The Diamondbacks made a roster move after Thursday night’s 3-1 win over the Padres, designating first baseman Pavin Smith for assignment and recalling outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt from Triple-A Reno, a source told MLB.com. The club has not yet officially announced the move, and Smith was told right after the game.
It closes a difficult stretch for Smith, whose season never really got off the ground. The 30-year-old began the year dealing with nagging pain in his left elbow, and while he believed early on that he was tracking the ball well and could play through it, the issue eventually led to surgery to remove loose bodies. That surgery cost him the next two months.
Even when he was back on the field, the production never followed. Smith posted a .141/.236/.192 slash line in 89 plate appearances this season. There was at least a brief hint that things might be turning on June 15, when he went 2-for-4 with a home run against the Angels, but the bat went quiet again after that.
The Diamondbacks’ broader offensive issues only made Smith’s struggles harder to absorb. First base has been a trouble spot for Arizona as a whole since Ildemaro Vargas cooled off after his hot start in April, and the club simply couldn’t keep running Smith out there while the offense underperformed.
Smith also carried some organizational weight. He was the first first-round Draft pick of the current baseball ops department, taken out of Virginia in 2017, and he was well-liked and respected in the clubhouse. Even so, the Diamondbacks kept believing he could find his way back.
But with Arizona treading water, Thursday’s win pushing the team to 46-47, the patience finally ran out.
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Diamondbacks May Be Reaching A Breaking Point At First Base
The Diamondbacks have spent enough time waiting for first base to come around, and the patience there is starting to look costly. Pavin Smith has not given Arizona much offense at the position this season, and the lack of production has become hard to ignore for a team that needs every lineup spot to carry its weight.
Tyler Locklear has pushed his way into the conversation with strong minor league work, including a big July that has made him look like the clearest alternative if Arizona decides a change is overdue. The question now is whether the Diamondbacks want to keep riding with the current setup or give a prospect a real shot before the hole at first base gets any deeper. [Read more 🡒]
Merrill Kelly Gets The Ball As DBacks Make Another Bullpen Call
Merrill Kelly gets the ball for Arizona as the Diamondbacks try to steady themselves against San Diego and keep a four-game set from slipping away. Kelly is coming off a win over the Brewers, his first in five weeks, and the club is hoping he can give the lineup a lift after opening the series with a victory and then dropping the next two.
Arizona also made a roster move to add another bullpen arm while keeping its 40-man roster full, a sign the team is trying to manage the pitching staff carefully as the schedule moves toward the break. With the current rotation alignment not forcing another fifth-starter decision immediately, the Diamondbacks can use the extra arm now and see whether Kelly can help them salvage the finale. [Read more 🡒]
How The WBC Changed Everything For Eduardo Rodriguez In Arizona
Eduardo Rodriguezs spring and summer have carried the kind of momentum Arizona hoped for when it brought him in, and a lot of it traces back to what happened in March with Venezuela. He was effective in the World Baseball Classic, working 4 1/3 scoreless innings as Venezuela pushed all the way to the title, and he came out of that run with a sharper sense of what he wanted to lean on. For a pitcher who has spent years building a reputation as a steady big-league arm, the WBC offered a different sort of stage and, by the looks of his early work since then, a useful boost.
The Diamondbacks have had a close view of Rodriguez for a long time, which made his rise this season feel especially meaningful around the organization. Torey Lovullo and Mike Hazen both know him well, and Lovullo was the one who delivered the news when Rodriguez was named an All-Star, a moment that carried extra weight because of how long their paths have crossed. Arizona has seen plenty of Rodriguezs game over the years, but this version, sharpened by the WBC and rewarded with a first trip to the Midsummer Classic, has given the club another reason to feel good about where his season is headed. [Read more 🡒]