The Shark is hurt and a lefty is back to see if he can stick in the MLB

The Diamondbacks made a flurry of roster moves for the 2nd day in a row. One day after putting Wendelken on the IL, calling up Holton, sending down Gilbert, and more, the Dbacks recall two more pitchers, send down Tyler Holton to Reno, and place the Shark on the Injured List.

Obviously, the most important news is that Mark Melancon, the Dbacks closer, has been put on the IL. There's been no word on what the injury is or how long he will be out. The simple matter of the fact is that the closer is out for the time being. In his first year in the desert, Melancon has pitched to a 1.13 ERA, 3.07 FIP over 8 innings, with 4 saves, 1 walk, and 3 Ks. He does have an 0-2 record, but he's done the job well so far for the Dbacks. The obvious replacements would be Ian Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, and Kyle Nelson. Kennedy has saved 30+ games over the past two seasons.

Tyler Holton was sent down after one day with the Dbacks in which he made his MLB debut, pitching one inning while allowing 2 hits and striking out 1. Not a bad debut, but he was sent down to Triple-AAA to refresh the bullpen arms and perhaps get another right-handed arm up in the lefty-heavy bullpen.

Replacing these two are left-hander Caleb Smith and right-hander Keynan Middleton. You know Caleb Smith well as he has pitched for the team since 2020. Over his 4 innings, Smith gave up 7 hits, 10 runs, 4 HRs, 6 walks, and 4 Ks. That's NOT GOOD. So the team sent him to Reno to work out his issues and hopefully clear his head. It looks like it worked as he experienced success in a hitter's world of Triple-AAA where he pitched 7.2 innings of 1.17 ERA and gave up 8 hits to only 1 walk, 1 HR, and 5 Ks. Perhaps he can continue this success out of the bullpen again for the Dbacks. Time will tell.

Keynan Middleton was signed in March to serve as a depth bullpen pitcher after he struggled during 2021 with the Mariners. Keynan's been dominant in Triple-AAA Reno so far with 9 Ks, 3 walks, and only 5 hits over 7.2 innings with a 1.17 ERA and a 2-0 record. Middleton has a history of success with the Angels and hopefully will provide a strikeout potential righty out of the pen. Welcome to the Dbacks Keynan! Hope you find success with us. If he stays with the team for the rest of the year, the team can control him through the 2024 season.

Let's go Dbacks!