Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.
Reinstated from the 10-day injured list:
- INF Pavin Smith (strained right oblique)
- INF Ildemaro Vargas (fractured fifth metatarsal in right foot)
Optioned to Triple-A Reno following yesterday’s game:
- OF Jorge Barrosa
- INF Connor Kaiser
Some reinforcements show up, Smith and Vargas having completed their rehab – the former goes straight into the starting line-up tonight. It’s certainly fair to say that neither Barrosa nor Kaiser did very much during this stint on the 26-man roster. Barrosa went 1-for-21 with no walks, and Kaiser wasn’t much better
at the plate, going 2-for-14 with one walk. It’s amusing, given the level of fan hate leveled at Smith, that’s his return is now being eagerly anticipated in the same quarters, as an “upgrade” over Tyler Locklear. Oh, fandom – thy name is fickleness. I imagine Smith and Locklear might end up platooning the rest of the way.
Tonight is also the next show on the Zac Gallen Qualifying Offer 2025 Tour. The team will be watching to see whether or not to offer Zac a qualifying offer, as we discussed last week. I suspect, if the team had many credible alternatives in the rotation, they might already have come to a conclusion on that matter. But the fact that they used Nabil Crismatt as a starting pitcher yesterday, indicates how much their depth has been taxed this year. I mean, the last five games for the Reno Aces have been started by Dylan Ray, Spencer Giesting, Bryce Jarvis, Kohl Drake and Crismatt.
Certainly, the weekend should have finally driven a stake through any concept that the D-backs are competing for a playoff spot. The laboratory for 2026 will instead continue, in particular with regard to the bullpen, the corner infield and the bench spots. Personally, I’m largely over caring much about the game result, though another defeat tonight will do nothing to quell the narrative about KetelGate. On that basis alone, I’d rather have a D-backs win, since I’m kinda tired of the whole affair at this point. Is it the off-season yet?
