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Blue Jays Claim Luis Frías Off Of Waivers From Diamondbacks

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The Blue Jays have claimed Luis Frías off of waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. Arizona designated the right-hander for assignment on Thursday to make room for catcher Andrew Knizner on the 40-man roster. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet first noted, Frías will report to Triple-A Buffalo. Toronto had two open spots on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary.

Frías has spent his entire career in the Diamondbacks organization; he signed with Arizona as a 17-year-old international free agent in 2015. The righty made his MLB debut in 2021, and since then, he has pitched 57 2/3 big league innings with a 6.55 ERA and 5.42 SIERA. He throws hard, averaging close to 96 mph on his four-seam fastball, but he has struggled to induce enough strikeouts at the MLB level. What’s more, he has walked 43 of the 276 batters he has faced; his 15.6% career walk rate is barely lower than his 18.1% career strikeout rate. Unfortunately, his numbers at Triple-A Reno aren’t much better. He has a 4.88 ERA and 6.32 FIP this season in 24 innings pitched. Throughout his career, he has a 4.26 ERA over 124 2/3 innings with the Reno Aces.

All that said, Frías is still just 26 years old, and he was once a relatively well-regarded prospect. Before he graduated from prospect status during the 2022 season, FanGraphs ranked him as the No. 12 prospect in the D-backs system, while Baseball America and Keith Law of The Athletic had him at No. 17. Baseball America ranked him as highly as No. 8 ahead of the 2020 campaign, writing “He could be a force in the rotation if it all clicks. Otherwise, his path might lead him to a high-leverage relief role.” While his days as a starting pitcher are likely all in the past, the Blue Jays must be hoping Frías still has a future as a big league reliever. He’ll provide some extra depth for their bullpen this year, which ranks last in the AL in ERA and second-last in SIERA. As for next year, he’ll be out of options, so Toronto will either need to add him to the Opening Day roster or designate him for assignment.

Diamondbacks Notes: Kelly, Moreno

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Merrill Kelly’s last big league pitching appearance was on April 15, as the Diamondbacks right-hander looked terrific in his first four starts before being sidelined by a right shoulder strain.  After almost four months on the shelf, Kelly now looks to be nearing a return, with manager Torey Lovullo hinting to reporters (including the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro) that Kelly will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list in time to start on Sunday when the D’Backs host the Phillies.

It won’t be official until Kelly gets through a bullpen session slated for Friday, but as Lovullo put it, “you guys can read between the lines” about the team’s plans.  “You get to a certain pitch count…when things get beyond three innings [in rehab starts], it gets real.  We like when it gets in that 80-pitch range.  We fire downrange when we’ve gotten into that spot before.  So stay tuned.”

Kelly already passed the three-inning threshold in his first minor league rehab assignment last Tuesday, when he threw 62 pitches over four innings with the high-A Everett affiliate.  Given both his long layoff and the fact that he has faced only A-ball competition, it is a little surprising that this will apparently be Kelly’s only rehab outing, but Lovullo said that “reports were really good” and that Kelly “did exactly what we wanted him to do.”  The manager noted that Kelly would be on something of a limited pitch count on Sunday, in the range of 75-80 pitches as the D’Backs ease him into action.

Now in his sixth season with Arizona, Kelly has become a rotation stalwart for the Snakes, posting a 3.75 ERA over his 775 1/3 regular-season innings.  The righty’s first MLB season (in 2019) saw him post 183 1/3 innings, and he then averaged 179 frames over the 2021-23 seasons, as Kelly missed a couple of months in that stretch with some relatively minor injuries but was otherwise a durable arm.  He gained more national attention during the Diamondbacks’ run to the NL pennant last fall, posting a 2.25 ERA in 24 playoff innings.

With Kelly on the verge of returning and Eduardo Rodriguez making his season debut earlier this week, the D’Backs will finally have their first-choice starting rotation intact for the first time all season.  Ironically, this reinforced rotation comes just as the team has taken a big blow behind the plate, as Gabriel Moreno was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with a left adductor strain.

Moreno will miss “several weeks” recovering, Lovullo told Arizona Sports (video link), and a more solid timeline could be known once the catcher “gets some second opinions” and a broader examination of his MRI results.  While Lovullo didn’t give any indication that Moreno’s injury could end his season, such a possibility can’t be ruled out simply due to the calendar and the fact that Moreno looks to be out until September at the earliest.  Any kind of setback could shut Moreno down entirely for the remainder of the 2024 campaign, and perhaps into whatever postseason activity could await the Diamondbacks.

The former star prospect has continued to impress in his second full Major League season, hitting .262/.344/.385 with five home runs over 314 plate appearances while delivering impressive defense.  There wouldn’t have been an easy way for the D’Backs to replace Moreno even if he’d gotten hurt before the trade deadline, but if he is looking at an extended absence, the pickings are slim for the Snakes to bolster the catching ranks.  Jose Herrera and rookie Adrian Del Castillo comprise Arizona’s catching corps, but Andrew Knizner was just claimed off waivers from the Rangers today to give the Snakes a bit more experienced depth behind the plate.

Diamondbacks Claim Andrew Knizner

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The Diamondbacks have claimed catcher Andrew Knizner off waivers from the Rangers and optioned him to Triple-A Reno, per announcements from both clubs. The backstop was designated for assignment by Texas earlier this week. Arizona designated right-hander Luis Frías for assignment to open a 40-man spot.

Knizner, 29, was non-tendered by the Cardinals at the end of last year then signed with the Rangers, agreeing to a $1.825MM salary. He’s not considered a strong defender but put up a respectable .241/.288/.424 batting line with St. Louis last year while hitting ten home runs in 241 plate appearances. The resulting 92 wRC+ indicates he was 8% worse than the league average hitter but that’s not bad by backup catcher standards.

The Rangers were likely hoping for something in that ballpark but didn’t get it. They sent him to the plate 93 times this year as backup to Jonah Heim but Knizner slashed .167/.183/.211. He only hit one home run and drew walks at a tiny rate of 1.1%, a far drop from last year’s 5% clip, which was already subpar. Texas acquired Carson Kelly from the Tigers prior to the deadline and nudged Knizner off their roster.

For the Diamondbacks, there’s sense in putting in the claim and hoping for a bounceback. Most of their playing time behind the plate this year has gone to Gabriel Moreno and Tucker Barnhart but neither is on the active roster now. When Moreno was on the injured list earlier in the year due to a sprained left thumb, José Herrera was recalled to pair with Barnhart. When Moreno was ready to return, the club decided to keep Herrera, so Barnhart was designated for assignment and released last month. But Moreno went back on the IL again earlier this week, this time due to a left adductor strain.

Adrian Del Castillo was added to the roster to take Moreno’s place and pair with Herrera. The Snakes evidently feel okay riding with that duo for now, but sending Knizner to Reno gives them some extra depth and gives Knizner a chance for some regular plate appearances in a hitter-friendly setting.

The length of his optional assignment could have impacts for him personally. He came into this season with four years and 21 days of service time. A new year rolls over at 172 days, meaning he needs 151 days in the majors this year to hit the five-year mark. He added 123 days to that before the Rangers optioned him prior to his DFA, so he’s still shy of the line but could get over it if he’s recalled at some point for a few weeks.

Frías, now 26, has spent his entire professional career in the Diamondbacks’ organization. An international signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, he climbed his way through the minor league system and was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2020, keeping him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft.

He has spent the past four years providing the Diamondbacks with an optionable relief arm. Players normally only have three option years but are sometimes granted a fourth. As MLBTR covered previously, a club is granted a fourth option on a player who has exhausted the first three but without playing five full seasons, with a “full” season defined as 90 active days either in the majors or minors. The shortened 2020 season reportedly does not count. It appears Frias didn’t play a “full” season until 2019, then 2020 didn’t count, so he only had four “full” seasons after 2023.

Over his four seasons being shuttled between the big leagues and the farm, he has thrown 57 2/3 major league innings with a 6.55 earned run average. His 18.1% strikeout rate, 15.6% walk rate and 41.7% ground ball rate are each a few ticks worse than league average.

In the minors, he’s racked up more strikeouts but with the control still being an issue. From the start of 2021 to the present, he has thrown 215 1/3 innings on the farm with a 4.43 ERA. He has struck out 28.5% of batters faced but given out walks at a 10% clip.

Frías will be out of options next year, so perhaps he was running out of time with the Diamondbacks. Since the trade deadline has passed, they will have to put him on waivers in the coming days. If another club puts in a claim, they could option him for the rest of the year but he would have less roster flexibility starting next year. He has between one and two years of service time and therefore has five extra years of club control still won’t be arbitration eligible this winter.

MLBTR Podcast: Fallout From The Trade Deadline And Mike Trout Injured Again

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/6/24

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The frenzy of moves before the trade deadline always has ripple effects of players being nudged out of their roster spots. 15 players were designated for assignment on deadline day and several in the days leading up to it as well. That has led to many recent waiver claims, with the Marlins claiming seven different players in the past two weeks. But they can’t claim them all, so here’s a round-up of some guys who passed through unclaimed recently.

As a reminder, players can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if they have a previous career outright or at least three years of major league service time. Players need at least five years of service to both elect free agency and keep their salary intact.

  • The Diamondbacks released Miguel Castro, according to his transactions tracker on MLB.com. The righty signed with the Snakes heading into 2023 on a one-year deal with a vesting option for 2024. He reached 60 appearances last year and locked in a $5MM salary for himself in 2024. Unfortunately, his results have tailed off as he has a 5.93 ERA this year. That has come in just 11 appearances as he missed close to three months with a shoulder strain. He has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and keep all of his money. Another club could now sign him and pay him just the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster with that amount subtracted from what Arizona pays. He has a career 4.20 ERA in 419 appearances with the Blue Jays, Rockies, Orioles, Mets, Yankees and Diamondbacks.
  • The Pirates sent Ryder Ryan outright to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. This is his second career outright and he therefore has the right to elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so. The righty has an ERA of 5.00 in his 18 major league innings. He has thrown 27 1/3 Triple-A innings this year with a 4.61 ERA, 15.5% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 48.8% ground ball rate.
  • The Mets sent catcher Logan Porter outright to Triple-A Syracuse, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. It’s his first career outright and he has just a few days of service time, so he’ll have to accept the assignment. The backstop was signed just a couple of weeks prior to the deadline after opting out of his minor league deal with the Giants, which had been acquired from the Royals. He was hitting .319/.428/.575 for the Royals’ Triple-A club before the Giants acquired him, but then his results tapered off. The Mets were still intrigued enough to give him a 40-man spot but the other 29 clubs passed on the chance to grab him off waivers.
  • The Dodgers sent left-hander Nick Ramirez outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has previous career outrights and therefore has the right to elect free agency. Acquired from the Yankees in early April, he spent most of the year on optional assignment. He logged 11 1/3 big league innings over seven appearances with a 6.35 ERA. In his 23 Triple-A innings since the trade, he had a 2.35 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, 3.3% walk rate and 54.5% ground ball rate.
  • The Braves have sent right-hander Darius Vines outright to Double-A Mississippi, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. This is his first career outright and he doesn’t have the necessary service time to elect free agency. He has a 5.82 ERA in 34 big league innings between last year and this year. His 2024 output at Triple-A includes 77 innings over 14 starts with a 5.14 ERA, 16.6% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 40.3% ground ball rate.
  • The Cardinals sent right-hander Jacob Bosiokovic outright to Triple-A Memphis, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The righty had his contract selected at the end of June, his first time added to a big league roster, but was optioned a few days later without getting into a game. That means this is his first outright and he doesn’t have the necessary service time to elect free agency. He has 43 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year with a 4.15 ERA, 28.9% strikeout rate, 13.4% walk rate and 45.3% ground ball rate.

Diamondbacks Select Adrian Del Castillo

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2:30pm: The Diamondbacks have officially announced these moves and others. Del Castillo has been selected and Moreno has been placed on the IL with a strained left adductor. They also reinstated left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez from the 60-day IL, a move that was reported last week. To activate Rodriguez, the club optioned right-hander Humberto Castellanos and transferred righty Bryce Jarvis to the 60-day IL. It was also reported last week that Jarvis is unlikely to return this year due to his sprained right elbow.

12:40pm: The Diamondbacks are going to place catcher Gabriel Moreno on the 10-day injured list with a groin injury, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on X. Fellow backstop Adrian Del Castillo will have his contract selected to take Moreno’s place on the roster. The Snakes already had a 40-man vacancy so no further moves will be required.

Moreno came up limping during yesterday’s game while trying to run out a ground ball. He was removed from the contest with what the team described as a strained left groin. It’s still unclear how long he is expected to be out of action but it’s a rough blow for the Diamondbacks regardless. Moreno is slashing .262/.344/.385 this year for a 107 wRC+ with strong defensive grades as well. FanGraphs considers him to have been worth 2.4 wins above replacement in 86 games.

It’s the second IL stint of the year for Moreno, who also missed some time at the end of June due to a sprained left thumb. Prior to that, he had been sharing the catching duties with Tucker Barnhart, with José Herrera called up to pair with Barnhart in Moreno’s absence. Once Moreno was ready to return in early July, the club decided to keep Herrera around, with Barnhart designated for assignment and eventually released.

That left the Diamondbacks with Moreno and Herrera as the only two backstops on the 40-man roster. Now that Moreno is heading to the IL again, they need to reach into their non-roster depth, which gets Del Castillo up to the majors for the first time.

Now 24 years old, Del Castillo was selected with a competitive balance pick in 2021, going 67th overall in that year’s draft. Baseball America ranked him #29 in Arizona’s system coming into this year but he has launched himself up to #16 in their most recent update. He was #36 at FanGraphs earlier in the year.

BA considers him subpar defensively but strong at the plate, which has shown up at times during his minor league career. That’s especially true here in 2024, which is likely why he earned such a notable bump in the BA rankings. In 100 Triple-A games this year, he has 24 home runs, an 11.5% walk rate and a 16.8% strikeout rate. His .319/.403/.608 batting line translates into a 143 wRC+ even in the hitter-friendly environs of the Pacific Coast League.

If he can bring even a small portion of that production up to the big leagues with him, it will go a long way towards compensating for the loss of Moreno. Herrera has hit just .229/.308/.286 this year for a 72 wRC+ with his glovework graded as near league average. Perhaps Del Castillo can outperform him at the plate but even top prospects can struggle when first exposed to the majors. The club will also have to consider that Herrera has a head start on Del Castillo in terms of building relationships with the pitching staff.

The Snakes are currently 61-52 and essentially in a three-way tie for the National League Wild Card spots with Atlanta and San Diego. Atlanta is 60-51 and percentage points ahead of the two other clubs, who are each 61-52. The Mets are just 1.5 games back of that group and five other clubs are just behind New York. With that crowded playoff race, the importance of every game will be magnified going forward. The catching situation will likely evolve in the coming weeks, depending on how much time Moreno needs to miss and how Del Castillo performs in his first taste of the majors. Herrera is in his final option year and will be out of options in 2025.

Diamondbacks Remove Paul Sewald From Closer Role

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The Diamondbacks are pulling Paul Sewald from the closing role, manager Torey Lovullo announced before tonight’s game against the Pirates (X link via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). Lovullo did not immediately name a replacement, suggesting the team could go with a committee approach.

Tonight’s game provided an immediate test. Arizona coughed up an early 5-0 lead but bounced back to take a two-run lead into the ninth. Lovullo tabbed sidewinder Ryan Thompson to close it out. Thompson gave up a couple singles and a run but successfully locked down a 9-8 victory. That usage could indicate the sinkerballer will get the bulk of the closing chances, though Arizona needed to use high-leverage arms Kevin Ginkel, A.J. Puk, Dylan Floro and Justin Martinez just to get it to the ninth.

In any case, the Snakes won’t give every narrow ninth inning lead to Sewald. The veteran right-hander had been almost spotless between his early May season debut through the end of June. He carried a 0.54 ERA over 16 2/3 frames. Sewald locked down his first 11 save chances in the process.

Things unraveled for him almost immediately once the calendar turned to July. Sewald gave up multiple runs and blew the lead in each of his first three outings of the month, all of which ended up being Arizona losses. He rebounded with five straight scoreless appearances, but he’s given up runs in three of his four most recent games.

Sewald blew a save in what turned out to be an extra-inning loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday. He got the call on Wednesday to hold a 5-2 lead against the Nationals but put four of five runners aboard (three via walk). Thompson came on and ended up securing a 5-4 win. That’s technically a hold for Sewald but obviously not a good performance.

The nightmarish few weeks came largely out of nowhere. Sewald has been one of the best relievers in MLB since his breakout with the Mariners in 2021. He turned in a 2.88 ERA over parts of three seasons in Seattle. Arizona’s call to send Josh Rojas, Dominic Canzone and Ryan Bliss to the M’s at last year’s deadline added needed stability to the back end of the bullpen.

It ended up being one of the biggest moves in the D-Backs’ surprising pennant run, as Sewald picked up 13 saves with a 3.57 ERA down the stretch. He wasn’t missing quite as many bats as he had in Seattle, but Sewald had a 2.10 ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate over 34 1/3 innings as a Diamondback until last month. He is an impending free agent, so his performance down the stretch is especially important for him personally.

Arizona made a big deadline move for bullpen help for the second straight year, bringing in Puk for a pair of prospects last month. They swung a more minor deal for Floro minutes before the deadline on Tuesday evening. That gives them some cover to allow Sewald to work through this funk in lower-leverage spots.

The D-Backs are trying to hang onto a Wild Card spot in what remains a crowded National League field. They’re riding a four-game win streak to get a season-high eight games over .500 but are only one game clear of the Mets, the top non-playoff team at the moment.

Two big factors in their potential pennant push: Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly. Arizona has been without two of their top starters for the bulk of the season. Rodriguez has yet to make his team debut after sustaining a lat strain in Spring Training. Kelly went down in mid-April with a shoulder strain.

The D-Backs could get a boost from both pitchers. Rodriguez should be reinstated from the 60-day injured list to start next Tuesday’s game against the Guardians, tweets John Gambadoro. Meanwhile, Gilbert relays on X that Kelly is slated to start a rehab stint that same night with High-A Hillsboro. That’d likely kick off a few week rehab process before he’s ready to get back on the mound at Chase Field.

Arizona did get a couple less encouraging updates on the pitching staff, though. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets that reliever Bryce Jarvis is likely to miss the rest of the season with an elbow sprain. The former first-round pick is not expected to require surgery but will need to be shut down from throwing. Jarvis has worked in a low-leverage relief role, tossing 59 1/3 frames of 3.19 ERA ball. His strikeout and walk profile is a lot less impressive than that ERA, but the Duke product has been a bullpen workhorse.

Rookie right-hander Cristian Mena is also likely done for the season. Alex Weiner of AZ Sports reported on Tuesday that the 21-year-old suffered a forearm strain in Triple-A (X link). Mena, who made his MLB debut last month with a three-inning spot start, is on the minor league injured list but could move to the 60-day IL if the Snakes need a 40-man roster spot. The Diamondbacks acquired him over the winter in a one-for-one swap sending outfielder Dominic Fletcher to the White Sox.

Diamondbacks Outright Brandon Hughes, Thyago Vieira

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The Diamondbacks announced that both right-hander Thyago Vieira and left-hander Brandon Hughes have been sent outright to Triple-A Reno. Vieira was already off the 40-man roster because he was designated for assignment last week when the club acquired lefty A.J. Puk, but there was no similar reporting about Hughes, so this move drops the club’s 40-man roster count to 39.

Hughes, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Snakes in the offseason. He was selected to the club’s roster in late April but has mostly been on optional assignment this year. When he has been up in the majors, it hasn’t gone well, as he’s allowed 16 earned runs in 14 innings thanks to eight home runs allowed.

His time in Triple-A has naturally gone much better than that. He has a 2.08 ERA in his 34 2/3 innings for the Aces. His 18.4% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate are both a bit subpar, so his 82.6% strand rate probably gets a big assist in producing that ERA.

Hughes was evidently freely available to all clubs in the past few days but they all passed. This is his first career outright and he lacks three years of service time, so he doesn’t have the right to reject this outright assignment but he’ll qualify for minor league free agency if not added back to the roster by season’s end.

Vieira, as mentioned, was designated for assignment last week. He was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks in early June. He had a 2.87 ERA in 15 2/3 innings but undoubtedly benefited from a .220 batting average on balls in play and 81.4% strand rate. Since all teams passed on the chance to claim him, they probably focused more on his 21.2% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rate, which are both subpar.

Like Hughes, this is his first career outright and he’s shy of three years of major league service time. He doesn’t have the right to elect free agency and will have to report to Reno to work in a non-roster capacity.

Diamondbacks Place Christian Walker On 10-Day IL, Designate Miguel Castro

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The Diamondbacks placed Christian Walker on the 10-day injured list earlier today, as the star first baseman is suffering with a left oblique strain.  First baseman Pavin Smith was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move to Walker’s IL placement, and right-hander Miguel Castro was designated for assignment in another move to create roster space in the wake of Arizona’s deadline-day trades for Josh Bell and Dylan Floro.

Walker left Monday’s game due to what was described as soreness in his left oblique area, and he received some good news today in the form of a relatively positive MRI result.  Walker told reporters (including Nick Piecoro and Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic) that his strain was of the minor variety, and he estimated roughly a three-week stint on the IL.

While oblique injuries can linger and a three-week-absence is still a big chunk of the two months remaining in the regular season, it’s obviously a sigh of relief for Walker and the D’Backs and the first baseman’s season doesn’t appear in jeopardy.  The Diamondbacks’ quick move to acquire Bell from the Marlins today was a clear sign that Walker would be missing some significant length of time, but if Walker is indeed able to return in three weeks’ time, Bell will become an interesting backup or part-time DH option to bolster Arizona’s bench.

Landing Bell and recalling Smith are stopgap options for the Diamondbacks, as there’s no way to truly replace Walker’s all-around contributions.  In addition to being arguably the game’s best defensive first baseman, he has been a consistent force at the plate, including his 23 home runs and .254/.338/.476 slash line in 461 plate appearances this season.  With the Snakes in a pitched battle for a wild card spot, they’ll face an extra challenge in trying to stay afloat while missing one of their top players for the better part of August.

Castro has a 5.93 ERA over 13 2/3 innings and only 11 appearances this season, as the righty just returned to action just prior to the All-Star break after missing close to three months on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation.  It is safe to say his injury impacted his performance, yet with the D’Backs bringing new bullpen arms into the fold, Castro is now the odd man out.

Castro signed a free agent contract with Arizona during the 2022-23 offseason that paid him a guaranteed $3.5MM salary for 2023, and carried a $5MM vesting option for 2024 which triggered if Castro appeared in at least 60 games last season and passed a season-ending physical.  He easily locked in that extra year with 75 appearances, tossing 64 2/3 innings in a workhorse role out of the bullpen and posting a 4.31 ERA.

If Castro is claimed on waivers, a new team will assume the remaining $1.6MM or so remaining of his 2024 salary, which probably isn’t too likely given his lack of production.  Should he clear waivers, Castro has enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment to the minors and instead opt for free agency.

Diamondbacks To Acquire Dylan Floro

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The D-backs and Nationals agreed to a last-minute trade sending right-handed reliever Dylan Floro to Arizona, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Arizona is sending corner infielder Andres Chaparro back to the Nats, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

Floro, 33, is on a one-year, $2.25MM contract and will be a free agent at season’s end. He’s pitched to a pristine 2.06 earned run average this season, albeit with a rather pedestrian 19.6% strikeout rate and tepid 90.3 mph average fastball. That said, Floro has walked only 6.4% of his opponents and kept the ball on the ground at a strong 47.6% clip. He’s not going to continue to see this level of fortune on his fly-balls — only 2.2% of them have become homers, compared to the 7% mark he carried into the season — but it’s been a nice rebound effort for a veteran reliever who struggled to keep his ERA under 5.00 last year between the Marlins and Twins.

Since cementing himself as a viable big league reliever in 2018, Floro touts a 3.11 ERA in 361 1/3 innings. He’s had a below-average strikeout rate nearly every season along the way, but never egregiously so, and has offset that with strong command. Floro also regularly avoids loud contact, evidenced by a career 87.4 mph average exit velocity, 3.7% barrel rate and 38.4% hard-hit rate.

Floro adds an affordable middle-relief arm to a D-backs bullpen that already picked up one of the most impactful relievers moved at this year’s deadline: lefty A.J. Puk. That pair of newcomers will join late-inning arms Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel to help bridge the gap between an injury-marred rotation — currently missing both Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez — and closer Paul Sewald.

Chaparro, 25, is a longtime Yankees farmhand who became a minor league free agent this past offseason and signed a minors contract with the D-backs. He’s had a big first year in an overwhelmingly hitter-friendly Triple-A Reno setting, batting .332/.403/.563 with 19 homers — good for a 137 wRC+. Listed at 5’11” and 200 pounds, Chaparro has well below-average speed and grades out poorly as a defender, but he’s posted above-average offensive numbers throughout his minor league tenure. He could eventually emerge as a right-handed corner bench bat/DH option for a rebuilding Nationals club.

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