The arrival of Jordan Montgomery… and the departure of He Who Shall Not Be Named…
Note. Tonight’s game is not available (legally) anywhere except on Apple TV+. You can sign up for a free trial… but I’ve a feeling that may be an issue if you’ve previously signed up for a free trial. You have been warned. It’s times like this where you can see the appeal of sailing the high seas.
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:
- Recalled from Triple-A Reno: LHP Jordan Montgomery (No. 52) + OF Pavin Smith (No. 26)
- Placed on 15-day injured list: RHP Ryne Nelson (right elbow contusion)
- Designated for Assignment: INF Jace Peterson
Well, I was going to write, “The Diamondbacks finally get to add someone to the roster in a positive way, rather than being forced to replace someone who’s hurt or underperforming.” Except turns out they have to do both, Nelson’s elbow injury suffered last night being deemed serious enough to merit a trip to the injured list. They’ll keep using an extra bullpen arm for a bit: be curious to see if Tommy Henry is recalled, when a fifth starter is needed, or if they go with Logan Allen, who looked pretty solid last night.
The “big” news is, of course, the departure of Jace Peterson, who gets canned after what can only be described as among the most wretched tenures on the Diamondbacks ever. Among the 178 non-pitchers with at least 100 PA for the team, Jace Peterson ranks dead last in OPS, his line of .157/.252/.217 coming in at .469. To find the only other player below .500, you have to go all the way back to the franchise’s inaugural season, when Andy Stankiewicz had a .493 OPS. Both men have the same team-worst OPS+ of 31: for comparison, Daniel Hudson had an OPS+ of 53 for Arizona. It should probably have been obvious from the beginning. When one of the worst teams in American League history wants rid of you…
If you factor defense into the equation, Peterson’s -1.3 bWAR has been beaten by just four position players in team history. And two of them (Karim Garcia, -1.5 and Brent Brede, -1.9), like Stankiewicz, played in the team’s first year, when baseball analytics consisted of slaughtering an ox and looking at its entrails for guidance. Unsurprisingly, the top spot goes to Yasmany Tomas at -2.3. I was surprised that Rod Barajas, who started Game 5 in the 2001 World Series was second at -2.1. But all the players ahead of Peterson played considerably longer than him. You could make a case that Jace is the place to be, for pure suckage in its most concentrated form.
Still, it’s all over now and D-backs fans on social media can move on… Probably to complaining about Pavin Smith, if past history is any guide!