Diamondbacks recall Allen Webster, designate J.C. Ramirez for assignment

Allen Webster gets his first call-up of the season, after a shaky spring training and a poor first couple of outings for the Reno Aces, which were followed by a stint on the disabled list. The three games back have been better: the ERA of 4.50 is no great shakes, but he has held opponents to a decent .678 OPS in those starts, with 19 strikeouts in those 16 innings, and a somewhat unfortunate BABIP of .364. Webster will certainly be hoping to do better than in his previous stabs at the major leagues, with a 6.25 ERA over 18 starts and one relief appearance for the Boston Red Sox in 2013-14.

Josh Collmenter returns to the bullpen; it's not the first time he has struggled at the start of the year, and ended up being moved into a relief role, as basically the same thing happened to him in 2012. Of course, he made the reverse journey last season, going from the bullpen into the rotation, and Chip Hale didn't rule out the possibility of Collmenter rejoining our starters down the line, saying, "We think Josh can be successful as a starter. So maybe going back and doing this and giving him a little break (will help him) get his good stuff back and a spot will open up and he'll get a chance."

The departure of J,C. Ramirez doesn't come as a surprise, though his performance since being called up has been workmanlike, with a 4.11 ERA over a dozen appearances, and a K:BB ratio of 11:4 in 15.1 innings of work. The team is still looking, at some point down the road, to have a regular seven-man bullpen, requiring the removal of another arm, one way or another. This move does perhaps also clear the way for Patrick Corbin to return to the rotation when he finishes his rehab assignments. Webster becomes the obvious candidate, though if he establishes himself in the same way Robbie Ray has done, the question would become trickier. Be a nice problem to have though!