Diamondbacks Make Surprising Bullpen Roster Move

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.

Selected from Triple-A Reno: LHP Philip Abner (will wear No. 50 in his Major League debut).

Optioned to Triple-Reno after yesterday’s game: LHP Kyle Backhus.

Arizona Diamondbacks Make Bullpen Roster Move

Abner is a 23-year-old left-hander who was taken in the sixth round of the 2023 draft out of the University of Florida. He's pitched across three levels this season, including High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A.

The full body of work for Abner this year includes 58.2 innings pitched with a 3.07 ERA, and excellent peripherals to match, including a 3.17 FIP and 3.27 xFIP. He's struck out a whopping 70 batters and walked just 16, while giving up five homers.

He earned his call-up by throwing 8.1 scoreless innings for the Reno Aces since being promoted there. That's included 11 strikeouts, and two hits and three walks.

Abner's four-seam fastball averaged 90.7 MPH in Reno, but garnered a healthy 36% whiff rate despite the low velocity. He also throws an 80 MPH slider.

This move comes as somewhat of a surprise. Backhus is a sidewinding left-hander who had a lot of initial success when first called up. He allowed just one run in his first nine outings, and earned four holds in the process.

He started getting entrusted with more high-leverage situations, but the results were spotty. Over his subsequent 24 outings he allowed 12 runs, saved three games, and registered six holds, but also had two blown saves.

In 25.1 innings of work Backhus has a 4.62 ERA to go with a 4.25 FIP. He did a good job limiting inherited runners from scoring, allowing just four of 19 to cross the plate. That 21% rate is much better than the league average of 32%.

The issue for Backhus is difficulty with right-hand batters, who are batting .365 with a .988 OPS in 74 PA. Left-hand batters are hitting just .139 with a .503 OPS, but due to the three-batter minimum, he's faced lefties just 41 times.

Backhus throws a sinker and sweeper primarily, but has been working on getting his changeup into the mix more frequently as a means to neutralize lefties. Unfortunately that has not worked so far. He has just two strikeouts, and batters are hitting .333 on the pitch.

Barring an injury this move means that Backhus will not be eligible to return before the end of the regular season. The 27-year-old was originally an undrafted free agent, whose journey to the majors has been a story of perseverance.

Related Content: Kyle Backhus on His Unconventional Path to the Major Leagues

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