Diamondbacks Make Late Bullpen Change

Less than an hour prior to first pitch in what may shape up to be an elimination game, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced another bullpen roster move.

Young right-hander Andrew Hoffmann was recalled from Triple-A Reno to see his second stint in the majors this year. The move was not intended to be so last-minute, but his arrival was delayed by storms in the Phoenix area.

In a corresponding move, right-hander Austin Pope was optioned. With the Reno Aces' season being over, he was sent to the Arizona Complex League.

Arizona Diamondbacks Recall Andrew Hoffmann

Hoffmann, 25, was Arizona's return in an early Trade Deadline deal with the Kansas City Royals — the one that sent veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk over to Kansas City.

Hoffmann made his first appearance for the D-backs on August 4, and immediately began to string together some success on the mound. He delivered scoreless outings in four of his first five appearances.

Hoffmann then began to run into some growing pains, giving up five earned runs over his final two appearances with the D-backs (1.0 total innings).

He was optioned to Triple-A Reno on August 20, but did not get into a minor league game for another two weeks. As it turns out, he was suffering from "posterior elbow discomfort," and went in for imaging, which came back clean.

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Hoffmann has made only one appearance with the Aces since his last option, giving up five runs over just 0.1 innings. That outing came all the way back on September 4.

The D-backs needed a fresh arm, and Hoffmann will fill that role. He's been fatigued this year after throwing in winter ball between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but hasn't seen major or minor league game action in three weeks.

Hoffmann has shown some potential in his limited experience, but has also suffered some blowup outings. Positive development for the young righty would be an encouraging sign for the future of Arizona's bullpen.

Arizona Diamondbacks Option Austin Pope

Pope had been a bit of an unknown, and was called up to relative surprise as part of the roster move that designated veteran long man Jake Woodford for assignment.

Pope had thrown to a 4.60 ERA over 25 appearances with the Reno Aces this season — a solid number for the offense-heavy Pacific Coast League.

He made his MLB debut on Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the toughest lineups in baseball. He pitched two scoreless innings in that game, allowing two hits and a walk. He collected his first MLB strikeout of Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages.

Pope may not be at the forefront of Arizona's future bullpen plans, but his debut was quite successful. Considering he threw two innings, the D-backs likely would not have been able to go back to him for a day or two, and needed a fresh arm.

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