Diamondbacks News<\/p>\n
Former Diamondbacks Catcher Signs with Rangers<\/a> by Alex D\u2019Agostino [SI]<\/p>\n According to a report by\u00a0El Extrabase\u2019s Daniel \u00c1lvarez-Montes<\/a>, Herrera has inked a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers, and will receive an invitation to big league Spring Training.<\/p>\n The Rangers are the first organization Herrera will be a part of that is not the Diamondbacks. The switch-hitter spent 2013-2025 as a part of Arizona\u2019s system in some capacity. He was the longest-tenured player in the organization prior to his decision to elect free agency.<\/p>\n Merrill Kelly Returns From Whence He Came<\/a> by Michael Rosen [FanGraphs]<\/p>\n Kelly is as Arizona as a cactus in a backyard pool. (Meg tells me they typically aren\u2019t actually\u00a0in\u00a0the pool, but you know what I mean.) He\u00a0went to high school<\/a>\u00a0in Scottsdale, a couple dozen miles northeast of Chase Field. After a stint at Yavapai Community College, he transferred to Arizona State to finish up his college career. Drafted by the Rays, Kelly shuttled off to Korea for four years in his 20s before returning to make his MLB debut for the Diamondbacks in 2019. He has spent his entire major league career in Arizona, save for a two month sojourn to Texas following a midseason trade at the 2025 deadline. Perhaps\u00a0scandalized by Arlington\u2019s complete lack of any public transit<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 not even a single bus line! \u2014 he kept his time with the Rangers short. In Phoenix, he\u2019ll return as the presumptive ace at the unlikely age of 37 and with the unlikely fastball velocity of 91.8 mph.<\/p>\n There will be analysis of Kelly\u2019s game to come, but his appeal is easily summarized: The guy can just pitch. Yes, his fastball sits about three ticks slower than the average right-handed pitcher. And sure, his stuff metrics are nothing to write home about. But even with these clear limitations, Kelly succeeds because he does two extremely important things: He locates the ball, and he makes it impossible for hitters to guess which pitch is coming.<\/p>\n Arizona Diamondbacks Top 56 Prospects<\/a> by Brendan Gawlowski [FanGraphs]<\/p>\n It took most of the season, but [Yilber] D\u00edaz eventually found himself. He dominated over his last 11 innings in Amarillo, striking out 15, allowing one run, and most critically only walking two in his final 10 outings (including the postseason). He\u2019s continued to miss a ton of bats, albeit with a few more free passes, in the Venezuelan Winter League.<\/p>\n D\u00edaz now projects as a late-inning reliever. His slider and curve are plus hammers, and he\u2019s regularly reaching the upper 90s with his fastball, and the big league batters down in Venezuela look outclassed. He\u2019s always been wild, and 2025\u2019s bout in Reno in particular has me on high alert, but D\u00edaz looks more settled at this point, and has shown the fortitude to be able to work through a dire rough patch. He has a shot to close if everything breaks right from here.<\/p>\n What are Ketel Marte\u2019s 5 limited no-trade clause teams?<\/a> by Alex Weiner [Arizona Sports]<\/p>\n Marte, though, has a limited no-trade clause already, and The Athletic\u2019s Ken Rosenthal on Monday\u00a0revealed<\/a>\u00a0the five teams on it: New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Athletics.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a pretty eclectic group of teams. It\u2019s easy to see why the A\u2019s are on there considering they play in a minor league ballpark, but why the Yankees and not the Mets? Why the Giants specifically among the NL West clubs? Did he eat some bad pierogies in Pittsburgh?<\/p>\n Red Sox Insider Explains Why Ketel Marte Trade Is Best Move For Boston<\/a> by Jackson Roberts [SI]<\/p>\n Ian Browne of MLB.com\u00a0highlighted the Red Sox<\/a>\u00a0as one of the few teams with the resources to make a Marte trade, while repeatedly insisting that the 32-year-old is a missing piece at an important position.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile trading pitching prospects generally isn\u2019t something executives \u2026 are keen on doing, Boston has sturdied up its foundation of pitching by loading up on arms in the past two MLB Drafts.,\u201d Browne wrote. \u201c(Chief baseball officer Craig) Breslow has mentioned needing to get uncomfortable at times to make a trade of high magnitude. Only he knows how uncomfortable he is willing to get.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Around the League<\/p>\n Infielder Kim returns to Braves on 1-yeaer, $20 million deal<\/a> by Anthony DiComo [MLB]<\/p>\n On the whole, 2025 was a frustrating campaign for the Bucheon, South Korea, native, whose Rays debut was delayed until July as he rehabbed from surgery the previous October to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Kim strained his calf shortly after returning and twice landed on the IL with back injuries. But after the Braves claimed him, Kim stayed healthy and notably improved, batting .309\/.372\/.456 over his first 19 games with his new team \u2014 numbers dampened only by a 1-for-19 stretch to close out the season.<\/p>\n Red Sox, Nationals Swap Pitching Prospects<\/a> by Anthony Franco [MLB Trade Rumors]<\/p>\n In a rare type of transaction, the Nationals and Red Sox have agreed to swap pitching prospects. The clubs announced a one-for-one deal that sends righty\u00a0Luis Perales<\/a>\u00a0to Washington and southpaw\u00a0Jake Bennett<\/a>\u00a0to Boston. Neither player has made his MLB debut but both are on the 40-man roster.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the kind of trade that fans often like to project but which almost never happens in practice. Neither Bennett nor Perales is a top-tier prospect, but they each ranked among the top 10 talents in their respective organizations at\u00a0Baseball America<\/a>. Teams tend to value their own prospects more highly than those in other systems. That\u2019s only natural, as they liked the player enough to acquire them in the first place and have been instrumental in their development.<\/p>\n Lawyers clash over Angels\u2019 alleged role in Tyler Skaggs\u2019 death<\/a> [ESPN]<\/p>\n