The Diamondbacks have elected to go back to a 7-man bullpen and 5-man bench by calling up Ildemaro Vargas from AAA Reno and sending Braden Shipley back down to AAA. I listed both Vargas and Marte as options to replace an injured Nick Ahmed, so the team isn’t saying one or the other, but both. Of course, this creates a log jam in the middle infield. Vargas’ stay is probably short with AJ Pollock ready to return soon and having 10 PA in his current rehab stint.
The reason for sending down Shipley is two-fold. After a 34-pitch outing last night, he wasn’t available to pitch anyway plus Randall Delgado should be good to go after a 75-pitch start on Sunday. The team could probably use an extra player on the bench, particularly one who matches up against LHP better than what they have available. Vargas since 2015 has better splits against lefties than righties, although he still hit righties pretty well. Defensively, Vargas is going to have a tough time cracking the lineup with Drury entrenched at 2B, Lamb at 3B, and Owings/Marte at SS.