Diamondbacks Call Up Peter O’Brien, Among Others

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The day that many Dbacks fans have been waiting for is finally here. The Arizona Diamondbacks have selected the contract of Peter O’Brien from Triple-A Reno. O’Brien is one of many players that received a call up after the Aces’ season ended on Monday afternoon. Jhoulys Chacin, Andrew Chafin, Jamie Romak and Allen Webster were all called up from Reno. Outfielder Socrates Brito was called up from Double-A Mobile. To make room for O’Brien on the 40-man roster, Arizona placed Evan Marshall on the 60-Day DL.

O’Brien is definitely the biggest attraction out of these selection of players. The 25-year old was acquired at least season’s trade deadline from the New York Yankees in exchange for Martin Prado. Before 2015, O’Brien was a catcher in his professional career. Concerns about his defensive abilities forced him to move to the outfield in Reno. With the Aces, O’Brien has absolutely mashed. He represented the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A All Star Game and participated in the Home Run Derby. O’Brien hit .284, while smacking 26 homeruns and driving in 107 runs. A.J. Pollock, Ender Inciarte, David Peralta, Yasmany Tomas and Jake Lamb are all hitting over .280, so finding a spot for O’Brien may be troublesome, but it’s a good problem for Chip Hale to have.

Romak has already appeared in Arizona this season, albeit a brief time. Romak played alongside O’Brien with the Pacific Coast League All Stars. He hit an even .300, while smacking 27 homeruns and driving in 100 runs for the Reno Aces. With the Dbacks, he’s 3-for-10 with a double and an RBI. At 29 years of age, Romak offers the ability to play corner outfield and corner infield, as well as a good at bat for pinch hitting purposes.

Aug 29, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Jhoulys Chacin (47) throws during the fourth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

It should come as no surprise that Chacin is back up after the Aces’ season finished up. Chacin pitched admirably for the Dbacks in his two starts with the club. In each of his two outings, Chacin only gave up two runs and he went seven innings in one of his starts. He was the victim of nonexistent run support and was tagged with a loss, but carries a respectable 2.70 ERA in the majors. The free agent signing proved to be a crafty one as Chacin has proved that he still has worth at the major league level. His role will range from long relief arm in the bullpen to making a start when the club is in need of an innings eater performance.

Chafin was optioned to Reno more than a week ago, with the rationale that the rookie left hander just needed a break. A starter for most of his professional career, Chafin was one of the most reliable arms in Hale’s bullpen. The 25-year old is 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA and 50 strikeouts. After having his week of rest, Chafin should be all systems go for the remainder of the year. Look for him to resume his prominent role as a late inning option.

Aug 26, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Andrew Chafin (40) throws during the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Webster has not performed well in his time with the Dbacks. Wesbter showed some promise after winning his season debut against the Giants, but it went downhill from there. The 5 2/3 innings that he went against San Francisco continues to stand as his longest outing of 2015. On August 30th, he had a decent outing against Oakland (1 ER over 5 innings). Webster is 1-1 with a 5.88 ERA and considering the type of starters that are gunning for innings this September, I’d be surprised if Webster is doing anything besides long relief.

Brito is the most intriguing selection out of the batch. Brito just turned 23 a couple of days ago and spent the entire season with the Mobile BayBears, the Dbacks Double-A affiliate. In Mobile, Brito hit .300 with 9 homers and 57 RBI. MLB.com ranks him at #15 among Arizona prospects. Given the amount of depth that the Dbacks have in the outfield, it’s hard to imagine Brito getting some run. However, it’ll be important for him to enjoy his brief time in the majors and possibly learn something from the highly talented trio that the Snakes have patrolling the outfield.

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