Prior to today’s 4-3 win over the Pirates, the Diamondbacks selected the contract of right-hander Austin Adams from Triple-A Reno. In corresponding moves, Arizona placed southpaw Anthony Misiewicz on the 15-day injured list due to a strained right calf, and moved catcher Carson Kelly to the 60-day IL.
Adams tossed two-thirds of an inning and earned a hold in today’s game, marking his first action of the 2023 campaign and making it seven straight MLB seasons with at least one appearance. Most of Adams’ Major League resume has been pretty sporadic, as he only threw 2 1/3 innings with the Padres in 2022 due to a forearm strain and then flexor tendon surgery. San Diego outrighted Adams off their roster at the end of the season and he chose to become a free agent, basically acting as an early non-tender.
Between injuries and a lack of control, Adams has yet to live up to his potential as he enters his age-32 season. That said, the idea of Adams working with heralded pitching coach Brent Strom is intriguing, as Adams has a whopping 34.2% strikeout rate over his 97 career innings. Even his 3.90 ERA is pretty respectable considering that Adams has issued free passes to the tune of a 15.5% walk rate. Over 12 2/3 innings with Reno, the results have been encouraging, as Adams posted a 2.84 ERA over 12 2/3 innings while striking out 37% of batters and at least slightly decreasing his walks (11.1BB%).
The D’Backs acquired Misiewicz in a trade with the Cardinals at the start of the season, and he has since been shuttled back and forth a couple of times between Triple-A and the big leagues. His latest stint in the majors will unfortunately be extended in painful fashion, as the left-hander strained his calf while covering first base during Friday’s game. Misiewicz had a 2.70 ERA over 6 2/3 innings with Arizona this season, but that number rose to 5.63 after he was charged with three earned runs over 1 1/3 IP in Friday’s 13-3 loss to Pittsburgh.
Kelly has yet to play this season after his right forearm was fractured by a pitch late in Spring Training. A move to the 60-day IL seemed inevitable, since between recovery time, ramp-up time, and a minor league rehab assignment, it doesn’t like Kelly will be back any time before July.
Dbacks continue to search for two more reliable bullpen arms. Hoping they catch lightning in a bottle with Adams.
Adams was part of a steal of a trade between the Mariners and the Padres. M’s sent Adams, Dan Altavilla, and Austin Nola to the Pads for Ty France, Andres Munoz, Luis Torrens, and Taylor Trammell. Very lopsided coup for DiPoto. France was an all-star last year; Munoz is a stud that can hit triple digits; Trammell is our fourth outfielder and still only 25. And Torrens gave us a nice season with 15 bombs a couple of years ago. That said, I don’t know if we’ll ever get over the Derek Lowe (176 career wins) and Jason Varitek trade for Heathcliffe Slocumb. Or Big Papi for Dave Hollins.
Great DBack sign. Super Slider. Only Problem is Hits a lot of Batters, Could be a Nugget