D-backs add Andrew Chafin and Xavier Paul, option Nick Ahmed and Roger Kieschnick to Reno

Chafin will wear No. 40 in his Major League debut and Paul will wear No. 14. Chafin, 24, combined to go 8-6 with a 3.96 ERA (58 ER in 131.2 IP) and 102 strikeouts in 23 starts between Double-A Mobile and Reno this season. He entered the year rated as the club's No. 6 Prospect by MLB.com and garnered Southern League midseason All-Star accolades for the second consecutive year, after posting a 1.96 ERA (12 ER in 55.50 IP) in 9 starts for the BayBears. In 2012, Chafin led the California League with 150 strikeouts and was named a midseason All-Star.

Over 4 Minor League seasons, he has gone 27-20 with a 3.95 ERA (181 ER in 412.1 IP), 2 complete games and 373 strikeouts in 81 games (73 starts). Chafin was drafted by the D-backs as a supplemental first-round selection (43rd overall) in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft from Kent State University.

Paul, 29, who signed as a Minor League free agent on Aug. 7, played in 1 game for the Aces and 80 games with Triple-A Norfolk (Orioles) and hit .251 (75-for-299) with 12 home runs and 57 RBI. In 5 Major League seasons with Los Angeles (2009-11), Pittsburgh (2011) and Cincinnati (2012-13), he batted .254 (171-for-673) with 32 doubles, 12 home runs and 71 RBI in 335 career games.

Ahmed, 24, hit .228 (13-for-57) with 2 doubles, 1 home run and 4 RBI in 19 games with the D-backs. Kieschnick, 27, played in 25 games for the D-backs and hit.195 (8-for-41) with a double, homer and 2 RBI over 3 stints (April 24-30, June 16-July 11 & July 31-Aug. 8). The D-backs' 40-man roster is now at 38.

The turnover on the Diamondbacks roster remains high, with another rookie getting the call-up from the minors. It'll be interesting to see whether Chafin will be used to replace a starter (Vidal Nuno has looked shaky after his first start, with a 5.13 ERA), or if he is here to provide some more long relief out of the bullpen. Kieschnick certainly has done little to deserve a roster spot, but it would be tough to say his being replaced by Paul will move the needle much. Cue played-out comments about "Post-season, here we come!" Cue me inserting deadhorse.gif.