The gauntlet begins. “I’ve never seen such bravery!”
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.
- Reinstated from 15-day injured list: RHP Kevin Ginkel (right shoulder inflammation)
- Optioned to Triple-A Reno after Sunday’s game: RHP Drey Jameson
The good news: Ginkmaster K, a.k.a. the Ginkinator, is back on the team’s roster, providing some much-needed reinforcements to a bullpen which has been wheezing over the past week or two. The not-so good news? Scott McGough is still on the roster, the team opting instead to send Jameson to the minors instead. Needless to say, fans are “a little puzzled” by this decision, to put it mildly. [NSFW, language] But I do note that, of the 13 major-league hitters Jameson faced while up here, he struck out precisely none of them, while walking three. His FIP of 6.07 is more than double his ERA (3.00), so the peripherals suggest there’s still some work needed, as he makes his way back from Tommy John. It’s a process.
Here begins a tough stretch of games for Arizona. 16 straight games over 16 days, against teams above .500, with the worst record among them, currently the Phillies, who are on pace for 87 wins, and tied with the D-backs’ at 15-13. With most (9) of the 16 games being on the road, I think I’ll be happy if the team ends up even there, when they finally get a chance to come up for air on May 15, an off-day before a series against the Rockies. Frankly, I’d even take 7-9, keeping their record overall at .500. It’ll be helpful if the pitching could come round. Their ERA+ of 96 puts them in the bottom third of teams so far, although their FIP is half a run better than their ERA (3.88 vs. 4.38). Here’s to positive regression.
Some news out of the Mets locker room. Brandon Nimmo – tied with Pete Alonso for the team lead in HR, and second to him in RBI – is out of the starting line-up today. It appears to be a nasty bout of the ‘flu which has required IV treatment. His manager is hopeful he can come off the bench tonight if needed, but I would strongly encourage him to take his time, and rest as long as is necessary. Through Thursday afternoon should just about do it, I would say. If he could perhaps sneeze a couple of times over the Mets’ team buffet while he’s recuperating, that would be welcome too.