The Diamondbacks are lining up with Brandon Pfaadt on the mound against Kumar Rocker, and Arizona’s day comes with a roster note attached: the club made a move that leaves the active roster at 28 and the 40-man roster at 39.
The biggest personnel story is the end of the Lourdes Gurriel Jr. run in Arizona. Gurriel arrived from Toronto with Gabriel Moreno in the Daulton Varsho trade and made a strong first impression, hitting .261 with 24 home runs in 2023 and producing 2.9 bWAR.
He hit free agency after that season, then returned on a three-year, $42 million deal that included a team option for 2027. That option now appears likely to turn into the $5 million buyout.
Since signing, the production has fallen hard: 1.9 bWAR, then 0.6, then -0.7. In all, the club got 1.8 bWAR out of a $47 million investment.
That backdrop makes today feel bigger than just another game. Arizona has been hearing the “Season over” chorus from frustrated fans, and it’s not hard to understand why.
The margin is thin enough that falling more than three games behind San Diego would make the final series irrelevant. That could happen as soon as tomorrow.
With only 12 games left after today, the Diamondbacks can’t really afford to drop a home series.
That puts the spotlight on Eduardo Rodriguez, who has spent the season doing exactly what the club needs from him. Arizona is 22-7 in his starts, and with three outings still to come, that total already stands as the most team wins for a starter since Zack Greinke’s 23 in 2017.
If Rodriguez helps the Diamondbacks win two more, he’d reach 24, which would be the most since 2011, when the club went 25-8 in Ian Kennedy starts. The franchise record belongs to Randy Johnson: in 2002, Arizona went 29-6 with him on the mound.
Rodriguez’s own record is 15-5, but the win-loss line doesn’t tell the whole story. In his nine no-decisions, the Diamondbacks have gone 7-2, and he has posted a 2.51 ERA in those games. He’s consistently kept Arizona in position to finish the job after he leaves, and that’s what has made this such an ace-level season.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Make A Tough Lourdes Gurriel Decision At Worst Time
The Diamondbacks made a difficult roster call on September 13, designating Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for assignment as they shuffled their lineup in the middle of a season already shaped by injuries. To fill the opening, Arizona added designated hitter Jos Fernndez, a move that underscored how quickly the club has had to adjust while trying to keep its offense steady.
Gurriels departure lands especially hard because he was an All-Star in 2023 and has been a notable part of the lineup when healthy. This year, though, injuries limited him to just 51 games, and the timing of the move points toward a future in which his time with Arizona may be over before the 2027 season even arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Suddenly Face A Rotation Decision That Could Shape The Playoff Race
The Diamondbacks are suddenly dealing with a better kind of pitching problem. After so much of the season was shaped by injuries, Arizona has more rotation options again, with Corbin Burnes making his season debut and scheduled to start again soon, while Zac Gallen and Michael Soroka have also come back and were used in a piggyback setup.
Now Torey Lovullo has to sort out how to use them in a way that best protects innings and keeps runs off the board during a playoff push. The challenge is no longer simply getting healthy arms back into the mix, but deciding who starts, who follows and how the whole thing fits together as the race tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Pfaadt Just Revived A Frustrating Diamondbacks Debate
Brandon Pfaadt gave the Diamondbacks the kind of outing that can spark optimism and annoyance at the same time. He worked effectively through the first four innings against Texas, looking settled enough to keep Arizona in the game while Kumar Rocker was doing the same on the other side before the Rangers turned to their bullpen after the fifth.
The trouble for Pfaadt came in the middle innings, when one rough stretch flipped the night and put Arizona in chase mode. The Diamondbacks chipped in a second run in the sixth, but the deficit never really loosened, and the latest start only adds to the lingering debate over what Pfaadt can be for a team still trying to sort out its rotation stability. [Read more 🡒]