The Diamondbacks have moved on from Max Kepler, designating the veteran outfielder for assignment and bringing catcher Adrian Del Castillo up from Triple-A Reno. Arizona now has two open spots on its 40-man roster.
Kepler’s run in Arizona never got off the ground. The 33-year-old arrived on a major league deal worth a prorated $780K after going unsigned until early June, with the season already delayed by an 80-game PED suspension. The Diamondbacks activated him on June 25, but the bat never showed up in a meaningful way.
Over 41 games and 145 plate appearances, Kepler hit .205/.262/.303 with only two home runs. His .098 ISO was a career worst, and his 53 wRC+ told the same story: the production just wasn’t there. Arizona also kept him away from left-on-left matchups, and he saw same-handed pitchers only 12 times before the club made the move.
Kepler’s brief stint with the D-backs was a far cry from the peak he reached in Minnesota. As a Twin, he was at his best in 2019, when he posted 3.9 fWAR and launched 36 homers for the “Bomba Squad,” the Twins club that set the all-time single-season HR record with 307, a mark the 2023 Braves tied. He also put together a solid 2023 season with Minnesota, finishing with 2.7 fWAR and 24 home runs.
Since then, though, the decline has been steep. Kepler has produced just 1.0 fWAR across 1,018 plate appearances with the Twins, Phillies and D-backs since 2024. His time in Philadelphia last year ended with a .216/.300/.391 line, 18 homers and an 88 wRC+ in 474 trips to the plate.
Arizona used Kepler exclusively in left field, where he made all 35 of his defensive starts. The club has rotated several players through that spot this season, but Ryan Waldschmidt and trade deadline pickup Lars Nootbaar are the only others to start there in recent weeks.
Even with Kepler out of the picture, the Diamondbacks enter Sunday at 75-68 and a half-game ahead of the Padres for the final Wild Card spot. Kepler is expected to clear waivers and choose free agency, and he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and collect the rest of his salary.
In Other News...
Twins Lose On A Very Strange Night In San Francisco
A strange night in San Francisco wound up touching just about every corner of the Giants' clubhouse, from the field to the postgame scene. Bo Davidson made his major league debut and immediately made it memorable, collecting a hit, a stolen base and a run scored in his first game, a debut line the Giants had not seen from a player since 1931.
The game itself ended with San Francisco taking the win, even as the club remains eliminated from the 2026 National League playoff race. But the part of the night that will linger around the team is what happened after the final out, when a cameraman followed Davidson into the locker room and a naked teammate quickly moved away on seeing the camera, a jarring coda to an already odd evening. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Deadline Pitching Moves Now Carry A Bigger 2027 Question
The Twins went to the 2026 trade deadline looking for pitching help that could push them into October, and for a while the front office could point to a flurry of moves as proof it was serious about the chase. Minnesota never got the payoff it wanted, though, and now the attention has shifted from the short-term rescue mission to what those deadline swings actually mean for a roster still trying to sort out its pitching depth.
Some of the newcomers have already given the club a mixed read, with Nance, Minter and Kremer each leaving behind a different impression about value and fit. The bigger issue now is how those outcomes line up with the contracts attached to each arm, since a few still come with years of team control while others are headed for free agency, leaving the Twins with a 2027 decision that could matter almost as much as the deadline itself. [Read more 🡒]
Former Twins Pitcher Is Forcing An Unexpected MLB Question
Chris Paddacks move overseas was supposed to be a quiet reset after a rocky major league season, but his work with the Samsung Lions has turned into something more interesting than a simple fresh start. After pitching for three MLB teams in 2025 and posting a 6.79 ERA over 57 innings, the former Twins right-hander signed a one-year deal in Korea and has settled in quickly, giving the Lions a much steadier version of himself on the mound.
The numbers in the KBO tell a very different story, with Paddack carrying a 2.93 ERA and helping a Samsung club that sits second in the standings and is in position to reach the postseason. For Minnesota, it is the kind of reminder that pitching careers can change fast, and that a former Twin now looks like he may have found the kind of groove that kept eluding him back in the majors. [Read more 🡒]