Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #124: 8/19 @ Padres

At this point, there has been no formal announcement made, but it appears that Peter [https://arizonasports.com/story/3531716/d-backs-recall-rhp-peter-strzelecki-from-triple-a-for-doubleheader-vs-padres/] Strzelecki is going to be the additional man added to the D-backs roster for this double-header. It will be [copy... paste...] Strzelecki’s debut for the Diamondbacks. He was traded to Arizona from Milwaukee at the deadline, in exchange for left-hander Andrew Chafin. So far, the D-backs have got the better of that deal, with Chafin posting a very ugly 11.81 ERA across seven appearances for the Brewers, with more walks than strikeouts.

[Copy... paste...] Strzelecki has the potential to be an interesting piece for Arizona, not least because he brings a wealth of team control. He had less than a year of service time coming into this season, and won’t be a free-agent until at least 2029. He currently has a 3.69 career ERA across 70.2 innings in the majors, and his FIP is somewhat better at 3.37. We’ll see how things work out. My faith in Mike Hazen’s bullpen building skills are being sorely tested, with the 2023 incarnation proving little if any better than the previous ones. After Miguel Castro’s meltdown last night, the D-backs’ relief ERA is 4.71, 26th in the majors. It has been above six in both July and August, so it’s not trending positively either.

A sticky decision looms for the team, with Castro approaching the number of appearances at which his 2024 option - at a hefty $5 million - will shortly be triggered. While he was initially solid, the result over the past couple of months have been poor to terrible. Per Michael:

The team may well end up having to cut Castro loose, if they do not want to be on the hook for an expensive reliever next season. Perhaps is [Copy... paste] Strzelecki does well, then he may be allowed to stay on the roster, and it’s Castro who will be given his marching orders after the second game. Meanwhile, Merrill Kelly has been pulled up to start in this one. Torey Lovullo was non-committal about what would happen in the night-cap, which makes sense since it will likely depend on what arms are available. After Brandon Pfaadt went seven innings last night, the bullpen should generally be in pretty good shape, but another good, long outing from Kelly would certainly be helpful with regard to Game #2.

And a quick note for SnakePit purposes. Justin is recapping this one, with Keegan covering the evening contest.