Diamondbacks Officially Release Veteran Reliever

According to the Arizona Diamondbacks' transaction log, the team officially released right-hand reliever Kendall Graveman on Wednesday.

The move comes two days after Graveman and fellow righty Jeff Brigham were designated for assignment. Neither will remain with the organization.

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Both arms will be free to sign with other interested clubs.

Arizona Diamondbacks Release Kendall Graveman

Graveman had been signed to a free agent deal in the offseason, with the expectation that he would provide bullpen depth and some leverage upside if needed.

Graveman had undergone season-ending surgery in 2024 after an excellent stretch of pitching from 2021-2023. In those three seasons, Graveman had a 2.74 ERA in 187.1 innings with 24 saves.

Arizona inked him to a one-year, $1.35 million deal with a mutual option for 2026, but the veteran righty won't get that far with the D-backs.

Graveman's year began on an inauspicious note, as he went down with a lower back injury and missed the first two months of the season.

He returned for just over a month before going down with a separate injury — this time a hip impingement — following a blowup outing that shot his ERA above 8.00.

Graveman pitched a sturdy month of July upon his return, but was used sparingly. On Sunday, however, he was shelled for three runs by the lowly Colorado Rockies, throwing 34 pitches while giving up four hits and a walk.

Graveman exits a D-backs' bullpen that has been decimated by injuries and underperformance. On the other hand, Arizona is turning to its younger arms as they look to the future in the relief department.

The D-backs have lost every one of their leverage arms, either to injury or trade, and have had to pivot toward some younger arms — some recently-acquired.

Right-hander Juan Morillo and Left-hander Andrew Saalfrank each recorded their first MLB save in Arizona's series win over the Texas Rangers. RHP Juan Burgos has also looked promising in his first taste of D-backs action.

RHP Andrew Hoffmann has looked solid, but blew his chance at his own first save with an unfortunate ninth-inning home run.

These are the relievers Arizona will have to live and die by as 2025 wanes and as 2026 approaches.

Arizona Diamondbacks Release Jeff Brigham

Brigham was released on August 11, the same day he and Graveman were designated for assignment.

Brigham got limited major league action with Arizona, allowing three runs in a blowup three-run appearance without recording an out.

He pitched to a 5.23 ERA in 20.2 innings with the Reno Aces, but had been on the Injured List since July 29.

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