Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.
- Selected from Triple-A Reno: RHP Austin Pope (will wear No. 66 in his Major League debut)
- Designated for assignment: RHP Jake Woodford
The departure of Woodford is hardly unexpected, given his recent terrible performances – he leaves with a 6.44 ERA with Arizona. But it’s like significant that a pitcher with an 84 ERA+ over the last five years, covering almost 220 innings in the major leagues, still got to make 22 appearances for the D-backs this year. But between the additions of Pope and Philip Abner, the upcoming D-backs 40-man roster
crunch gets tougher. Anthony DeSclafani (whose spot was used by Abner) was always going to come off at the end of the year, while Woodford was on my list of potential cuts. But the team still needs to find room for the nine 60-day IL players, and those two are no longer options.
Meanwhile, it’ll be a day for scoreboard watching as much as playing baseball. The D-backs seek to take the series from the Phillies, and keep hanging with the Reds and Mets. At time of writing, the Mets are trailing against the Nationals, while the start of the Reds games against the Cubs has been delayed. I’m having flashback nightmares about that one being postponed, and ending up having to be played after the end of the regular season somehow… But Arizona need to focus on their own business first and foremost. It’ll be a tough task, with Eduardo Rodriguez facing Ranger Suarez, who is 4-0 with a 1.47 ERA over his last six starts, to go with a K:BB ratio of 44:8 across 36.2 innings.
The D-backs are 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position this series, so I think they will have to do a better job of taking advantage of any opportunities against Suarez. They also need good Rodriguez to show up, and that has been about a 50/50 proposition of late. Over his last eight starts, his ERA has been 4.23, almost exactly at the major-league average for a starter, which is 4.22. But E-Rod’s Game Scores have been much more volatile: in that time all but one have been below 34 or better than 61. Two good starts to open September were largely undone when the Giants saw him for a second time on Tuesday. He got a no-decision against the Phillies in May
