Crucial Change Could Make Taylor Clarke a Weapon For D-backs Bullpen

A critical change for Arizona — in more ways than one.

Feb 18, 2026; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Taylor Clarke (45) poses for a photo for MLB media day at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

Right-hander Taylor Clarke's career numbers in 2025 were no accident. The Arizona Diamondbacks' returning reliever is armed with an upgraded arsenal ahead of 2026. He's added a two-seamer, and has made a major tweak to his changeup — turning it into a legitimate weapon.

Clarke's career has come full circle. It began in Arizona (as a starting pitcher) in 2015. A decade later, he's back at Salt River Fields for his seventh major league season.

"It was exciting," Clarke said of his return to the D-backs. "There was mutual interest... made a lot of sense and so I'm happy to be back."

He and his wife — who is also named Taylor Clarke — never left Arizona. It's remained their home, even while the right-hander spent four seasons with the Royals and Brewers organizations.

"It's been really nice being at home," he said.

Clarke's living situation may not have changed over the years, but his arsenal has. The right-hander made tweaks to his mechanics and reintroduced his sinker ahead of 2025, which paid immediate dividends. He posted a career-low 3.25 ERA over 55.1 innings last season.

"Last year, tweaked some things. We added the sinker back and I think that's helped out a lot," Clarke said. "It's just something to run in on righties, give them a different look than a four-seam, because I feel like I was getting a little bit too predictable with four-seams up, sliders away."

But the largest, most impactful difference is to his changeup.

Diamondbacks' Taylor Clarke Developing Changeup into Weapon

Jul 11, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Taylor Clarke (45) delivers a pitch against the New York Mets in the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Clarke made a notable adjustment to his changeup grip. Instead of throwing it from a four-seam alignment, he's now throwing a "seam-shifted" changeup, holding it in a similar orientation to the very two-seam that has also begun to improve his output.

The result is a major increase in movement, both vertically and horizontally. The pitch now moves more severely arm-side, and drops at a more drastic, sudden rate — appearing to "drop off the table" similar to a splitter-type offering.

"That kind of came last year, just playing catch with a teammate," Clarke said. "It was more, always like a four-seam grip, and it was okay, but it wasn't the best pitch."

"He kind of was like, 'hey, what if you take that same thought, like, the seam-shift thought with your sinker,' and he's like, 'Take that same thought and throw your changeup just with it.' So I changed the grip along that."

Clarke said it has since gone from a +4-5 induced vertical break to -2 — a near seven-inch increase in the pitch's perceived drop. It turned his changeup from a poor pitch into a plus one. The pitch also averages nearly 90 MPH in velocity.

In 2023 (Clarke's last MLB season prior to 2025) the changeup was hit .387 and slugged .613 by opposing batters. Those numbers plummeted to .159 and .273 in 2025 in a nearly-identical sample size of usage.

Clarke also became much more effective against opposite-handed hitters. Lefty bats put forward just a .671 OPS in 23.2 innings against him in 2025, down over 400 points from 1.078 over 25.2 frames in 2023.

Clarke is only on a one-year, $1.55 million deal. But he appears to be the best version of himself to date. If he remains healthy and consistent, his upgraded arsenal could be a much bigger asset for the Diamondbacks than expected.