:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71222602/1241925538.0.jpg)
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:
- Recalled RHP Edwin Uceta (No. 66) from Triple-A Reno.
- Placed LHP Kyle Nelson on the 15-day injured list (lower back spasms), retro to Aug. 5.
Jose Herrera went 0-for-4 yesterday, dropping his OPS for the season to just .457. It’s startling, considering he has been on the team since Opening Day, and there has been no real suggestion any change should be made. He’s on pace to get 188 PA over the course of the season, and really needs to pump up his production at the plate, if he’s not going to become the worst hitting Diamondback by OPS, with that many PA. Here are where he would rank, along with the nine other such lowest OPS’s in franchise history (min. those projected 188 PA):
Worst hitting D-backs ever
| Player | OPS | Season | G | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | OPS | Season | G | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
| José Herrera | .457 | 2022 | 47 | 124 | 111 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 34 | .189 | .250 | .207 |
| Jarrod Dyson | .539 | 2018 | 67 | 237 | 206 | 29 | 39 | 2 | 12 | 27 | 34 | .189 | .282 | .257 |
| Jeff Mathis | .544 | 2018 | 69 | 218 | 195 | 15 | 39 | 1 | 20 | 20 | 66 | .200 | .272 | .272 |
| Quinton McCracken | .547 | 2003 | 115 | 226 | 203 | 17 | 46 | 0 | 18 | 15 | 34 | .227 | .276 | .271 |
| Tony Abreu | .560 | 2010 | 81 | 201 | 193 | 16 | 45 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 47 | .233 | .244 | .316 |
| Nick Ahmed | .564 | 2016 | 90 | 308 | 284 | 26 | 62 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 58 | .218 | .265 | .299 |
| Geraldo Perdomo | .574 | 2022 | 97 | 334 | 290 | 39 | 58 | 4 | 26 | 37 | 71 | .200 | .295 | .279 |
| Chris Owings | .574 | 2018 | 106 | 309 | 281 | 34 | 58 | 4 | 22 | 24 | 75 | .206 | .272 | .302 |
| Chris Burke | .582 | 2008 | 86 | 199 | 165 | 20 | 32 | 2 | 12 | 27 | 33 | .194 | .310 | .273 |
| Chris Owings | .587 | 2015 | 147 | 552 | 515 | 59 | 117 | 4 | 43 | 26 | 144 | .227 | .264 | .322 |
As you can see, Herrera is currently 82 points below the next-worst, Jarrod Dyson in 2018. Remember how bad a hitter Jeff Mathis was? Herrera is 87 points below Mathis. It’s not as if Herrera appears to offer any particular set of skills as a catcher either. Pitchers throwing to him have a collective ERA of 4.23, almost identical to the team’s overall ERA, 4.18. Catcher framing has Herrera exactly at zero. He just blows chunks at the plate. Even if you allow for the lower environment, and use OPS+, Herrera’s figure of 33 would still be the worst, ahead of Quinton McCracken’s 39 in the 2003 campaign. [Related: Gerardo Perdomo is on pace for the lowest OPS by a qualified D-backs hitter, his .574 beating Chris Owings’s .587 in 2017]
I imagine one reason Herrera is still here, is because Madison Bumgarner seems to like throwing to him. MadBum’s ERA over 13 starts to Herrera is 3.55, compared to 4.34 in eight games throwing to Carson Kelly. There’s also apparently a dearth of alternative options, as far as the team is concerned. They don’t seem to want Daulton Varsho catching any more - his last start there was June 9 - even if there’s no longer any particular need for him to be in the outfield (though the trade of David Peralta has opened up more PA there). But why not call up Dominic Miroglio? While Reno is surely inflating his numbers, it’d take a hell of a hit for his .957 OPS there to turn into anything approaching Herrera’s.
Loading comments...