Arizona Diamondbacks DFA Jeremy Hazelbaker, claim Troy Scribner

The Arizona Diamondbacks claimed right-handed pitcher Troy Scribner off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim today. To make room for the 26-year-old on the 40-man roster, the team designed outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker for assignment. Scribner was optioned to the Triple-A Reno Aces, and will join their rotation there. The pitcher isn’t the first Scribner in the Diamondbacks’ organization. His older brother, Evan, was drafted by Arizona in the 28th round of the 2007 draft, but was dealt to the Padres, a little over a year later, for Tony Clark. [He has since appeared in the majors intermittently over each of the last seven seasons, but only appeared in more than 30 games once, for the 2015 A’s]

Troy was undrafted, but signed to the Astros as an amateur free agent in June 2013. He was sold to the Angels in March 2016, with his major-league debut last July. Scribner made four starts and six relief appearances, posting a 4.18 ERA over 23.2 innings, though had a K:BB ratio of 18:10. At Triple-A, he has a 4.35 ERA over 103.1 IP, with a K:BB of 103:38. At the time of the debut, John Sickels said: “He doesn’t throw very hard, upper-80s/low-90s on his best days, but he locates his curveball, slider, and change-up efficiently and shows little fear of hitters. He’s proven able to make adjustments and has survived the difficult California and PCL with his confidence intact. Overall, Scribner projects as a fifth starter or long reliever.”

It seems likely another team will take a shot at Hazelbaker, who has a 116 OPS+ over 155 MLB games, so we’ll see what develops there. Given that, it’s odd how neither the Cardinals nor the D-backs seemed interested in giving him an extended opportunity. Indeed, among all players with more than 20 PA for Arizona, Hazelbaker’s OPS of 1.020 is second only to J.D. Martinez (1.107). He’s perhaps remembered for not making an out over his first six games in Sedona Red, going 6-for-6 with a pair of walks after making the Opening Day roster as a replacement for Gregor Blanco. But he had only 10 PA with Arizona in the second-half and likely fell down our depth chart further, with the arrival of Jarrod Dyson and Steven Souza.