Reliever Aaron Heilman has been released by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Fox Sports Arizona's Jack Magruder has reported that Heilman was shaking everybody's hands in the clubhouse after the game and has cleaned out his locker. It was announced last week that Zach Duke would be moved to the bullpen and Barry Enright would be recalled for a Tuesday start, which made some unknown member of the bullpen a dead man walking, so to speak. Aaron Heilman seems to be that odd man out.
The news comes as no surprise to Diamondback fans, and it marks the end of a year and a half stint with Arizona. He was acquired in a 2009 off-season trade with the Chicago Cubs for two minor leaguers. He was granted free agency and arbitration last winter and re-signed for a one-year, $2 million contract. Unfortunately, that only got us half a season of mediocre and sometimes poor results. After trying to make the rotation this spring, he went on the disabled list in mid-April (for the first time in his 9-year career). He had a solid May when he first came off the DL, but it was marred by a 5-run outing against the Rockies, and he didn't really hit a groove after that. It seems blood pressures collectively rose when he entered the game, and five of his eight runners inherited scored. His last outing was Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers when he came in for one inning, allowed two runs, and made a 4-run deficit a 6-run deficit in what eventually was a 6-4 loss. His ends the season with a 4-1 record and a 6.88 ERA.
Interestingly enough, it was Josh Collmenter who was called up when Heilman went on the disabled list in April. Josh Collmenter pitched 8 scoreless innings for the win tonight against the Brewers.