Why the Diamondbacks did not add to bullpen in off-season

Since Ketel Marte watched the final pitch of the World Series sail over home plate to end the Diamondbacks’ 2023 season three wins short of a title, the club has behaved like a team that wants to get back to that place. They’ve doled out $134.5 million in guaranteed money in free agency. Add the trade for Eugenio Suarez to that mix and the total is $147.5 million. The result will be the biggest payroll in club history — one that could still grow between now and Opening Day.

Yet, in all that spending, the Diamondbacks haven’t added a single major league reliever. And if they do make another free agent signing, general manager Mike Hazen sounded more likely to spend that money on an additional bat. By contrast, their three biggest moves — by total dollar amount — last off-season were for a trio of relievers in Miguel Castro, Andrew Chafin and Scott McGough.

Standing beside a practice diamond at Salt River Fields on Friday, Hazen explained that the decision to forego heavy bullpen spending was a conscious one as the club entered the off-season.

“Where we felt like we lost all of our free agents was in the lineup, for the most part,” Hazen said. “And I've already talked about my feelings on where we saw the rotation last year. And we spent a significant amount of our resources in both of those areas to do it.”

Last season, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen had a 4.67 ERA in mid-August, ranking 26th in baseball. Over the final six weeks, they had a 3.09 ERA, ranking fifth. That same group continued to shine, for the most part, in the postseason.

The difference, Hazen believes, started with the acquisition of closer Paul Sewald at the trade deadline. On Friday, he called that a “learning experience” — a move that enabled the rest of the bullpen to settle into clear roles in the earlier innings.

“I feel like getting the closer at the deadline made a significant impact, if not the largest impact, on last year's team,” Hazen said.

With Sewald still under club control through this season, the front office believed that the back-end of the bullpen was in good shape entering the off-season. Kevin Ginkel, who had a 2.48 ERA last year, is expected to be the set-up man, provided his current elbow soreness does not linger longer than expected. Ryan Thompson, who allowed just four runs in 22 appearances between the regular season and postseason, is also ticketed for a high-leverage role.

The rest of the unit is filled with high-upside arms. Scott McGough and Miguel Castro are a pair of 2023 free agent signings who are back for their second seasons. Joe Mantiply, Kyle Nelson and Andrew Saalfrank provide left-handed options who have succeeded in the majors. Luis Frias shined in the big leagues for much of last year.

Plus, by not filling out that group with off-season additions, Hazen left the door open for internal options to earn larger roles, as Saalfrank did late last season.

“We still have guys, in our eyes, that could have a chance to come in and take some opportunities,” Hazen said. “And frankly, I'm looking for guys like Justin Martinez to come up and harness 100-plus with wipeout secondary stuff and getting into that mix at some point, too.

“You've gotta give some of those opportunities sometimes to see what they can actually do. If we close the door on Kevin Ginkel, if we close the door on Andrew Saalfrank, we never would've seen what we saw in the playoffs last year.”

That doesn’t mean the Diamondbacks made no bullpen additions. They picked up a handful of minor league free agents, most notably Brandon Hughes.

Hughes was a key reliever for the Cubs in 2022, posting a 3.12 ERA before struggling with injuries last season. He was released in November to clear space on the 40-man roster but is a strikeout pitcher with a high ceiling. José Castillo is another non-roster invitee who has experienced major league success, though he has struggled since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2021.

The club’s off-season focus, though, was on other areas. And if they do eventually need to add to the bullpen, they proved last year that they can do so through avenues other than free agency. Between the end of July and early September, they added Sewald via trade, Thompson in minor league free agency and Saalfrank as an unheralded piece from their farm system.

All three of those players were crucial pieces of the pennant run. Meanwhile, the three big off-season signings experienced varying degrees of struggles.

Hazen said that the success of players acquired by under-the-radar means was not a lesson learned. “We had been doing that,” he said. “We just hadn’t done it to success.”

The result, though, is the same either way: A bullpen that did not need much in the way of off-season reinforcements.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks bullpen didn't need off-season reinforcements