The D-backs announced that they’ve signed infielder Daniel Descalso to a one-year deal and designated fellow infielder Phil Gosselin for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that Descalso will be guaranteed $1.5MM in his new deal — a $1.35MM salary for the 2017 season plus a $150K buyout on a $2MM club option for the 2018 season.
The 30-year-old Descalso spent the 2015-16 seasons with the division-rival Rockies, and while he batted a woeful .205/.283/.324 across 209 plate appearances in 2015, he did have a rebound campaign in 2016. Last year, the left-handed-hitting Descalso batted .264/.349/.424 with eight homers and three steals in 289 plate appearances, moving into a larger role following Trevor Story’s season-ending injury. Prior to his time with the Rox, Descalso was a fixture on the Cardinals’ roster from 2010-14, appearing in 529 games and posting a cumulative .243/.313/.341 batting line in just under 1400 trips to the plate.
Descalso will give the D-backs a left-handed bat to help balance out a predominantly right-handed roster, and he’ll also provide manager Torey Lovullo with some defensive versatility on the infield. While Descalso doesn’t grade out as a plus defender at any of the four infield spots, he does have more than 1000 innings at second base, third base and shortstop as well as 170 innings at first base in his career.
As for Gosselin, the 28-year-old has spent the past season and a half in Arizona, hitting a combined .283/.338/.409 316 plate appearances. While Gosselin’s bat has been better than that of Descalso over the course of their respective careers, he’s primarily a second baseman with more limited experience at third base and at shortstop.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
