The Diamondbacks are moving on from Max Kepler.
Arizona designated the outfielder for assignment and recalled catcher Adrian Del Castillo from Triple-A Reno, the club announced. The roster shuffle leaves the Diamondbacks with two open spots on the 40-man.
Kepler’s name still carries the weight of what he was at his peak. In 2019, he turned in a 3.9-fWAR season with 36 home runs, a huge piece of Minnesota’s “Bomba Squad,” which set the all-time single-season home run record with 307.
The 2023 Braves later tied that mark. Kepler also put together a strong 2023 with the Twins, finishing with 2.7 fWAR and 24 homers, but his bat has backed up sharply since then.
Since 2024, he has produced just 1.0 fWAR across 1,018 plate appearances with the Twins, Phillies and Diamondbacks.
His path to Arizona was unusual, too. After hitting .216/.300/.391 with 18 homers in 474 plate appearances for Philadelphia last season, Kepler went unsigned until early June. He started this year serving an 80-game PED suspension, then Arizona brought him in on a major league deal worth a prorated $780K.
The Diamondbacks activated him on June 25, but the production never arrived. Over 41 games and 145 plate appearances, he hit .205/.262/.303 with only two home runs, a career-worst .098 ISO and a 53 wRC+.
Even against right-handers, where he has usually done some damage, he managed only a .192/.256/.283 line and a 47 wRC+ in his brief time with Arizona. The club limited him heavily against lefties; he faced same-handed pitching just 12 times before the DFA.
Defensively, Kepler made all 35 of his starts in left field for the Diamondbacks. Arizona has cycled through other options there this season, but only Ryan Waldschmidt and trade deadline addition Lars Nootbaar have started in left in the last several weeks.
The move comes with Arizona still in the thick of the race. 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 because he has more than enough service time, he can turn down an outright assignment and collect the rest of his salary.
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