Eduardo Rodriguez has become the face of the Diamondbacks’ first-half pitching turnaround, and the fan vote reflected it.
Arizona’s rotation has been the club’s soft spot for years, but this season has offered something different. Entering play today, the D-backs carried an ERA+ of 103, and their 4.20 ERA was their best mark since 2018. That stands out after six straight seasons of below-average pitching, including the last time Arizona finished a full year at 100 or better in ERA+ back in 2019, when the team posted a 105.
Rodriguez is the biggest reason the numbers look that way. He wrapped up the first half with a 2.29 ERA, one of the lowest at the break in franchise history, and that was enough to run away with the first-half MVP vote in SB Nation Reacts.
The poll result wasn’t much of a shock. When a pitcher is carrying that kind of surface line, he’s going to draw the eye.
But the deeper indicators painted a more complicated picture. Rodriguez’s first-half FIP sat at 4.11, his xFIP at 4.54, and his xERA at 5.09.
Those numbers don’t erase what he already put on the board, but they do raise the question of how long the run can last.
The second half has already offered a taste of that concern. Rodriguez’s first start after the break was a rough one, as he didn’t make it through three innings and was hit for seven hits, two walks and five earned runs. He bounced back in his next outing with a quality start, though the 4:3 K:BB ratio didn’t exactly help quiet the underlying metrics.
Even so, the overall line still looks strong. Rodriguez’s ERA has climbed to 2.64, while the same peripheral stats now sit at 4.16, 4.58 and 4.99. The gap has narrowed a bit, but the warning signs remain.
If regression does come, the Diamondbacks will be hoping it shows up in games they still manage to win - like the comeback against St. Louis.
In Other News...
Ketel Marte Just Sent Diamondbacks Fans Into Panic Mode
Ketel Martes social media activity sent a jolt through Diamondbacks circles this week, after the veteran infielder removed Arizona-related content from his Instagram and unfollowed the team account. For a player who has been one of the clubs most important pieces, any sign of distance tends to get noticed fast, and this one was enough to set off a wave of fan speculation about what it might mean.
Marte has not commented, and neither has the team, leaving the situation to simmer without a public explanation. The intrigue is heightened by the fact that Marte holds 10-and-5 rights, giving him full control over any trade involving him, so even the possibility of movement would require his approval before anything could happen. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks May Have Quietly Avoided A Trade Deadline Gut Punch
The trade deadline can expose just how much a front office is willing to part with, and in this case the Diamondbacks may have come away without paying the kind of price that would have stung. Boston sent Connelly Early to Washington instead, with reports indicating the Red Sox passed on Arizonas interest and ultimately took Curtis Mead in the deal, a choice that suggests they preferred a more established return over whatever the Diamondbacks had on the table.
For Arizona, the real intrigue is what might have been asked for behind the scenes, especially with young bat Ryan Waldschmidt viewed as the sort of prospect another club would covet in a deal for a pitcher like Early. Whether he was ever truly in those conversations is less clear, but the fact that the Red Sox went another direction leaves the Diamondbacks with a small deadline win: they may have sidestepped a painful subtraction without having to test just how far Boston was willing to push them. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Just Got Pushed Back Into A Familiar Deadline Reality
The Diamondbacks keep finding themselves back in the same place as the deadline gets closer: trying to sort out whether the current pitching mix is sturdy enough for the stretch run. A loss to the Nationals only sharpened that concern, with rookie lefties Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake both taking the ball in consecutive games and both running into trouble. Manager Torey Lovullo has already pointed to the importance of handling critical moments, especially when an offense has just given you a lead or a chance to settle things down.
Geraldo Perdomo has also been speaking openly about the need for a pitching upgrade, which only adds to the sense that Arizona is weighing more than one path as it looks ahead. The club is still evaluating its options, and while there are other fronts to monitor, the rotation question has become hard to ignore. For a team trying to stay in the race, the next move may say as much about its belief in the present as it does about the deadline itself. [Read more 🡒]