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Zack Godley

Mike Hazen: D-backs Will Likely “Look To Add” Starting Pitching

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The Diamondbacks’ starting staff has been a respectable unit this season, though the club hasn’t been able to find a capable fifth option to plug into a rotation that includes Zack Greinke, Luke Weaver, Robbie Ray and Merrill Kelly. Zack Godley has received ample rope this year, having racked up eight of the nine starts that haven’t gone to Greinke, Weaver, Ray or Kelly, but hasn’t come close to replicating his useful production from either 2017 or ’18. Godley turned in his latest unappealing performance of the year Saturday in a loss to the Giants, whose normally impotent offense chased him after totaling four earned runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Earlier this week, before Godley’s outing against San Francisco, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) that it would be “ideal” for the 29-year-old to regain form and lock down a rotation spot going forward. However, with Godley battling a velocity drop and ranking last in ERA (7.90), fifth worst in K/BB ratio (1.52) and 15th from the bottom in FIP (5.45) among 109 major leaguers who have thrown at least 40 innings this season, it doesn’t look as if the Diamondbacks can continue holding out for a resurgence.

Hazen, cognizant of Godley’s struggles, revealed in the wake of Taijuan Walker’s newest arm injury that Arizona will likely “look to add” starting pitching leading up to the July trade deadline. Hazen didn’t even close the door on a pursuit of free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel, per Piecoro, saying: “We’re going to look at starting pitching now, I would imagine, as we move forward. We’ll see how we get through this next brief period of time. And then I’m sure we’ll be looking at all options of starting pitching.”

Keuchel may finally end his holdout and sign somewhere once the first few days of June pass, given that a team would no longer have to surrender draft pick compensation for inking the qualifying offer recipient. But the longtime Astro might not be able to help a club for at least a few weeks after signing, considering he’d probably have to ramp up before returning to a major league mound, and could still score a payday outside the Diamondbacks’ comfort zone.

Whether or not the Diamondbacks land Keuchel or swing a summer trade for rotation help, it appears they’ll have to continue trying to make do with in-house possibilities for the time being. That could mean demoting Godley from the rotation – something the Diamondbacks already did earlier this season before reinstating him – in favor of one of their younger choices.

Promising prospect Taylor Clarke, the only other D-back to get a start this year, has impressed over a limited sample of work and is eligible for a recall after the team optioned him May 9. The 26-year-old Clarke has turned in ugly results with Triple-A Reno this season, though, which could give the big league club pause. On the other hand, fellow prospect Jon Duplantier has been Reno’s top starter and has held his own in Arizona across 12 innings as a reliever. Duplantier, 24, may be the team’s best hope right now to stabilize the back of its rotation. Either way, the 25-21 Diamondbacks are going to have to figure something out quickly in order to maximize their chances of earning a wild-card spot.

NL West Notes: Tatis Jr., Giants, Godley

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Though Padres fans are anxiously awaiting the return of Fernando Tatis Jr., it seems he’ll be down for at least another week. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Tatis is not yet even running at full speed. Yesterday was an off-day in the budding superstar’s rehab work, and there’s no definite timeline on his activation.  The 20-year-old Tatis posted an outstanding .300/.360/.550 slash with six homers, five doubles, a triple and six stolen bases through his first 27 games and 111 plate appearances and helped fuel a surprisingly strong April for the upstart Padres. Since Tatis went down with his hamstring injury, San Diego has gone 6-7, though they’ve had a tough schedule that included a four-game set in Atlanta, three games hosting the Dodgers and three games at Coors Field.

More from the NL West…

  • USA Today’s Bob Nightengale spoke to a number of Giants players about the likely rebuild that is on the horizon. The writing has been on the wall in San Francisco for some time now, and many in the clubhouse sound almost resigned to their fate. “It would definitely suck to leave these guys, but it’s a business,” said closer Will Smith — an obvious trade candidate given that he’ll be a free agent at season’s end. “We’ve all pretty much been traded. So, it’s not anything new to us. We’d just hate to see it happen.” Manager Bruce Bochy, who has already announced that he’ll retire after 2019, said he understands whatever path the new front office takes but also voiced that it’d be painful to see a rebuild begin when he won’t be around to see it through. “If you’re in a rebuilding situation, that can be a fun challenge if you’re there for the rebuild,” the skipper stated. “But I’m not going to be here.”
  • Of course, if (or when) the Giants do indeed embark on a sell-off, Madison Bumgarner will be the top piece available. Bumgarner updated his no-trade clause over the winter, and the lefty said this weekend that he did so in order to gain more control over the process in a theoretical trade scenario (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly). While his former list included losing clubs in markets Bumgarner did not want to pitch, he updated the list to reflect eight likely contenders, giving him some leverage when the Giants begin shopping him around. Relievers Smith, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Nick Vincent all seem like clear trade candidates in addition to Bumgarner. Smith, Watson and Vincent can all become free agents this winter, while Dyson is only controlled through 2020.
  • The Diamondbacks gave Zack Godley a start Sunday not long after initially pulling him from the rotation, but he only faced the Braves’ lineup one time before being pulled after two scoreless innings. Per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, manager Torey Lovullo said after the game that that pitching plan was “by design,” though it curiously sounds as if that was not communicated to Godley himself. The right-hander didn’t voice any frustration and said he wouldn’t have prepared for the game any differently had he known he’d be used more like an opener, but he also said he simply wasn’t aware of the plan. Godley, in his career, has held opponents to a .225/.298/.320 batting line during his first trip through the lineup, but those numbers soar to .281/.363/.482 on his second trip through the lineup. It’s not clear if the D-backs plan to continue that manner of usage at this time, though yesterday’s results were undoubtedly encouraging.

Diamondbacks Move Zack Godley To Bullpen

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The Diamondbacks are removing right-hander Zack Godley from the rotation and placing him in the bullpen, manager Torey Lovullo said in an appearance on the Burns & Gambo show on 98.7 FM Arizona Sports. A replacement for Godley in the rotation has yet to be decided upon.

It’s been an awful start to the season for the 29-year-old Godley, who has seen his walk rate increase as his strikeout rate and velocity have decreased over the past couple of seasons. Through six starts (29 2/3 innings), he’s limped to a 7.58 with 25 strikeouts against 18 walks, two hit batters and three wild pitches.

Control has obviously been a significant struggle for Godley, but his ground-ball rate is also down a whopping 14 percent from his career year in 2017. He’s also seen his average fastball dwindle from 91.9 mph in ’17 to 89.9 mph this year, and his swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates rates have each dipped at least three percent. Sending Godley to the minors to try to get back on track wasn’t on the table, as the righty is out of minor league option and would’ve needed to pass through outright waivers in order to be sent down.

As far as in-house options, top prospect Jon Duplantier is the most appealing potential replacement for Godley, but as 98.7’s Kevin Zimmerman notes, Duplantier was just optioned to Triple-A on Sunday and would need to remain in the minors for 10 days before he could be recalled (unless he came up as an injury replacement). Well-regarded prospect Taylor Widener is off to a dismal start in Reno this season, and that’s largely true of the team’s entire collection of starters in Triple-A. Righty Emilio Vargas has thrown well for Double-A to open the season and is already on the 40-man roster, but his experience above A-ball is limited.

The struggles for Godley could scarcely come at a worse time. The late-blooming righty fell just weeks shy of arbitration eligibility this past offseason and came into the season with two years, 112 days of MLB service. A solid — or even passable — season in the rotation would’ve set him up for his first seven-figure salary in pro ball. While it’s certainly possible that he’ll return to form and move back into the rotation by season’s end, the ugly start and a move to what figures to be a low-leverage relief role won’t do his earning power any favors — assuming he sticks on the roster and ultimately qualifies for arbitration.

West Notes: Kinsler, Godley, K. Seager

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Ian Kinsler’s run as the Padres’ regular second baseman (and perhaps his time on their roster) may be nearing an end, a source tells Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Padres signed the highly accomplished Kinsler to a two-year, $8MM guarantee in the offseason, no doubt expecting him to serve as a quality stopgap prior to the Luis Urias era. Instead Kinsler has slashed a ghastly .141/.221/.256 through 86 plate appearances. While a .148 batting average on balls in play suggests fortune hasn’t been on the 36-year-old’s side, his expected weighted on-base average (.216) matches his real wOBA (.216) and ranks as the game’s fifth-worst mark. Now, thanks to Kinsler’s inadequate production, the Padres may be on the verge of turning to Greg Garcia as a bridge to Urias. The Padres optioned Urias to Triple-A El Paso last Sunday after he hit just .083/.241/.125 in 29 major league PA, but the 21-year-old top prospect has torched minor league pitching with a .357/.413/.786 slash in 46 attempts.

  • The Diamondbacks will discuss whether to drop right-hander Zack Godley from their rotation, manager Torey Lovullo told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and other reporters Saturday. Lovullo’s comments came on the heels of Godley’s latest clunker, in which he yielded five earned runs on four hits and three walks over 2 2/3 innings in a blowout loss to the Cubs. Having surrendered four or more earned runs in four of six starts this year, Godley’s ERA sits at an untenable 7.58, thanks in part to declining strikeout, walk and groundball rates (7.58 K/9, 5.46 BB/9, 41.3 GB%). The 29-year-old entered the campaign off a respectable two-season run in which he logged a 4.10 ERA with 9.45 K/9, 3.62 BB/9 and a 51.6 percent grounder rate across 333 1/3 frames, making his 2019 output all the more concerning. Demoting Godley to the minors likely isn’t on the table for the Diamondbacks, as a team could claim the out-of-options hurler on waivers. If the D-backs do remove Godley from their rotation, though, Piecoro names Matt Andriese, Taylor Clarke and Jon Duplantier as potential replacements.
  • The Mariners have begun the season an excellent 18-12 without third base mainstay Kyle Seager, who underwent surgery on his left hand in mid-March. But the 31-year-old’s recovery is going smoothly, as he took ground balls for the first time Saturday and said (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) that he’s “ahead of schedule” and not feeling any pain. Still, Seager will be out until at least May 25, the first day he’s eligible to come off the 60-day injured list. The Seager-less M’s have turned to Ryon Healy and Dylan Moore at third to mixed results.

NL Notes: Lackey, Cardinals, D-backs, Nats, Papelbon

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The Cardinals are trying to rebuild while contending, which is why they let right-hander John Lackey depart in free agency, writes Mark Saxon of ESPN.com. Their motivation in letting Lackey walk was receiving a compensatory pick in return, general manager John Mozeliak told Saxon. “The big thing for us is, with where we’ve picked over the last five or six years, it’s really hard to be aggressive on our pipeline. Any chance we could get to pick up a draft pick has been something we value. Perhaps you could argue we overvalue it, but that’s been the strategy of late.” As a result of losing Lackey, St. Louis got the 33rd pick – with which it drafted high school outfielder Dylan Carlson in June – while Lackey is now a member of the archrival Cubs after inking a two-year, $32MM deal during the offseason. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Lackey has carried his above-average production from St. Louis to Chicago, having logged a 3.56 ERA, 8.96 K/9 and 2.49 BB/9 across 151 2/3 innings. Thanks in part to Lackey, the first-place Cubs are what should be an insurmountable 13 games ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central.

More on St. Louis and two other NL clubs:

  • Cardinals outfielder/first baseman Brandon Moss, an impending free agent, told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’d like to re-sign with the Redbirds. “Honestly, I have thought more about wanting to stay here than I have thought about where I could end up,” Moss said. “I think most guys spend their entire careers trying to get to a place like this.” A hip injury helped lead to a subpar output last year for Moss, who joined the Cardinals in a July trade with Cleveland, but he has rebounded in 2016 to post a prolific .257/.339/.563 batting line through 304 plate appearances. Moss leads the Cardinals in home runs (20) and, among major league hitters with at least 300 PAs, trails only David Ortiz in ISO (.306). Mozeliak spoke highly of Moss last week, though the GM added that it wasn’t the right time to discuss an extension. Whether with St. Louis or another team, Moss looks primed to land a raise over his current salary of $8.25MM.
  • The Diamondbacks have removed left-hander Patrick Corbin from their rotation in favor of right-hander Zack Godley, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Corbin’s demotion to the bullpen comes on the heels of a Thursday start in which he surrendered eight runs (four earned) on nine hits in 1 2/3 innings of a 9-4 loss to Boston. With a 5.58 ERA through 132 1/3 innings, Corbin has unexpectedly produced poor results this year. The 2014 Tommy John surgery recipient combined to throw 293 1/3 frames of 3.47 ERA ball in 2013 and ’15, adding a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate and 7.85 K/9 against 2.18 BB/9. Although Corbin’s strikeouts (7.18) have remained in a similar range and his grounders (52.6) have increased, both his walk rate (3.88) and home run to fly ball rate (18.5 percent) have spiked. Godley, who has thrown 44 2/3 innings this year, hasn’t fared much differently than Corbin (5.24 ERA, 7.05 K/9, 2.62 BB/9, 53.5 grounder rate).
  • Jonathan Papelbon didn’t have the smoothest tenure with the Nationals, evidenced by his dugout dust-up with right fielder Bryce Harper last season, but key members of the organization defended the reliever after his release Saturday (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post). “It’s always going to be tough for somebody, but he couldn’t have handled it any better, and I truly mean that,” ace Max Scherzer said of how Papelbon dealt with losing the closer role to the recently acquired Mark Melancon. Continued Scherzer, “Unfortunately, some things went sideways and some other way, but when you talk about a veteran guy in this clubhouse and what he can do for us, he’s going to be missed.” Both president/GM Mike Rizzo and manager Dusty Baker echoed Scherzer’s sentiment. “I think he handled it like a professional, like he’s done everything else here,” offered Rizzo. “He was a great teammate. He was popular with his teammates. They knew that he had their back and they had his,” stated Baker.

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