Diamondbacks 2023 Player Review: Zach Davies

The veteran right-hander struggled almost all season, only to be DFA'd just before the postseason started

This article is part of a countdown of the 54 players that appeared for the Diamondbacks in 2023. They are being presented in reverse order of their aWAR, which is the average of Fangraphs and Baseball Reference WAR. 

Zach Davies: -0.35 aWAR, ranked 48th

Zach Davies as a Diamondbacks and for career / Jack Sommers

It was reported on January 4th that free agent Zach Davies was returning to the Diamondbacks for the 2023, and made official by the team on January 11th. Davies had a successful career with the Milwaukee Brewers as a solid back of the rotation starter. He struggled badly with the Chicago Cubs in 2021, and the Gilbert, Arizona native was signed by the Diamondbacks to a one year deal for 2022, with an option. 

While he didn't pitch badly for the most part, he was seldom able to get past the fifth inning and managed only seven decisions and a 2-5 record in 27 starts. His option was declined, but needing to fill innings at the back of the rotation to bridge to his stable of rookie starters, D-backs GM brought him back late in the off season for another try in 2023. 

His season started off well, when he threw five innings, giving up just one run against the Dodgers in the fourth game of the season to get the victory.  He had a rough outing against the Dodgers back at Chase Field on April 8th, giving up five runs in 4.1 innings. He was removed from the game with an oblique strain however. That injury ended up causing him to miss seven weeks of the season, as he did not return until May 27th. 

His first three outings back after the injury weren't too bad. On a pitch count limit he went just 3.1 innings against the Red Sox, giving up two runs in a 2-1 loss. Over his next two starts he pitched into the 6th and 7th innings however, throwing 12.1 innings, giving up five runs, and picking up the win in one of those games.  In total he had a very playable 4.02 ERA in the first three starts off the injured list. 

And then the wheels fell off. Making early exits over his next three starts he gave up a whopping 21 runs in just 10.2 innings.  On June 26th we spoke with pitching coach Brent Strom and he was blunt in expressing his frustrations. Davies had a lot of success in his career with sinkers and changeups away. But his command had deteriorated over the last few years, and he fell behind a lot. When he came back in the zone, he got hammered.  Strom wanted him to throw his fastball inside more to keep the hitters honest, and was having a tough time getting Davies to change his approach. 

"I'm not going to mince words. I've been pounding on Zach to change his approach at least re-setting again fastballs inside....I need to get him to understand that a 90 MPH fastball inside will play at 95. He doesn't have to add any more mileage to it. Just like the elevated fastball which I brought into this organization a couple years ago, we're doing a better job of that, but we need to pitch inside more. And Zach is the prime candidate for me that needs to do that." 

Davies responded with his best outing of the year on June 28th, throwing two-hit shutout ball for seven strong innings.  Unfortunately that did not last. His next three starts were non competitive, giving up 17 hits , seven walks, and four homers, leading to 16 runs in just 14.2 innings. Davies managed to right his ship for two more good outings after a second IL stint, giving up one run in five innings to Cincinnati and then one run in six innings against the Orioles, picking up his first victory since June 7th, and what would turn out to be his last as a D-back. 

Davies never got past the fourth inning in any of his final four starts, giving up 15 more runs in 14 innings.  His season ending ERA of 7.00 was perhaps a bit inflated by bad luck on balls in play, leading to a .346 BABIP. But the 4.58 FIP was not exactly compelling.  Oddly enough, despite all of that and his personal 2-5 record, the team was 10-8 in his starts thanks to run support to the tune of 6.1 runs per game.  He was the starter in the game in Atlanta the D-backs won 16-13.  The D-backs won 12-5 against the Rockies on September 6th, as Davies gave up all five runs in that game. Finally he was the starter for a 15-4 drubbing of the White Sox, Davies again giving up all four runs. 

At that point, the D-backs had seen enough. They designated him for assignment the next day and he was formally released on September 29th, not to be trusted with any potential postseason innings. The team insisted the decision was performance based, but clearly his inability to make the adjustments Strom had been pushing for led to the D-backs giving up on him despite only having three capable starters. 

With three straight poor seasons, Davies' future in the major leagues is in doubt. It's likely he'll catch on with some team on a minor league deal and have a chance to pitch his way back to the majors. Who knows? With the shortage of starting pitchers and almost every team looking to add, he might even get a major league deal.  He was always accessible and willing to discuss his issues with this writer, and always polite and respectful towards the media. He seemed well liked by his teammates too. But this is a tough business and you need to perform to stay in it. 

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