’t be too expensive an option for low-payroll club or a bigger-market team looking to stay under the luxury tax threshold.

Speculatively, teams like the Padres, Yankees, Braves, and (as Murray mentions) the Cardinals could all make sense as trade suitors for Peralta.  The White Sox could also be a fit with Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert still out of action, and since those two outfielders aren’t expected back for at least a couple more months, Chicago could be one of the teams that would benefit from the D’Backs taking an early plunge into the trade market.

Chris Devenski Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Diamondbacks reliever Chris Devenski recently underwent Tommy John surgery, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports (Twitter link).  Devenski was reportedly considering surgery after being placed on the 60-day injured list due to a sprained right UCL, and he’ll now face an absence of roughly 13-15 months as per the normal TJ rehab timeline.

Devenski’s 2020 season was also cut short by arthroscopic elbow surgery, though that four-month recovery period pales in comparison to the much more long-term setback of a Tommy John procedure.  Devenski will miss not just the rest of the 2021 season but most or even potentially all of the 2022 campaign, should he hit a setback in his rehab.

Best known for his time with the Astros, Devenski broke into the majors with a 2.38 ERA over 189 innings during the 2016-17 seasons, often working as a multi-inning reliever en route to helping Houston win the 2017 World Series (though he struggled during the Astros’ postseason run).  The right-hander followed up those two big years with only decent performances in 2018-19, and injuries then limited him to only 3 2/3 innings in 2020.

After electing free agency following last season, Devenski inked a minor league deal with the D’Backs that locked in $1MM of guaranteed money once he made Arizona’s big league roster.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t recapture his old form, posting an 8.59 ERA over his 7 1/3 innings for the Snakes, striking out only five of 35 batters faced.

The 30-year-old now faces an uncertain future in his next trip through free agency.  It’s not out of the question that Devenski could land a multi-year minor league contract, with a team essentially paying him a minimal salary to rehab for much of 2022 and then retaining his rights for a (presumably) healthy season in 2023.  However, with Devenski’s lack of a recent track record, teams might just prefer to wait until he’s done rehab in 13-15 months and then scout his progress during a showcase.

While Devenski wasn’t exactly a huge investment for the Diamondbacks, his injury represents yet another misfire during what is looking like a nightmare of a two-year stretch for the club.  The D’Backs struggled to a 25-35 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and the Snakes are 20-39 thus far in 2021, as injuries and under-performance have them already looking like also-rans here in the first week of June.

Orioles Make Several Roster Moves

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The Orioles announced a flurry of moves this afternoon, including the news that infielder Domingo Leyba has been claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks and optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.  Infielder Ramon Urias and right-hander Travis Lakins have been called up from Norfolk, and righty Hunter Harvey has been activated off the 60-day injured list.

To create roster space, right-hander Shawn Armstrong and lefty Brandon Waddell were designated for assignment.  (Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported earlier today that Waddell was being DFA’ed.)  Additionally, infielder Pat Valaika was placed on the bereavement list.

Leyba was designated for assignment just two days ago.  The 25-year-old went hitless (with two walks) in 24 plate appearances for Arizona this season, following a very respectable .807 OPS over his first 30 career big league PA in 2019.  This wide range of production comes on the heels of a solid .290/.347/.434 slash line in 2624 PA in the minors as part of the Diamondbacks’ and Tigers’ farm systems since 2013.  Leyba put up particularly big numbers with Arizona’s Triple-A team in 2018-19, though the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League environment might have played a role considering his more modest career output in previous years.

Harvey suffered a left oblique strain in mid-March, and is now set to finally make his 2021 debut.  Injuries have pretty much been the story of Harvey’s career since being selected 22nd overall in the 2013 draft, as his MLB resume consists of only 15 total innings in 2019-20.  Even that small sample size still hints at some promise, however, as Harvey’s fastball sits in the high 90’s and he has struck out 17 of his 63 batters faced.  Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told The Athletic’s Dan Connelly and other reporters that Harvey will be used in a variety of bullpen roles, with seemingly no concession made to his injury history — he’ll be deployed “like a regular piece in the bullpen,” Hyde said.

Since being claimed off waivers from the Mariners in April 2019, Armstrong has been something of a workhorse out of the Baltimore pen, appearing in 85 games and tossing 89 1/3 innings.  The results weren’t always there, however, as Armstrong had a 5.34 ERA during his stint in the orange and black.  Armstrong is out of minor league options, so the O’s had no choice but to designate him and expose him to a potential waiver claim.

Waddell was a waiver pickup himself, selected by the Orioles off of the Twins’ roster in early May.  He has pitched in only one game for the O’s and two games for Triple-A Norfolk, as Kubatko notes that Waddell was delayed by the intake process required by COVID-19 protocols.  A longtime member of the Pirates’ minor league system, Waddell has seen MLB action with the Bucs, Twins, and Orioles over the last two seasons, with a 6.48 ERA over 8 1/3 total career innings in the big leagues.

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