Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #135: 9/1 vs. Orioles

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:

• Recalled OF Pavin Smith, INF Emmanuel Rivera and RHP Luis Frías from Triple-A Reno.
• Optioned INF Buddy Kennedy to Reno yesterday.

Yeah, it’s not quite the same feeling as September 1 used to be in the old days, when teams could use anyone on the 40-man roster the rest of the way. Now, there are only two extra spots opened up, and it appears the team has gone with Smith and Frias there, as well as the swap of Kennedy for Rivera. Buddy did at least get his average for the season back above a buck, albeit only by going 2-for-2 in his final game. He was 2-for-22 to that point, an .091 average. Thank to Kennedy’s late “surge” (quotes used advisedly), still only three position players have had 20+ at-bats in a season for the D-backs and an average below .100. The most recent was Yonny Hernandez’s 2-for-24 last year. Though the all-time mark is Domingo Leyba’s 0-for-22 in 2021.

He may have avoided that fate, but Kennedy joins Kyle Lewis in the Reno Stats Padding Hall of Fame this year, with an OPS more than four hundred points higher at the AAA level than in the majors. Between them, Kennedy and Lewis hit .333 for the Aces, over 537 at-bats... and less than half of that, .160, across 75 at-bats in the majors. I trust all those on social media who were vociferously demanding players get promoted, based on their Aces stats, have learned a valuable lesson. Specifically: THE TEAM KNOWS BETTER THAN YOU DO. But somehow, I doubt it, social media being what it is.

Activity this afternoon seems to prove so, with fans there “delighted” to see Pavin back on the roster, rather than calling up Jordan Lawlar as the Twitterati (X-erati?) demanded. Never mind that Kennedy has actually had a better OPS than Lawlar at the AAA level (.921 vs. .891). As his struggles early in the season proved, Lawlar is still very much finding his feet. It will happen, of that I have no doubt. Potentially for Opening Day 2024. But there’s precious little to be gained by turning him into the lord and savior of the Diamondbacks’s 2023 campaign for the final month. Nobody needs that kind of pressure, and there’s something to be said for experience.