Diamondbacks Officially Release Veteran Reliever

The Arizona Diamondbacks are moving on from one of their more controversial relief arms.

According to the Triple-A Reno Aces' transaction logs, the Diamondbacks have parted ways with right-hander Joe Ross, who was released by the Aces as of Monday.

Ross had been designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks earlier in the season after a brutal start to his Arizona tenure. Though he elected free agency at the time, Arizona later opted to bring the veteran back on another minor league deal.

But, though the Diamondbacks could still reunite with Ross on another separate minor league deal, this release is more likely to be final, with little opportunity for the right-hander to crack his way back onto the major league roster at any point this season, barring a massive slew of injuries to the D-backs' pitching staff.

Diamondbacks release Joe Ross

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher joe ross — Feb 18, 2026; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Joe Ross (16) 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

The Diamondbacks signed Ross, who had pitched 51 innings for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2025, to a deal this offseason. And despite overall poor results in spring training, Arizona awarded the right-hander an opening day roster spot, thanks to his ability to provide length out of the bullpen.

The Diamondbacks were hoping to get a steady veteran long man, with Ross' history of being a starting pitcher and multi-inning reliever. But in his second appearance with the D-backs, Ross was blown up for six earned runs while failing to complete a full inning.

He was knocked around for two more earned runs in his next outing, which led to his eventual DFA from the major league roster.

"It's one of those unfortunate parts of baseball where you start to... get behind with some pitching and you need arms. And you know, sometimes you have option-able players, sometimes you don't. And Joe wasn't, unfortunately was not throwing the ball that well," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said at the time of Ross' DFA.

Ross' eight earned runs in 3.2 major league innings stuck him with an ugly 19.64 ERA. Though that is the harsh nature of relief stats, it was also true that Ross did not perform well with the Diamondbacks in his limited action.

Once the 32-year-old was sent to Reno, he posted a 4.29 ERA in 12 appearances (21 innings), giving up 10 earned runs and striking out 12. The ERA is actually a significantly above-average one in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but the fact is Ross simply does not have a path back to Arizona's major league roster.

Right-hander and former starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt has taken over long relief duties, though he has also struggled in that capacity. The D-backs' bullpen has been performing relatively well of late, however, despite the lingering threat of volatility that has plagued Arizona's relief corps for some time.

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