Diamondbacks Designate Ryan Roberts, Working on Trade

The Tat Man is gone.  Ryan Roberts, and all his tattoos, has been designated for assignment by the Arizona

Diamondbacks.  The DBacks needed to clear a roster spot for John McDonald to come off the disabled list, and since they seem to be close to working out a deal with an unknown team involving Roberts, designating him gives them ten days to complete the trade without eating up a roster spot.  After those ten days, teams can claim him off waivers.

Roberts, a fan favorite in Phoenix, was hitting just .250/.306/.357 this season.  In his career, Roberts is a .250/.330/.398 hitter.  He has never been one to hit for average, but his OBP and occasional flashes of power have helped him rank close to league average in OPS in his career.

The Diamondbacks are expected to start Willie Bloomquist at third and use John McDonald to spell Stephen Drew who is returning from injury.

Arizona is 48-48 (they’re leading 2-1 at the time of this article), and looking to reclaiming the National League West.  To do so, the team will need to play more consistently.  They’ve been quite on the trade market, but Roberts could prove to be the first of a few moves the DBacks will make to help them fight through July and August in a three-way pennant race.

The team said Justin Upton will not be traded this year, but they have players in their farm system and their bullpen that could be used to bring back another starter – something the team is clearly in need of.  If the DBacks do complete a deal for Roberts, it is not likely to bring back much, but it could be the start of a flurry of activity leading up to July 31st.

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