Carson Kelly DFA'd, Gabriel Moreno Activated
Prior to today's series finale against the San Diego Padres, the Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves.
The big news is Carson Kelly, who was one of the players acquired in the Paul Goldschmidt trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, was designated for assignment. The majority of the starts behind the plate will go to Gabriel Moreno, something D-backs manager Torey Lovullo confirmed.
"These type of decisions are never easy. We've had discussions around this for several days, we knew that Gabi was getting healthy. We talked about what direction we wanted to go and we believe enough in Gabi and [José] Herrera being our guys here."
Kelly had a strong first season in Arizona, when he hit .245 and tied the franchise record for home runs by a catcher with 18. He looked to be taking the next step in 2021, hitting .338 with six home runs and a 1.103 OPS in his first 38 games, but from that point injuries and poor hitting defined the remainder of his career in Arizona.
"Carson was somebody that we brought in here that was going to get the majority of the reps, which he did. We just felt like it wasn't working on a level we wanted to see it work out, that's ultimately why the decision was made. It wasn't easy, there weren't easy conversations, especially when you have to sit down and talk to your athlete. He's been here a while, he's been here through some good times, some very difficult times. Coming out the other side, you want those players who have grinded through those moments to be here to get those good feelings, that's what make those conversations hard. He's going to find himself in the big leagues again."
Arizona will have seven days to either release or outright Kelly to the minor leagues. As a player with more than three years of service time, he has the option to reject the outright assignment at the cost of the remainder of his $4 million salary. Lovullo believes that Kelly will either get claimed on waivers or hit the free agent market after rejecting the outright assignment.
Gabriel Moreno, who Arizona traded for the past winter, has been more than advertised in his first season with the D-backs. In 74 games, Moreno is hitting .270 with three home runs and a .676 OPS. While his park-adjusted OPS+ of 87 is 13% below the league average, he makes up for it in spades with his defense. The most notable stat is he's thrown out 17 of 36 potential base stealers, which leads the National League. He was placed on the 10-day IL with left shoulder inflammation back on July 23rd. Lovullo says a healthy version of Moreno will help them win games at and behind the plate.
Ryne Nelson has struggled with landing his secondary stuff all season. The main focus for what the organization wants him to work on in Reno is improving the shape and consistency of his slider. Opposing hitters are batting .217 with a .450 slugging percentage against the pitch, while only 13% of the two-strike sliders Nelson has thrown resulted in a strikeout.
"I think it was the lack of consistency, specifically being able to land his secondary stuff, get the swing-and-miss with his secondary stuff. We've seen it with some of his pitches, the changeups specifically, but I think he needs to hone in on being more consistent with his slider."
Lovullo doesn't want players to have a hang-on feeling, something he thought Nelson was getting to. He and pitching coach Brent Strom want to see the young right-hander exhibit the same intensity in his delivery throwing his secondary pitches as the fastball. Nelson will have at least 15 days to work on improving the consistency of his slider and letting it rip out of the hand instead of trying to place it.
Bryce Jarvis will work out of the bullpen to start his big league career. It's an opportunity to evaluate how he handles this level, although the organization and Jarvis himself believe he's a starter long term. He's made six relief appearances in Reno, throwing as many as 41 pitches in an outing.
"I've been with Mike [Hazen] a long time, and we were in player development in Boston, he would always give guys the opportunity to show what they could do at the end of the year for the level they were going to start at the next year. I thought that it was a very healthy way for the players to learn and think about their next off-season so they were ready for the next level. I think that's the strategy that works in the game. Getting Bryce here specifically, letting him work out of the bullpen and get some confidence. You can control those segments before he backs into a situation where he's going to give up seven or eight runs, you can control that a little easier. I think it's going to help him get his sight lines, and I talk about sight lines, and that's what that means to me. He knows he's going to be looking down that barrel of a big league stadium against big league hitters, and I'll make adjustments from there."
Related: Bryce Jarvis Opens Up About Role Change and Pitching in Reno
Lovullo did not commit for a starter Tuesday, stating they're going to get creative in trying to win a baseball game. Zach Davies is set to make another rehab start with Triple-A Reno on Tuesday. They also have a gap on Wednesday to replace Nelson in the rotation, but Cecconi could be available should they not need him to pitch Tuesday.
Drey Jameson will begin a throwing program tomorrow. He's working on plyometrics, and throwing balls against the wall to improve range of function in the arm.
