Diamondbacks Move Smith to bullpen, 3 possible replacements
By Jake Oliver
So who from the Diamondbacks replaces him in the rotation?
That’s easier guessed than known. Luke Weaver is closer to being ready to come back from the IL but it’s still too soon for him. The Diamondbacks still have a full 40-man roster. This means that if they wanted to promote someone to the MLB that isn’t on the 40-man roster, they’d have to release or designate someone. I’m unsure if they would be willing to do that right now.
So I think they first take someone from the 40-man roster, like Corbin Martin.
Why Corbin Martin is most likely choice?
Corbin’s been up-and-down this entire season between Triple-AAA Reno and the MLB. The Diamondbacks acquired him in the Zack Greinke trade way back in 2019. This is his first year back from Tommy John Surgery in 2019.
So, he’s definitely rusty from two full years off baseball. However, he’s considered to have a ton of potential and is still only 25. This is a lost year so it might be worth it to try to let Corbin work out his pitching issues up in the MLB. He currently has a 6.91 ERA in 6 starts in the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League or Triple-AAA.
He’s a former top-100 prospects and the Diamondbacks are determined to make sure he becomes something since they traded Greinke for him.