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The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated SS Nick Ahmed from the Paternity Leave List and optioned OF Peter O'Brien to Triple-A Reno, as announced by D-backs Sr. Vice President & General Manager Dave Stewart. Ahmed, 26, missed the previous 2 games following the birth of his son, Jackson James. O'Brien, who turns 26 on July 15, has appeared in 21 games for the D-backs this season.
The above press release seems terser than usual. It doesn't include, for example, the severely underwhelming nature of O'Brien's stats. Over his 21 games this year, he managed a mere seven hits, batting .123, with 25 strikeouts in 57 at-bats. Three of those hits were home-runs, two of them coming against the Phillies on June 17. But since that game, he has gone 4-for-37 with 18 strikeouts, and a line of .108/.175/.189. Even shaving his head didn't help. His inability to hit - or lay off - breaking pitches has been painfully apparent, and until that gets fixed, it's likely he won't see a major-league roster again.
I trust we have all learned a valuable lesson here. And that lesson is, a 1.025 OPS over more than 50 games in Reno does not guarantee you any degree of success against major-league pitching.