D-backs Players at Risk of Losing 40-Man Roster Spot

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been aggressively promoting players from their minor leagues to the MLB roster in hopes of jump-starting their offense and pitching staff. This has been evident over the past couple of weeks from bringing back Brandon Pfaadt and Buddy Kennedy to promoting for the first time Bryce Jarvis, Slade Cecconi, and Justin Martinez. The team is desperate for good players on their 40-man roster as they pursue a playoff spot. However, they've now hit their max spots on their 40-man roster and if they want to promote another player that isn't already on there, they'll have to designate for assignment another player. They did that recently with Kristian Robinson, their 11th-best prospect.

The Diamondbacks will have two extra active roster spots open up on September 1st when rosters expand from 26 to 28 players. They could choose to bring up a player already on the 40-man roster like Blaze Alexander, but they could pivot to a guy performing well in the minor leagues like Austin Pope or Andrew Saalfrank. This would require them to select his contract. And then outright or designate for assignment a player off of the 40-man roster. They did this on Saturday by moving Tommy Henry to the 60-Day IL, ending his season. This opened a 40-man roster spot for Nabil Crismatt.

Seven Players at Risk of Losing Their Spot on D-backs 40-Man Roster

Miguel Castro, Reliever, Arizona Diamondbacks

Castro is a popular name among D-backs fans as they are clamoring for him to be removed from the roster. The stats don't lie, he certainly isn't performing well enough to demand he keep his spot. Michael McDermott just covered why Castro is a candidate and why he might not be as well due to his five-million-dollar option issue.

Zach Davies, Starting Pitcher, Reno Aces

Davies is currently on a rehab assignment with the Reno Aces after recovering from a back injury. Davies' struggles this year are well-documented. Those struggles have continued in Triple-A where over two games, 7.1 innings as of Sunday, the 20th, he has given up 15 hits, 10 runs, four walks, and struck out just four. The team is in the thick of a playoff race and cannot afford any more blow-up starts from their starting pitchers. There is a chance that the team moves on from Davies if he can't improve his starts while in Reno.

Nabil Crismatt, Reliever, Arizona Diamondbacks

Nabil Crismatt only just got added, but that doesn't mean he isn't at risk of being removed. After all, he is the new guy and didn't exactly dominate at Triple-A. Should he struggle with the D-backs, they could easily promote one of their other prospects or re-bring up Peter Strzelecki. Crismatt is a former starting pitcher that has the ability to be a bulk reliever. He's thrown at least 3.1 innings in each of his last four minor league appearances. Crismatt started the year with the Padres and struggled mightily to an ERA over nine. They let him go after his results just didn't pan out in the minor leagues. The D-backs quickly signed him to a minor league deal. During his time in Reno, he had a 6.93 ERA over nine games and 24.2 innings with 21 strikeouts, nine walks, and 30 hits given up. However, there is hope the 28-year-old reliever/starter can figure things out as from 2020-22, he had a 3.38 ERA in 101 games with 157 innings and 144 strikeouts. Also, Crismatt has no more options left. If the team wants to send him to the minor leagues, they will be forced to DFA him.

Luis Frias, Reliever, Reno Aces

Frias just got optioned to Reno on Thursday for Justin Martinez. This was on the heels of a miserable couple of outings in Colorado. Perhaps the D-backs finally call it quits on the experiment. After all, despite a few solid weeks this year, Frias has a career 7.65 ERA in the MLB over 34 games and three years. This year has continued his bad command of pitches with 13 walks in 17.1 innings. They've spent a lot of time trying to develop him, but it just hasn't worked out yet. A big thing in Frias' favor is how well he's done in the harsh pitching environment of Triple-A. He has a 3.62 ERA over 27.1 innings there with seven walks to 30 strikeouts. The team could choose to keep him for his potential, but he also is going to be out of options next year. Perhaps they cut bait on him early.

Kyle Lewis, Outfielder, Arizona Diamondbacks

Kyle Lewis has a lot of power and ability. He proved that in the past when he won Rookie of the Year in 2020. Lewis has shown his great bat skills in Reno where he's hit .361/.463/.650 with 14 home runs, 10 doubles, 56 RBI, and a 33/44 walk-strikeout ratio in just 47 games. He has the bat. It just isn't happening yet in the MLB this year. GM Mike Hazen said the team was going to be aggressive with who plays and who doesn't according to their recent performance. Since being recalled on August 14th, Lewis has 10 strikeouts to one walk over 19 plate appearances and is hitting just .111 with two hits, one double. The talent is there but at this point in the season, the team is seeking offense.

Diego Castillo, Infielder, Reno Aces

The D-backs have Blaze Alexander, a better defender and higher-upside prospect at shortstop, plus Geraldo Perdomo and Nick Ahmed. And in Reno in August, he's hit just .231/.318/.282 and for the season has just a .857 OPS despite playing in an extreme hitter's park. Castillo has a lot of tools, but his recent slump could put him in jeopardy of losing a spot. While he is just 25, the team could easily decide to bring in favor of another quality prospect or pitcher. This is true if the team promotes Jordan Lawlar come September 1st.

Pavin Smith, Designated Hitter, Reno Aces

Pavin Smith started the year in Triple-A, then got promoted to the D-backs where he struggled a lot. Pavin hit just .190/.310/.332 while being extremely limited with his defensive abilities. He was limited to just right field, designated hitter, and first base. However, the team had better fielders and hitters and Smith wasn't playing much. So, the team optioned him out. In August, he's been on fire, hitting .382/.462/.564 with nine walks, ten strikeouts, and six extra-base hits with 13 RBI. So, why would the team designate him? Well, there just isn't a spot for him at all for the foreseeable future. Christian Walker has first base locked down. The fit just isn't working which isn't Smith's fault. Thus, if the team has a prospect they want to promote, they could call it quits on Smith. They've given him enough time in the big leagues to prove himself.