Drey Jameson

Diamondbacks Sign Randal Grichuk

By Mark Polishuk | February 17, 2024 at 2:03pm CDT

2:03PM: The Diamondbacks have officially announced Grichuk’s signing, and created 40-man roster space by moving right-hander Drey Jameson to the 60-day injured list. Jameson underwent Tommy John surgery in September and is expected to miss the entire 2024 season.

10:45AM: The Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Randal Grichuk to a one-year deal worth $2MM in guaranteed money, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (X link). Grichuk will earn $1.5MM in base salary in 2024, and there is a $500K buyout on a mutual option for the 2025 season. If the mutual option is exercised by both sides, Grichuk will earn $6MM in 2025. Grichuk is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Grichuk hit .267/.321/.459 with 16 homers over 471 plate appearance for the Rockies and Angels last season, translating to a perfectly average 100 wRC+ for the 32-year-old. This matches the 100 wRC+ Grichuk has posted over his entire 10-year career in the Show, with a .249/.296/.465 slash line and 191 home runs over 4261 plate appearances. Within those overall numbers sits a decidedly superior set of numbers against left-handed pitching, as the right-handed hitting Grichuk has an .822 career OPS against southpaws as compared to a .735 OPS against righties.

Since the start of the 2020 season, Grichuk’s splits have grown wider, as he has All-Star level numbers against lefties and sub-replacement level production against righties. With the door quite possibly closing on Grichuk’s viability as an everyday player, this perhaps makes him an ideal fit for a Diamondbacks team looking for some right-handed balance within a lefty-heavy outfield mix.

Reports surfaced last week that Grichuk was one of the players the Snakes were eyeing as a veteran complement to outfielders Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas, as well as the newly-signed Joc Pederson. All three of those players are left-handed bats and only Carroll is a lock for everyday duty, so Grichuk should be able to find plenty of at-bats filling in for Pederson or Thomas when a lefty is on the mound. Grichuk can play all three outfield positions and is at least passable defensively in center, adding to his value as a part-timer.

Coming off a surprise NL pennant, the Diamondbacks have been aggressive in bolstering their roster this offseason. Eduardo Rodriguez was signed to a four-year, $80MM contract, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was brought back for a three-year, $42MM commitment, and Pederson will earn $12.5MM in guaranteed money for his one-year deal (with a mutual option for 2025). Between these signings, Grichuk, and the trade that brought Eugenio Suarez from the Mariners, Arizona has both upgraded the rotation and added a lot of balance, power, and veteran experience to the position player mix.

The D’Backs are projected to have a payroll slightly lower than $143MM next season, as per Roster Resource. While still a pretty modest payroll by league-wide standards, it stands as the larger payroll in Arizona’s franchise history, and a sizeable bump over the club’s $116.1MM Opening Day payroll from 2023. Between these expenditures and new extensions for both GM Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo, the Diamondbacks clearly feel 2023 was just the beginning of a new contention window, and have used their extra playoff revenue to reinvest in the roster.

Drey Jameson To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | September 17, 2023 at 3:32pm CDT

Diamondbacks right-hander Drey Jameson has been on the injured list since early July due to elbow problems, and unfortunately the 26-year-old is now facing the worst case scenario. Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) that Jameson will undergo a Tommy John surgery, which will almost certainly keep the pitcher out of action until Opening Day 2025.

The outcome isn’t unexpected, as Jameson was almost immediately shifted to the 60-day injured list soon after his initial 15-day IL placement, and Lovullo indicated in July that the righty’s UCL had suffered some type of damage. Jameson had been trying to work through the injury without surgery and had been on a throwing program, though that program was paused earlier this week.

Jameson now faces a much more extensive rehab process and an unfortunate stoppage in his young career. Selected 34th overall by the D’Backs in the 2019 draft, Jameson was still able to blaze a quick path to the majors even despite losing 2020 as a development year because of the pandemic. He made his Major League debut with four starts and a 1.48 ERA over 24 1/3 innings in 2022, and then battled for a starter’s job in Spring Training before opening this season in Arizona’s bullpen.

Some tough early results got him sent to Triple-A for much of May, after Jameson had been moved into the rotation to fill in for the injured Zach Davies. Jameson returned to the big league bullpen at the end of May and looked pretty sharp before his elbow injury, at least in terms of bottom-line results. Jameson had a 3.32 ERA over 40 2/3 total innings this season, with a 4.49 SIERA reflecting his below-average strikeout and walk rates, though he at least limited damage with a 45.8% grounder rate and a hefty 87% strand rate.

The TJ surgery could well factor into any future decision over Jameson’s role as a starter or reliever, though that determination will certainly wait until after he is healthy and ready to pitch. Rebuilding arm strength for a relief role isn’t quite as extensive as rehabbing to take on a starter’s workload, so there is a slim chance Jameson might be able to make it back at the very end of the 2024 regular season, but the much likelier scenario is that he’ll miss all of next season recovering.

Even if Jameson might have been a depth starter for 2024, his injury removes another arm from the Diamondbacks’ depth chart heading into the offseason. The Snakes have hung in the wild card race despite not getting much from their rotation beyond Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, leaving pitching as a question to be more fully addressed over the winter. Tommy Henry, Ryne Nelson, and Brandon Pfaadt will all be in the running to compete for rotation jobs, but Arizona will surely look to acquire at least one veteran arm. Davies could be retained on a $5.5MM mutual option, though that doesn’t seem likely to be exercised given Davies’ struggles this year.

NL West Notes: Freeland, Jameson, Corbin, Ohtani, Dodgers

By Mark Polishuk | July 9, 2023 at 10:22pm CDT

Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland suffered a dislocated right shoulder while making a diving attempt at a Brett Wisely bunt in today’s 1-0 loss to the Giants. Freeland was in obvious pain on the field, and told reporters (including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post) afterwards that “that was one of the worst feelings I’ve had, pitching-injury-wise.” An MRI tomorrow will check for any further damage, but perhaps the one plus is that the dislocated shoulder quickly went back into the socket, as Freeland said x-rays were taken to examine the shoulder and rule out any broken bones.

A trip to the 15-day injured list is certainly coming for Freeland following the All-Star break, and it remains to be seen how long he’ll be sidelined, though it at least helps that his pitching arm wasn’t injured. Freeland has a 4.72 ERA and the Statcast numbers aren’t fond of his work, but perhaps his the most important statistic for the season is a team-leading 103 innings. With so many Colorado pitchers already being lost to injuries this season, Freeland’s durability had been a positive for the club, but now the left-hander is himself looking at a substantial stint on the IL.

Diamondbacks Select Tyler Gilbert; Drey Jameson Moved To 60-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | July 8, 2023 at 12:30pm CDT

The Diamondbacks selected the contract of left-hander Tyler Gilbert from Triple-A Reno, and optioned outfielder Kyle Lewis to Triple-A in the corresponding 26-man roster move. To make room on the 40-man, Arizona moved right-hander Drey Jameson to the 60-day injured list.

Gilbert’s last MLB appearance came almost a year ago, as he tossed four innings for the D’Backs on July 26, 2022. An elbow sprain sent him to the 60-day IL and subsequently ended his season, and Arizona then designated Gilbert for assignment during the winter and outrighted him off the 40-man roster.

Best known for his no-hitter against the Padres in 2021, Gilbert hasn’t been able to sustain the momentum after that dream start (literally his first start in the majors, after three previous relief appearances). While posting some good results throughout the rest of his 2021 rookie season, Gilbert had a 5.24 ERA over 34 1/3 innings last year and spent a lot of time in the minors.

The results haven’t been particularly good at Triple-A Reno this season, as Gilbert has a 5.67 ERA over 54 innings, though his 27.3% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate hint that he is getting a little unlucky in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League. Gilbert also has a .343 BABIP and eight homers allowed over his 54 frames of work.

It seems like the D’Backs will use Gilbert in the long relief role left vacant when Jameson was injured, and the rather immediate move to the 60-day IL is something of an ominous sign for Jameson’s health. The Diamondbacks only placed Jameson on the 15-day IL yesterday due to elbow inflammation, and he was set to undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. Results of that MRI haven’t yet been revealed, and even if Jameson has avoided a major injury, the D’Backs might just be showing caution with any elbow-related issue.

Jameson made three starts in a fill-in capacity for Zach Davies earlier this season, but has pitched out of the bullpen over his other 12 outings. While the advanced metrics aren’t wild about Jameson’s modest 21.3% strikeout rate or 10.3% walk rate, the bottom-line results have been there, with a 3.32 ERA over 40 2/3 total innings. Since he’ll now be out until at least the first week of September, the pitching-needy Diamondbacks will need to find another way to make up those innings — the club was already expected to be looking at starters and relievers heading into the trade deadline.

D-Backs Select Dominic Canzone, Designate Konnor Pilkington

By Anthony Franco | July 7, 2023 at 6:07pm CDT

The Diamondbacks announced a number of roster moves heading into tonight’s matchup against the Pirates. Arizona selected corner outfielder Dominic Canzone and recalled reliever Justin Martinez from Triple-A Reno. Outfielder Dominic Fletcher was optioned, while reliever Drey Jameson landed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation. To clear a 40-man roster spot for Canzone, the Snakes designated lefty Konnor Pilkington for assignment.

Canzone, 25, reaches the majors for the first time. Arizona selected the lefty-swinging outfielder in the eighth round of the 2019 draft out of Ohio State. He has consistently posted big numbers in the minors but progressed relatively slowly up the ladder. He first reached Double-A late in 2021 and got to the Triple-A level for the first time last season.

Baseball America ranked him the #25 prospect in the D-Backs’ system over the winter. The outlet praised his power upside and statistical track record but suggested some scouts have expressed trepidations about his hit tool and athleticism. Canzone has continued to post excellent numbers over the past few months, hitting .354/.431/.634 with 16 home runs through 304 trips to the plate.

Even in an extremely hitter-friendly environment in Reno, Canzone’s production stands out. He’s walking at a 12.8% clip and has only struck out 13.2% of the time. Among Pacific Coast League hitters, he ranks eighth in on-base percentage and tops the circuit in slugging. He’ll add some short-term outfield depth with Corbin Carroll day-to-day after reinjuring his shoulder last night.

Canzone isn’t the only Diamondback hoping to make his MLB debut. This is Martinez’s second promotion, but he was optioned a few days after his first without appearing in a game. The 21-year-old righty has a 3.77 ERA over 31 innings in Reno. He replaces Jameson in the relief corps for now.

The D-Backs acquired Pilkington in a cash transaction from the Guardians in May. The 25-year-old has spent his entire time in the organization on optional assignment to Reno. Over 11 starts there, he’s been tagged for a 9.53 ERA with a below-average 18% strikeout rate and a huge 16.1% walk percentage.

Pilkington tossed 58 innings for the Guardians last summer. He posted a decent 3.88 ERA but with worse than average strikeout and walk numbers over his initial MLB look. The Mississippi State product has struggled at the Triple-A level but posted a 3.04 ERA in 100 2/3 Double-A frames. Arizona will trade him or put him on waivers within a week.

Injured List Activations: Davies, Whitlock

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2023 at 4:46pm CDT

Updates on some prominent players returning from the injured list…

The Diamondbacks reinstated Zach Davies from the 15-day IL, while also calling up Drey Jameson from Triple-A and optioning right-handers Brandon Pfaadt and Luis Frias. Davies made just two starts and threw 9 1/3 innings before going on the IL in early April due to a strained left oblique, but he’ll now return to Arizona’s rotation, beginning with tonight’s game against the Red Sox. Between Davies’ injury and Madison Bumgarner’s release, the D’Backs have turned to several of their younger pitchers to try and stabilize the rotation, but none of Ryne Nelson, Tommy Henry, Pfaadt, or Jameson have done particularly well in starting duty.
Garrett Whitlock will be the opposing starter against Davies tonight, as the Red Sox have activated the right-hander from the 15-day IL. The corresponding move took place yesterday, as Boston optioned left-hander Brennan Bernardino to Triple-A following Friday’s 7-2 win over the D’Backs. Whitlock has missed a month due to ulnar neuritis, or essentially inflammation of the funny bone near his right elbow. Whitlock has a 6.19 ERA over three starts and 16 innings this season, and while his results as a starter have been middling over the last two seasons, the Red Sox will continue to give Whitlock looks in the rotation. Struggling veteran Corey Kluber will be moved to the bullpen to accommodate Whitlock’s return to the starting five.

Diamondbacks Option Jake McCarthy, Drey Jameson

By Darragh McDonald | April 25, 2023 at 12:57pm CDT

The Diamondbacks optioned right-hander Drey Jameson to Triple-A Reno yesterday, opening up a roster spot for lefty Tommy Henry, who was recalled and started last night’s game. Today, the club is optioning outfielder Jake McCarthy as well, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, recalling infielder Emmanuel Rivera in a corresponding move.

Individually, the moves aren’t necessarily shocking. Both players have started a bit slow here in the early parts of this season and neither is fully established. Each player is 25 years old and came into this year with less than a year of service time. But their demotions, as well as Madison Bumgarner recently getting designated for assignment, perhaps point to the club having more of a win-now mentality than recent years.

The D’Backs went 25-35 in the shortened 2020 season before winning just 52 games the season after and 74 last year. The silver lining of those losing seasons is that they’ve been able to devote playing time to young players like Josh Rojas, Corbin Carroll, Christian Walker and others, who were able to use those opportunities to hone their skills cement themselves as viable big leaguers to varying degrees.

But this year, the club’s emerging young core has helped them jump out to a 13-11 start. With the Dodgers having a modest offseason and feeling less like inevitable conquerors while the Padres and Giants have had slow starts, the D’Backs find themselves leading the American League West. In order to stay that up there, it seems there’s less room for players to develop in the big leagues.

McCarthy looked to have taken a step forward last year, hitting .283/.342/.427 for a wRC+ of 116 while also stealing 23 bases. With him in the outfield alongside Carroll and Alek Thomas, the club felt good enough about its options on the grass to trade Daulton Varsho to the Blue Jays in the offseason. They did get Lourdes Gurriel Jr. back in that deal for some insurance, though he’s a short-term add since he’s an impending free agent. McCarthy hasn’t been able to carry over those results so far, hitting just .143/.229/.238 prior to today’s move. He’s surely due for some regression from a .160 batting average on balls in play, but he’s also not hitting the ball with much authority. He’s currently in the 9th percentile in terms of average exit velocity, 8th in hard hit rate and 34th in barrel rate. He’ll head to Triple-A to try to get into a groove.

As for Jameson, his numbers might not look disastrous at first glance, as he has a 3.71 ERA through six appearances. However, he hasn’t exactly been racking up the outs. He started the season in the bullpen and made three long relief appearances, but then was moved to the rotation when Zach Davies landed on the injured list. His first start was solid, tossing four shutouts innings against the Brewers, throwing 54 pitches in the process. His next start wasn’t quite as good, as he threw 71 pitches but logged only 3 2/3 innings against the Cardinals. Then on Sunday, he only lasted one inning against the Padres. It took him 43 pitches, allowing three hits, three walks and three earned runs in the process.

“If he pitched better, he’d still be here,” manager Torey Lovullo said frankly yesterday, per Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic. “That’s one of the things that (General Manager Mike Hazen) told him. A 43-pitch first inning puts us way behind, we’re kind of in a box, we’ve got to play a little catchup now with our bullpen. This was a direct response to what he did yesterday and a little bit of what he did in St. Louis as well.”

Those comments seem to reflect the win-now mentality that the club currently has. “We felt like the best thing for Drey at this point in time is to go down, get his timing, get his rhythm and find his stuff,” Lovullo said. “I said it last night: Good major league hitters, when they know you’re throwing a fastball, will get wood on a bullet. I stand by his ability to make pitches and when he does, he’s going to find his way back here.”

With Jameson going to Reno to try to earn his way back to the majors and Bumgarner out of the picture, the club is down to four starters on the roster in Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Ryne Nelson and Henry. They have some off days coming up that could allow them to get by with that group, but it sounds like that’s not the plan. “We have discussed the four-man,” Lovullo said. “We know the off days are there. It was thrown around. We have not made any decisions, but I don’t think a four-man rotation right now is anything we’re interested in.”

Since the club needs a fifth starter, it makes speculative sense that a promotion of prospect Brandon Pfaadt could be imminent, though the club hasn’t made any kind of official announcement in that department. A telling sign could be if he makes his next scheduled start, as he’s currently slated to take the ball for Reno on Wednesday. A consensus top-50 prospect in the league, Pfaadt isn’t on the 40-man roster and would require a corresponding move if he gets the call. He has a 3.54 ERA through four starts in Triple-A this year, striking out 30.1% of batters faced while walking 4.8%.

Joe Mantiply To Open Season On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | March 28, 2023 at 10:42pm CDT

The Diamondbacks will be without top reliever Joe Mantiply start the season. Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters the southpaw will open the year on the 15-day injured list as he battles shoulder fatigue (via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Arizona will carry Kyle Nelson on the active roster in his place.

Mantiply had a breakout 2022 campaign. The southpaw threw a career-high 60 innings over 69 appearances, posting a 2.85 ERA. Mantiply racked up grounders at an excellent 53.5% clip while punching out more than a quarter of batters faced. Perhaps most impressively, he kept his walks to a microscopic 2.5% rate, the second-lowest mark among relievers around the league.

That secured Mantiply his first All-Star nod and pushed him into high-leverage innings. The Snakes set out to deepen their bullpen this offseason with additions of Miguel Castro, Scott McGough and Cole Sulser. They’ve already lost Mark Melancon and Corbin Martin for extended stretches this spring, and now they’ll be down arguably their top reliever headed into the year. The team hasn’t provided much clarity on Mantiply’s return date.

To backfill the bullpen, the D-Backs are turning to a few less proven arms. Right-hander Drey Jameson is moving to relief, the club announced over the weekend (relayed by Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). Ryne Nelson secured the fifth starter role and Arizona elected to carry Jameson out of the big league bullpen rather than send him back to Triple-A Reno. Jameson impressed over his first four MLB starts last season but has long faced questions from evaluators about whether he can hold up as a starter, due both to a rather slight frame and some inconsistency in his control.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old righty Carlos Vargas will get a season-opening bullpen job (as first reported by Eno Sarris of the Athletic). He’s already on the 40-man roster but hadn’t previously gotten a big league call. Arizona acquired Vargas from the Guardians back in November.

The Dominican Republic native split the 2022 season between Cleveland’s top two affiliates, combining for a 3.67 ERA with a decent 24.7% strikeout rate but an alarming 11.3% walk percentage across 34 1/3 innings. He managed a 13:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 10 1/3 frames of three-run ball while averaging north of 100 MPH with his fastball this spring. He’s a volatile but possible high-upside arm for Lovullo to call upon in the middle innings.

NL West Notes: Gonsolin, Profar, Senzatela, Cron, Cobb, D’backs

By Mark Polishuk | March 26, 2023 at 8:10am CDT

Tony Gonsolin suffered an ankle sprain earlier this month, and the injury is already set to place the right-hander on the 15-day injured list to begin the season. The Dodgers have yet to share a more specific recovery timeline for Gonsolin, but The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya writes that late April probably represents the earliest we could see Gonsolin make his 2023 debut. On Friday, Gonsolin did some mound work for the first time since his ankle injury.

Losing a pitcher of Gonsolin’s caliber for at least a month isn’t news for the Dodgers, but the team is better equipped than most to withstand such a significant loss to the rotation. Los Angeles had a pair of promising young arms competing for the right to be Gonsolin’s replacement, with Ryan Pepiot getting the nod over Michael Grove. Pepiot will get a chance to build on the 36 1/3 innings he threw in his MLB debut season, and establish himself as the team’s top depth option in the event of future injuries.

Latest On D-Backs’ Rotation

By Anthony Franco | March 20, 2023 at 11:28pm CDT

The Diamondbacks entered Spring Training with four rotation spots in place. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are the top two on the staff. Madison Bumgarner will get another crack in the middle, while Arizona brought back Zach Davies on a one-year free agent deal to take a back-end spot.

Who would secure the fifth spot was one of the more interesting decisions for the Snakes in camp. As MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald explored in early January, that battle looked likely to come down to four hurlers: Ryne Nelson, Drey Jameson, Tommy Henry and Brandon Pfaadt. Jameson and Nelson, both of whom made their big league debuts late in the 2022 season, seemed the early favorites.

That indeed now appears to be a two-person race. Arizona reassigned Pfaadt, who is not yet on the 40-man roster, to minor league camp over the weekend. They optioned Henry to Triple-A Reno this afternoon, taking him out of consideration for an Opening Day job as well.

Neither Jameson nor Nelson has done much to seize the job this spring. The former has allowed eight runs in 9 2/3 innings, while the latter has been tagged for nine runs in the same amount of work. Jameson has at least managed a solid 12:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while Nelson’s 10:6 mark is less impressive.

Both pitchers fared well in very limited MLB looks last year. Jameson made four starts and posted a microscopic 1.48 ERA through 24 1/3 innings. That came with an excellent 56.1% grounder percentage and above-average strikeout and walk numbers. It was a very strong debut effort but won’t completely erase concerns about the ghastly 6.95 ERA he’d posted over the 114 Triple-A innings he’d thrown prior to his promotion. Reno is among the hardest places in affiliated ball to pitch, which certainly didn’t do him any favors. That said, some prospect evaluators have suggested the Ball State product is likelier to settle into a bullpen role than a rotation because of concerns about his command.

Nelson has had some relief concerns himself, though he’s generally credited for more advanced command than Jameson. He doesn’t throw quite as hard and didn’t miss as many bats in his brief big league look as Jameson did. Nelson had similarly strong bottom line numbers in a cup of coffee, however, allowing four runs in 18 1/3 big league frames. Over 136 innings in Reno, he’d posted a 5.43 ERA with roughly average strikeout and walk numbers.

Henry had the most MLB work of this group in 2022, starting nine games. He didn’t find the early success of Jameson or Nelson, pitching to a 5.36 ERA with below-average strikeout and walk rates in 47 innings. Henry allowed 11 runs in 16 1/3 frames in camp before being optioned. Pfaadt is arguably held in the highest regard of the bunch but is the only one who hasn’t made his big league debut. The 24-year-old made 19 starts at Double-A Amarillo and 10 with Reno last season, combining for a 3.83 ERA in 167 innings. He allowed five runs with 15 strikeouts and four walks in 12 innings this spring.

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