The Diamondbacks designated veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed for assignment, manager Torey Lovullo informed reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). That’s the corresponding move for the promotion of top infield prospect Jordan Lawlar.
It’ll close the book on Ahmed’s 10-year tenure in the desert. Arizona initially acquired him as part of a five-player return from the Braves for Justin Upton and Chris Johnson during the 2012-13 offseason. Ahmed debuted in the majors a year later and took over as the starting shortstop heading into 2015.
That was the first of six eventual Opening Day starts over the next nine years. Ahmed has never made much of an offensive impact, but he immediately broke in as one of the game’s preeminent defensive shortstops. In a little over 7000 career innings, Ahmed has rated an elite 80 runs above average by measure of Defensive Runs Saved. Among shortstops, only Andrelton Simmons has topped Ahmed in DRS over that stretch. Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric, which dates back to 2015, has placed him only behind Francisco Lindor (who has logged over 3000 more innings).
Ahmed deservedly secured consecutive Gold Glove awards in 2018-19. Heading into the 2020 campaign, Arizona signed him to a $32.5MM contract to cover his final arbitration season and three would-be free agent years. It was a bet in Ahmed maintaining his elite defensive form, but the deal didn’t go as the organization had hoped.
The first season went well. Ahmed hit at a nearly average level in the shortened season while continuing to play excellent defense. His offense plummeted to a .221/.280/.339 slash the following year. Ahmed continued to defend well but battled a shoulder injury toward season’s end. That unfortunately carried over into 2022, as the veteran was forced to undergo season-ending surgery last June.
Arizona turned the shortstop job back over to him headed into 2023. Ahmed continued to struggle offensively, though, and Arizona gave increasing playing time to Geraldo Perdomo. Ahmed has worked as a glove-first backup, appearing in 72 games and hitting .212/.257/.303 across 210 plate appearances.
Between Perdomo and Lawlar, it always seemed as if Arizona would move on from Ahmed once his contract expired at year’s end. With the D-Backs hoping for an offensive spark in calling up the 21-year-old top prospect, they bumped the veteran off the roster a few weeks early. Arizona will put Ahmed on waivers in the coming days. He’ll surely go unclaimed, as no team will want to take on the approximate $1.4MM remaining on his $10MM salary. He will very likely become a free agent — either via release or declining an outright assignment.
While he could then look for other opportunities, he wouldn’t be eligible for postseason play with another team. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he simply waits until the offseason to look for a new landing spot for 2024.