Diamondbacks Option Reliever to Triple-A

The Arizona Diamondbacks have optioned right-hand reliever Christian Montes De Oca to Triple-A Reno, according to the Reno Aces transaction page.

Montes De Oca, 25, received his first major league call-up on May 16, in a flurry of roster moves that included sending struggling left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez to the 15-day Injured List with left shoulder inflammation.

Montes De Oca was enjoying an excellent year in Triple-A prior to his call-up, pitching to a stellar 2.37 ERA despite pitching in an extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League environment. He had struck out 17 batters against only four walks in his 19 innings of relief work with the Aces, and frequently spanned more than one inning.

Opponents had been hitting a mere .217 against him, and his WHIP was a round 1.00. He even impressed in big-league Spring Training, going 5.1 innings with just one earned run allowed, and striking out six for a K/9 north of 10.

His mid-to-upper-90s fastball and hard-breaking slider made him a candidate to see some major league playing time, but, curiously, he never saw the opportunity to take the mound at the major league level.

Montes De Oca was not able to get into a game in his initial MLB stint. Despite multiple leads of more than three runs, manager Torey Lovullo and the D-backs opted to keep the young righty in the bullpen, and he'll return to the minor leagues without showing what he can do in real-game action.

The exact reason why Montes De Oca never saw the mound remains a mystery. With an exceptionally taxed and injury-riddled bullpen, the D-backs have struggled greatly to put games away late, and have seen many a late lead evaporate at the hands of poor bullpen pitching.

There's no guarantee Montes De Oca wouldn't have continued that trend, but it feels as if Arizona could have at least used him to fill some length and slightly lessen the workload of some of their other struggling relievers.

Regardless, the right-hander will head back to Reno to hone his craft in search of his first legitimate major league opportunity, while the D-backs can only hope for better results out of their scuffling bullpen.

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