The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Kyle Backhus from Triple-A Reno. Catcher Aramis Garcia was designated for assignment in the corresponding move on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters.
Due to a suspended game on Friday, the D’Backs and Reds played a shortened version of a doubleheader on Saturday, and Arizona used five pitchers in a 13-1 loss in the full game of the twin bill. Backhus will therefore join the roster as a fresh arm for the beleaguered D’Backs pen, and is now in line to make his Major League debut.
Though Backhus wasn’t drafted when his college career at Sam Houston State came to a close, he signed a free agent deal with the Diamondbacks in 2021 and has posted some solid numbers over five seasons in the Arizona farm system. Pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen over the last four years, Backhus reached Triple-A for the first time in 2023, and might have reached the majors last season if injuries didn’t limit him to just 35 2/3 total innings in 2024.
Backhus has a 2.22 ERA and a 33% strikeout rate over 24 1/3 innings and 24 games in Reno this season — impressive numbers in any case, but even more noteworthy coming in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Backhus’ 9.2% walk rate is on the high side but it represents an improvement from the larger control issues that hampered Backhus earlier in his career.
This may be just a cup of coffee for Backhus in the majors, but considering how the Diamondbacks’ bullpen has struggled this year, there’s not much to lose in giving the 27-year-old more of an extended look. Jalen Beeks is the only other left-hander in Arizona’s bullpen, so Backhus can add some more balance to the relief corps while A.J. Puk continues to be sidelined on the injured list.
Garcia’s contract was selected just yesterday, as the D’Backs wanted an extra catcher available since Gabriel Moreno was nursing a hand injury suffered in Friday’s game. Moreno didn’t play Saturday but is ready to go in at least a backup capacity today, as per reporter Jody Jackson, so Garcia will now head to DFA limbo after a single game in an Arizona uniform. That lone appearance means that Garcia has now appeared in six of the last eight Major League seasons, with only four of his 120 career games coming since the end of the 2022 campaign.
Garcia has hit .211/.248/.325 over 327 plate appearances during his journeyman career, and he landed in Arizona last November on a minors contract. Garcia is out of minor league options, so the D’Backs had to designate him before trying to move him back to Triple-A, and he’ll be outrighted off the 40-man roster if and when he clears waivers. Since Garcia has been outrighted in the past, he has the right to reject another outright assignment and instead become a free agent.