Starter Bronson Arroyo inked a two-year, $23.5 million deal with the Diamondbacks on Friday. The signing displaced two pitchers in the D-Backs’ system: 2011 first-rounder Archie Bradley and Randall Delgado, one of the players acquired from the Braves in January 2013’s Justin Upton trade. The rotation can more or less be written in ink with Patrick Corbin, Arroyo, Wade Miley, Trevor Cahill, and Brandon McCarthy.
GM Kevin Towers said Bradley could still wind up in the rotation in the event of an injury, according to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. Towers also indicated that Delgado could end up contributing out of the bullpen.Delgado, who Arizona acquired from Atlanta as part of the Justin Upton trade, is out of Minor League options. That means if the D-backs want to send him to the Minor Leagues, they will have to put him on waivers first, where he could be claimed by another team.
“So if he’s not one of our starters, he’s more than likely going to probably be one of our bullpenners,” Towers said.
Gilbert then notes that, with that expected shuffling, right-hander Will Harris could be the odd man out of the bullpen, as he has options remaining.
Delgado, 24, posted a 4.26 ERA in 19 starts and one relief appearance last season, spanning 116 1/3 innings. He was rated as one of the 50 best prospects by Baseball America prior to the 2011 and ’12 seasons.
