Taylor

Clarke

The 32-year-old hurler functioned as an opener in this one, getting to battle the top of the Rockies’ lineup. He struck out Jake McCarthy during a perfect first inning then punched out Jordan Beck while issuing a two-out walk to Kyle Karros in the second. Clarke has been very sharp this spring, hurling six scoreless frames with a 0.83 WHIP and a 4/2 K/BB ratio. He is expected to function in a middle relief role to open the season for the Diamondbacks.

Clarke, who was non-tendered by the Royals in November, returns to his original organization here; he had a 4.99 ERA in 20 starts and 58 relief appearances for Arizona from 2019-21 before being non-tendered for the first time. The Royals let him go even though he had a career-best 3.25 ERA in 55 1/3 innings last season, but he is homer-prone and probably a worse fit there with the team moving the fences in. The Diamondbacks figure to treat him as a middle reliever.

Melendez was one of the top hitting prospects in baseball and showed flashes of brilliance in his first couple seasons with Kansas City, but to say things fell over the last couple campaigns is quite the understatement. He’ll likely get a chance with a new org, but on a “prove it” type of deal. Clarke will also likely be org depth for a new org in 2026.

Clarke will rejoin the bullpen. He hasn’t allowed a run in 5 1/3 innings since being called up on May 1.

The 32-year-old hurler will be away from the club for a couple of days as he welcomes a new addition to his family. Dairon Blanco was activated from the injured list in a corresponding move prior to Friday night’s battle against the Cardinals.

The veteran Clarke, who had a 5.08 ERA in 108 innings for the Royals between 2022 and ’23, will get another chance here. Expect the Royals to use him in the middle innings. He had a 4.40 ERA and a 9/5 K/BB in 14 1/3 innings as a reliever for Omaha.

None of the aforementioned players were favorites to break camp with the team. However, Castro could see at-bats this season as a depth piece, while Clarke will likely get innings out of the bullpen at some point during the season when injuries strike.

While Jac Caglianone is the biggets name on the list of non-roster invitees, Cross is intriguing in his own right. The 23-year-old outfielder — and ninth overall pick from the 2022 draft class — slashed .261/.342/.428 with 15 homers, 59 RBI and 30 stolen bases (32 attempts) in 101 games at Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2024. There’s a good chance that we see him in Kansas City at some point during the 2025 season and his speed would give him some appeal from a fantasy perspective.

Clarke heads back to Kansas City where he spent two seasons from 2022-2023 after spending last year in the Brewers’ organization. He missed most of last season recovering from right knee surgery and didn’t end up making an appearance for Milwaukee. The 31-year-old righty holds a pedestrian 5.03 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 260/97 K/BB ratio across 279 1/3 innings (183 appearances) in the majors since 2019. He’s merely extra organizational relief depth at this juncture of his career.

Milwaukee had to kick someone off the 40-man roster to make room for the newly acquired Aaron Civale. Clarke was yet to appear in the majors this season and had a 5.34 ERA in 10 games with Triple-A Nashville. The Brewers have seven days to trade Clarke or place him on waivers.