2 weeks Ago
The Diamondbacks made a series of moves on Saturday to shake up their bullpen . Joe Mantiply and Bryce Jarvis, who gave up six runs and the lead in the eighth inning of Friday's loss , were sent down to Triple-A Reno while A.J.
Puk was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. Coming back up were right-handers Drey Jameson, Juan Morillo, and J.P.
Feyereisen. Puk's injury is the most impactful of these moves, as it takes a late-inning arm out of commission for the foreseeable future. The 6'7" left-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018 and has spent considerable time on the injured list in recent seasons due to shoulder and biceps issues.
They should have a better idea of what the issue is after his MRI on Monday. These moves all point to a big shakeup of the bullpen, where roles will certainly change for the next couple of weeks. They're still waiting for right-handers Kevin Ginkel and Kendall Graveman to get healthy from their respective injuries to add some veteran stability to the back end of the bullpen.
Until that time comes, they're going to have to weather the storm. Here's are the takeaways from these moves and how they'll impact the bullpen. Late-Inning Roles Will Change The Diamondbacks opened up the season with a co-closer situation, with Justin Martinez and Puk getting the majority of the eighth and ninth innings in a save situation based on matchups.
With Puk sidelined for at least the next 15 days, Martinez now has a longer runway to establish himself as the team's closer. Martinez was the natural choice to take over as the closer long term, as he's gotten off to a great start. In eight appearances, he has not allowed a run in seven innings.
Opposing hitters are batting .125 with 10 strikeouts to just one walk, looking helpless against his triple-digit velocity and knuckleball-like splitter. The bridge to Martinez will be the biggest area of concern with this bullpen.
They don't have many proven arms in that area, so it will be a trial-and-error process. Shelby Miller and Ryan Thompson are the natural candidates to take on a setup role from the right side of the mound, while Jalen Beeks will do so from the left side. The trio will likely get the bulk of the seventh and eighth inning opportunities.
The Diamondbacks will need those four pitchers to carry the back end of the bullpen until Ginkel and Graveman are healthy. Thompson and Beeks pitched in the late innings last year, as the former served as the eighth-inning man for Arizona and the latter was the Rockies' closer for a stretch. Miller has earned higher leverage situations thanks to eight scoreless innings with an impressive 8/2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
When Ginkel and Graveman return from the injured list, that will likely push back some of these other relievers into lower-leverage roles. If this current group can weather the storm, the Diamondbacks' bullpen should develop into a strength of the club and set them up for success. Left-Handed Reliever Depth Wearing Thin With one left-hander sent down to Triple-A and another on the injured list with an arm issue, the Diamondbacks have just one in their bullpen.
As mentioned above, Beeks is set to take on a larger role in the bullpen. However, having just one lefty available for the game limits manager Torey Lovullo's ability to play matchups beyond the late innings. While Kyle Nelson is the other left-handed reliever on the 40-man roster, he is unlikely to be an option that's available soon.
Nelson is in extended Spring Training and slowly making his way back after missing most of 2024 with thoracic outlet surgery. Getting on a mound in a game situation would likely be the next step for him. Jack Sommers did a deep dive on the team's left-handed reliever depth earlier this month, expressing concerns about this exact scenario.
With that depth now nearly exhausted, they'll need to start making additions in that area. They have a couple of internal options in Jake Rice and Kyle Backhus in Reno, but neither player was considered for a call up in this round of roster moves. Some options they could potentially turn to for left-handed reliever help on the free agent market are Drew Smyly or Brooks Raley.
In the event they sign either player, it will take some time for them to ramp up and get ready to pitch in the major leagues. The Diamondbacks should have more certainty in what they're dealing with when they get the result of Puk's MRI on Monday. Shuffling the Deck Chairs on the Front End The front end of the bullpen is not only affected by the roster moves but also by the change in personnel.
Morillo, Feyereisen, and Jameson will take a lot of the low-leverage innings in the immediate term, but their roles could change depending on how well they do. This trio of arms comes with a solid amount of future upside. Feyereisen and Jameson come with previous experience pitching in the bullpen at the major league level.
The former was a solid reliever for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021-2022 before injuries wreaked havoc on his career. Morillo and Jameson are fireballers who can hit triple digits on their fastballs. Morrill has a good slider, as does Jameson, who also throws a changeup.
Jameson will be the most interesting arm to watch of the three. It's unclear if he's cleared the hurdles yet for the team to pitch him in either back-to-back games or multiple innings, a key reason they sent him down in the first place. The fewest days of rest between outings so far with Reno has been one, between April 8 and 10.
How quickly his stuff can recover after outings, and whether he can recover quickly from his first back to back outing this year will determine his potential role in the bullpen. It's possible that at least one of these three pitchers could establish themselves as an option down the stretch. If that is the case, having more quality bullpen arms will improve the Diamondbacks' chances of making a late-season run at a playoff spot.
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