The Diamondbacks announced that they have claimed righthander Gus Varland From the White Sox and gave him to Triple-a Reno. He was previously mentioned as released by the SOX, but it seems that he had not yet released released exemptions. The Diamondbacks also reminded themselves of the right Juan Morillo. In corresponding movements, judges Kendall Graveman And Jeff Brigham are designated for assignment.
Varland, 28, still has a limited track record but ended 2024 on a strong note. The SOX claimed him in the second half of last year from the Dodgers of the Dodgers. After that claim, he threw 20 1/3 innings for the SOX with a 3.54 earned run average, 28.2% strikeout percentage and 4.7% running speed.
That positioned him to play a nice role in the 2025 team, but it did not go according to plan. He had a bad spring and got the minors to start the year. After just two trips, he landed on the wounded list of the Minor League because of a Lat voltage. That injury has actually kept him on the shelf since then. He started a rehabilitation assignment in June, but that ended after only six performances.
Varland was appointed last week for allocation when the SOX Selected Infielder Jacob Amaya To the schedule. At that time, the Trade Deadline had already passed. Blanded players cannot be set outright exemptions. That left the exemptions of the release as the only option for the SOX.
The snakes play the string on a lost season. Their bullpen was hit hard this year due to injuries. AJ Puk And Justin Martínez Both required UCL operations. Kevin Ginkel Is for the year out with a shoulder reject. Ryan Thompson And Christian Montes de Oca are also on the il. The snakes were traded Shelby Miller Prior to the deadline.
The club hopes to compete again in 2026, which means that they are doing work on the reconstruction of the bullpen. Varland may now grab a part of that process if he can become healthy and again in good shape next year.
Regarding Graveman, the Diamondbacks took a cheap kite on him this season. He was a risky game because he missed 2024 while recovering from shoulder operation. However, the $ 1.35 mm warranty on its deal was hardly above the minimum of $ 760K League and he was quite in the years before his operation.
The gamble did not pay off. Graveman has had a few stints on the IL, one because of a right lumbar trunk and another because of a right hip influence. Around those ailments he posted a 7.13 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. His 11% strikeout percentage and 14.6% hiking percentages are both terrible figures.
Since the trade theadline has passed, he has been destined for the wire exemption. Given his performance, no club will want to claim him, because this would mean what is left of his salary. He has sufficient service time to refuse an outright assignment and choose a free agency, so the snakes can just release it. At that time, he was able to sign with another club for the divided competition minimum, with that amount deducted from what the Diamondbacks pay.
Brigham, 33, signed a Minor League deal with Arizona in the low season. His contract was selected for the schedule in May. He has usually had an optional assignment, with only four main class performances. In Triple-A this year he threw 20 2/3 innings with an ERA of 5.23, 37.2% strikeout percentage and 10.5% walking speed.
He will no longer have any options next year and will be eligible for arbitration. The Diamondbacks were probably not going to serve him a contract, so he got off the selection today. Just like Graveman, he is destined for the wire of exemption, although a claim here seems a bit more possible. He probably plays on a salary close to the Major League minimum and at least hit the farm. His era is high thanks to the long ball, although pitching in the percussion -friendly Pacific Coast League may be a factor there.
For his main class career, he has thrown 120 2/3 innings with a 4.85 ERA, 23.8% strikeout percentage and 10.7% walking percentage. Dating from the beginning of 2022, he has 116 1/3 minor League innings with a 4.87 ERA, 32.9% strikeout percentage and 13.3% running speed. It is still optimal for the rest of this season.
Photo thanks to Stan Szeto, imagn Images
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