The Diamondbacks are making a few notable changes tonight, and the biggest one is up top: Lars Nootbaar is leading off against right-hander Casey Mize.
That’s a look Arizona is likely to use mostly against righties, but it also makes sense given how rough the alternatives have been. Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo have combined for 21 starts in the leadoff spot and hit just .148, going 12-for-81 with an OPS of .562. The hope is that Nootbaar can bring the same kind of patience he showed in his D-backs debut last night, when he drew a pair of walks.
The lineup is also missing Ketel Marte and Nolan Arenado, both getting scheduled rest. Marte’s recent stretch has been especially tough.
Over his last 24 games, he’s hit .178/.246/.290 for a .535 OPS. Since the start of July, he’s been worth -0.3 fWAR, the lowest mark on the active roster.
Carroll sits at +0.1 over that same span, though he has at least chipped in on the bases and in the field.
There’s another interesting note in the batting order: James McCann has quietly been almost as valuable as Gabriel Moreno since July, even though he has appeared in only one-third as many games.
Arizona also made a pair of roster moves. Gabriel Moreno is back on the roster, while Adrian Del Castillo was optioned out, which was an expected shift. The other move was less predictable: Ryan Thompson was sent down after a rough stretch since the break.
That downturn has been stark. Thompson posted a 2.88 ERA in the first half and looked like one of the club’s steadier relievers, but in his eight appearances since then he’s put up a 12.79 ERA, allowing 17 hits and nine earned runs in 6.1 innings, along with one homer, four walks and three strikeouts. Some of that has come with bad luck - including a .519 BABIP - but if there’s a physical issue behind it, that would at least explain the drop-off.
The move also opens the door for another left-handed bullpen option with Abner back in the mix. And in the minors, Blake Walston threw a clean inning in his first rehab outing for Reno.
With Arizona coming off E-Rod’s blow-up and the loss that followed, tonight’s matchup carries extra weight for both clubs.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Deadline Leaves One Big Question For Arizonas Wild Card Push
The Diamondbacks entered deadline week with a real chance to reinforce a club still hanging around the postseason picture, but the biggest move they made was bringing in Lars Nootbaar from the Cardinals. Arizona sent Daniel Eagen, Sandro Santana and a player to be named later to St. Louis for the outfielder, a swap that gives the roster another option in the outfield but stopped short of the sort of overhaul many around the team expected.
What made the deadline feel unfinished was how little else changed for a club that still had obvious needs. The Athletics D+ grade reflected that unease, and general manager Mike Hazen did not try to hide his own frustration afterward, saying he wished more could have been done before the deadline. For a team trying to keep its wild-card push alive, the question now is whether this was enough or just the start of a longer fix. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Rookies Are Making Mike Hazens Pitching Gamble Look Real
The Diamondbacks latest win offered another reminder that their pitching staff is being held together by some of the youngest arms on the roster. In a 10-4 victory over the Padres at Chase Field, rookie left-hander Mitch Bratt outperformed San Diegos Casey Mize, who was chased in the fourth inning after allowing multiple hits and runs. For Arizona, the bigger takeaway was the same one hovering over the club for much of the stretch run: the rotation has become a place where rookies are not just filling innings, but keeping the team afloat.
Bratt and Kohl Drake have been part of that answer because injuries have thinned out the veteran options Mike Hazen would rather lean on. It is a calculated gamble, and one that has looked increasingly real as the Diamondbacks keep leaning on those inexperienced starters in meaningful games. The larger question now is how long Arizona can keep asking that kind of load from a pair of rookies, even as the results continue to buy them time. [Read more 🡒]