Wednesday, July 30

Welcome to the D-backs Beat Newsletter! I’m Steve Gilbert and I’ve been writing about the D-backs since 1998. In today’s edition we’re focusing on the Minor League system. Let’s get right to it…

Looking to reverse their slumping ways of late, the Diamondbacks shook up their roster this week, sending veteran reliever Kevin Ginkel and the team’s top-ranked prospect, shortstop Jordan Lawlar, to Triple-A Reno.

Veteran right-hander Jeff Brigham had his contract selected from Reno to replace Ginkel, while the team re-signed veteran infielder Ildemaro Vargas, who had recently opted out of his Minor League deal with the Diamondbacks.

Ginkel opened the season on the injured list before being activated April 29. At that time, he had made only two rehab appearances.

While he had some good outings after returning, he also had two games in which he allowed five runs, with the most recent coming Tuesday when Arizona blew a lead and lost to the Pirates. In retrospect, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said it’s possible the team brought him back too quickly and immediately put him in high-leverage situations.

“He was kind of floundering,” Lovullo said. “He's got great stuff. We know what it looks like. I just felt like from my seat, the things that I saw from time to time were he lacked the finish and the consistency of pitches. He's got a great two-seam fastball, great four-seam fastball, yet he was turning away from that, going to the secondary stuff.”

Lovullo said he told Ginkel when he gave him the news of Friday's demotion that he expected he would be back after a minimal stay in the Minors.

Lawlar, who is ranked as the fourth-best prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, was recalled from Reno on May 12. The Diamondbacks did not have an everyday lineup spot for Lawlar but at the time said that he would be fine getting three starts per week at different spots in the infield.

Whether it was because of the lack of consistent playing time, the fact is Lawlar was not able to get going offensively. After putting together a slash line of .336/.413/.579 at Reno, Lawlar was 0-for-19 with three walks and nine strikeouts with Arizona.

In Wednesday’s game against the Pirates, Lawlar committed a pair of errors at second base. He was demoted following the game.

Both general manager Mike Hazen and Lovullo said the issue was not the lack of hits as much as Lawlar not having quality at-bats.

“I think to have a successful at-bat is controlling the zone,” Lovullo said. “I didn't want him to go 5-for-4 every game. I know that's impossible. But what I wanted him to do is swing at strikes, control the zone, set up pitchers to get the pitch you're looking for and have an all-field approach. We saw a lot of bat speed, but we saw a lot of swing-and-miss, and he was very predictable on the pitch he was looking for. He was one dimensional with the fastball, and that's just not going to work here at the big league level.”

Vargas was one of the team’s final cuts of the spring when he lost out to Garrett Hampson for the final spot on the bench. Hampson’s ability to play the outfield along with his speed won out over Vargas, who opened the year at Reno.

Vargas, 33, recently opted out of his Minor League contract, but with the opening in the big leagues, he quickly re-signed. This will be Vargas’ third stint with the Diamondbacks, with the first coming in 2017.

“Everybody that has been in this organization knows Ildemaro, they know he's got great bat-to-ball skills,” Lovullo said. “He can play a variety of positions, he’s a switch-hitter, gives me a lot of versatility off the bench. I'm excited for this.”

The 33-year-old Brigham has pitched in parts of five Major League seasons for the Marlins and Mets, with his most recent stint in the big leagues coming in 2023 with the Mets.

Brigham made eight appearances for the Diamondbacks in the spring and 17 for Reno this season.

Despite their recent stretch in which they dropped seven of eight games, the Diamondbacks have yet to start pointing fingers at each other for the struggles.

“Definitely still feel together,” first baseman Pavin Smith said. “Everyone still has that common goal of winning today and moving that into this weekend and onto the road trip. I think you can either use [the struggles] as a motivator or it can sort of get in your head, and you gotta be able to choose how you want to think about it. And we're gonna hopefully use that as a motivator.”

Said Lovullo, “This is a very connected team. I think they believe in one another. So the things that I watch for is a fractured clubhouse. That is not happening inside of that clubhouse. This team is very, very capable of getting this thing turned around in a hurry.”

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