Arizona Diamondbacks: Bullpen in flux in the midst of playoff chase
Pitching multiple innings
This aspect of the Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen could get even more effective with the addition of one of their season’s starters into the postseason bullpen. Currently, the bullpen consists of just a couple of guys who have tossed more innings than total appearances, but there are multiple arms who have that past history and that ability.
This season, the work that T.J. McFarland has gone sadly unnoticed around the league. The 29-year-old lefty has made 47 appearances, going 72 innings, and seemingly because he’s not a big strikeout guy, he’s not getting respect for the 2.00 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with a 22/42 BB/K ratio.
A change in the grip on his sinker has allowed McFarland to keep balls on the ground, even though he’s not going to likely be tally many strikeouts. It’s also allowed him to have a very easy, repeatable delivery that focuses on fastballs, easing stress on his arm, and allowing him to stretch out appearances multiple innings, a rarity among lefty relievers.
At the trade deadline, the Arizona Diamondbacks brought in Matt Andriese. The majority of his work coming into 2018 was as a starter, and that was just okay, and his move to the bullpen hasn’t been a dominating move by any means, but Andriese has the ability to work multiple innings.
On the year, he’s combined between the Rays and Dbacks to toss 75 2/3 innings in 39 appearances. Since coming to the Diamondbacks, he’s only tossed 16 innings in 12 appearances, which has really been hurt by a very high hit rate, leading to a 7.31 ERA. He’s eschewed his cutter in the bullpen, but it’s a fairly effective pitch, so if he were to focus on his fastball, cutter, and curve, he could have plenty of success eating up multiple innings.
Before 2018, Archie Bradley has been a guy who would definitely be counted on for multiple innings, working as a starter for all of 2016 before moving to the bullpen in 2017, where he pitched 73 innings in 63 appearances. While he’s only tossed 64 2/3 innings in 69 appearances this year, he has thrown more than one inning in 9 of them, so he certainly could be utilized for a pair of innings in the postseason if need be.
The final piece of this puzzle is that the Arizona Diamondbacks will be putting one of their two live-armed young starters into the postseason bullpen. Robbie Ray and Zack Godley will be competing for the 4th spot in the playoff rotation, which likely will be Ray’s, but either way, they’d have someone who can work into the mid-90s with the fastball in short bursts and offer multiple pitches to cover multiple innings come playoff time.