DFA'd Veteran Pitcher Remains With Diamondbacks

According to the Arizona Diamondbacks' transaction logs, right-handed long reliever Jake Woodford was sent outright to the Triple-A Reno Aces on Tuesday.

Woodford had been designated for assignment days prior after a string of poor outings. Woodford cleared waivers, and will subsequently remain with the D-backs' organization for the time being.

Related Content: Diamondbacks DFA Veteran Pitcher in Another Bullpen Move

Diamondbacks Outright Jake Woodford to Triple-A

Woodford was let go by the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A squad in early July, and signed to a major league deal with Arizona one day later.

The veteran righty delivered mixed results in his 22 appearances (36.1 innings) with the D-backs. His 6.44 ERA in 2025 told the story of an overall poor season, but the volatility of relief work inflates that number somewhat.

Woodford certainly had some poor outings, and his DFA came as a result of giving up 10 runs (nine earned) over his final three appearances (only 3.1 innings).

But prior to that, he had strung together six scoreless outings, including two scoreless ninth innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers — helping the D-backs secure two critical wins against their NL West Rivals.

As a whole, Woodford mostly ate innings for Arizona. It's a thankless, dirty job, and the results often weren't there, but such has been the overall nature of the D-backs' bullpen in the brutal 2025 season.

When Woodford was initially designated for assignment, Arizona used the roster spot to call up right-hander Austin Pope from Triple-A Reno. Pope has yet to make his MLB debut as of this writing, but displayed solid results in the offense-heavy Pacific Coast League.

Woodford has yet to make an appearance for the Reno Aces. It seems unlikely he'll find his way back onto the major league roster for the time being.

The Diamondbacks have had to patch together quite the unconventional bullpen throughout the season, getting contributions from journeymen, long men and young, unproven arms.

They've performed as can be expected, ranking in the bottom five of MLB in bullpen ERA for nearly the entire season. Many a late-game lead has evaporated thanks to Arizona's banged-up relief corps, but they've also had some surprisingly positive results.

Such is the nature of a year in which all three of Arizona's top relievers were injured or traded. Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk went down with Tommy John Surgery, and Shelby Miller was traded (before undergoing Tommy John Surgery with his new club).

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