D-backs Veteran Pitcher Elects Free Agency

One of the many arms contributing to the Arizona Diamondbacks' brutal 2025 season has decided to test his free agent market.

According to his official transaction log, veteran right-handed reliever Trevor Richards has officially elected free agency.

Richards, 32, is an eight-year MLB veteran who has spent time with his fair share of clubs. His time with the D-backs was short-lived.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Trevor Richards Elects Free Agency

Richards has made an MLB appearance for seven different major league clubs over the course of his journeyman career.

He began the 2025 season as a member of the Chicago Cubs' organization, signing a minor league contract in the offseason. He was released on May 3, joining the Kansas City Royals five days later.

Richards made three major league appearances for the Royals, pitching three innings and allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks. He was designated for assignment on June 11, and chose to explore free agency.

On June 19, Arizona inked Richards to a minor league deal. He made nine appearances with the Triple-A Reno Aces before he was eventually called up on July 18. Richards made his D-backs debut on July 21, throwing a scoreless inning.

Two days later, Richards made his only other appearance of the season with Arizona's big league club. He tossed 1.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits. The D-backs designated him for assignment not long after his final outing.

Richards cleared waivers and was sent back to Reno, where he pitched in eight more games before going down with an injury. He returned on September 10 and made four more appearances for the Aces.

Richards was not exactly expected to be part of Arizona's long-term bullpen plans. His short tenure with the D-backs was out of necessity, with injury woes plaguing Arizona's major league pitching staff and a significant lack of reliable depth at the minor league level.

The D-backs turned to a horde of pitchers to help them crawl their way through 2025. It was no easy task, missing at least two of their top bullpen arms for the majority of the marathon season.

Bullpen additions will need to be made this offseason, with closer options Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk both set to miss a significant chunk (if not the majority) of the 2026 season as they rehab from Tommy John Surgery.

"We need to do a better job of putting together a bullpen," GM Mike Hazen said. "I think Torey [Lovullo] and I have talked about this. How we're using some of the bullpen, we need to do a better job at.

"Injury as it happens in the bullpen, nobody in baseball has figured out how to put their finger on it necessarily. But it's not luck. We can be doing a better job. We are going to spend some time this offseason really diving into those types of things."

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