D-backs Preview #110: 8/4 vs. Giants

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:

• Reinstated RHP Taylor Clarke (strained right Teres Major) from the 10-day injured list.
• Reinstated INF/OF Pavin Smith from the injured list.
• Designated OF Josh Reddick for assignment.
• Reinstated RHP Riley Smith from the injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Reno.
• Outrighted RHP Ty Tice to Reno.
• Optioned RHP J.B. Bukauskas to Reno following last night’s game.

The question which immediately comes to mind is, “Who is Ty Tice?” I think the most unexpected move is Reddick getting DFA’d. I mean, he hadn’t been brilliant, with an OPS+ of 76, but that puts him between Christian Walker (72) and Kole Calhoun (76) in terms of offensive production. Also perhaps a surprise Riley Smith was sent to Reno; he was fifth on the team, in terms of total innings pitched this year. He did have an ERA fractionally above six, though his FIP was considerably lower, at 4.87. Sure we’ll hear from Torey about the reasons behind all these moves, further down the preview!

Torey Lovullo notes

• Josh Reddick DFA. After stating the usual comments about hard decisions and hard discussions Torey said: The reality is that the playing time was drying up, we were getting some players back that we wanted to get a longer look at. That’s just the nature of the game... The one thing I wanted to say about Red is that he was very productive while he was here. He had some solid at bats. He hit a homerun the other day after not playing for several days. It’s just the direction we were going, wanting to give some of the younger players an opportunity. Reddick played in 54 games, 158 PA, batting .258/.285/.371, .656 OPS, 76 OPS+ , 2 HR, 21 RBI.
• Riley Smith optioned out to Reno: Look, Riley wasn’t throwing the ball that well, that’s the bottom line. You could look at the numbers . I’m watching the same game you guys are. It’s an ERA over 6, a 1.5 WHIP, and we felt like there’s more in there for Riley and for him to go down and get consistent work... we want him to go down and get the reps and get back to what they are and who they are, we know we’ll see Riley again soon. It should be noted that the last time Smith pitched in Reno in 2019 he made 12 starts , 65 IP and had a 6.89 ERA and 1.7 WHIP thanks to 85 hits and 15 HR allowed. Not exactly the best place to go get right
• Josh Rojas had 5 live AB’s yesterday which went well. He’s doing workouts with the team today and they’ll decide on his rehab assignment at the end of the day. Look for Rojas to begin thaat assignment either tomorrow or Saturday
• Communication with veteran players about playing time has been ongoing. Torey he told them: I might make some decisions that may or may not include you in the lineup. We are trying to get a look at some of the younger players and see what they can do. That’s just where we’re going and I’m anxious to see some of these younger players.
• What he sees as the issue with J.B. Bukauskas: Consistency. The stuff comes out hot and at times is unhittable. Other times I think there are some middle mistakes. The pitches are always competitive, it’s just more or less the location... From a manager standpoint I need dependability. I need to know what’s coming out of the bullpen every time. If they’re consistent and you know what’s going to happen every time I put a guy into a game it makes my decision a lot easier.

[The jokes about knowing what’s coming out of the bullpen every time just write themselves, but I’m sure you guys will find a way to enhance them ;) ]

• Josh VanMeter is ok , but with the lefty starting today he’s available off the bench

Torey Lovullo audio [or link]