Arizona Diamondbacks: 3 Middle Relief Options
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
If the D-backs are looking for the quintessential lefty specialist, the 40-year old Choate is on the market. He appeared in 71 games and pitched a grand total of 27 1/3 innings. He is more the one batter guy and a second lefty in the bullpen to pair with Chafin who can go more than an inning. It would be a return to one of his many franchises as Choate pitched in 114 games for the D-backs between 2004 and 2007. He is also a guy who brings a lot of playoff experience to a staff that hasn’t had much of it. For his career, left-handed batters have hit only .195 though in 2015 it was .265.
Dollars should not be an issue when signing Choate. He made $3 million dollars in both 2014 and 2015 and at his age, he shouldn’t expect much more than say, a million dollars. There may not even be a viable market for him considering his performance last year when his one job, retiring lefties, didn’t turn out so well. Still, for a team that doesn’t have many left-handed options out of the bullpen at either the Major League or Minor League level, Choate may not be a choice for one year and one year only.