PHOENIX -- During their run to the 2023 World Series, the Diamondbacks relied heavily on Brandon Pfaadt, starting the right-hander in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Brewers and in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Phillies.
A homegrown pitcher, the Diamondbacks have always had great confidence in his potential, and signed him to a five-year contract extension prior to last season.
The organization still believes in Pfaadt, but his struggles last season and this year led them to demote him to Triple-A Reno on Thursday in hopes of getting him back on track.
In addition, the team placed right-hander Taylor Clarke on the bereavement/family medical emergency list. A pair of relievers were called up to take their places -- right-hander Kade Strowd and lefty Philip Abner.
Pfaadt began this season in the rotation, but was moved to the bullpen after three starts when Merrill Kelly was activated from the injured list. Overall, Pfaadt has logged a 5.92 ERA across 38 innings (13 appearances). He allowed two runs on three hits during his one inning of work in Arizona’s 7-0 loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday.
"Sending Brandon Pfaadt down was a very difficult decision for us," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "He's such a big piece of this puzzle for this organization today, tomorrow and for the next however many years, because of his ability to go out there and get big outs and be a starting pitcher inside of this organization."
The Diamondbacks hoped moving Pfaadt to the bullpen this year would play out like a similar move with Ryne Nelson last year. Nelson had a number of long relief outings that kept him stretched out enough to rejoin the rotation when an injury occurred.
But with the way the starters have pitched lately, getting Pfaadt consistent work and keeping him stretched out became too difficult. With Reno, he'll get stretched back out as a starter and be available if there's a need in the rotation.
That became a little more important this week with the news that injured right-hander Corbin Burnes will not be able to return around the All-Star break due to a teres strain suffered during rehab, and instead will more likely return in September.
Lovullo also did not rule out the possibility of Pfaadt coming back in relief if needed.
"We just had to get him right," Lovullo said. "The two-seam, the four-seam, the cut [fastball], and then the secondary stuff off of that. He's a full package, and when it's right, he can get big outs."
After breaking into the big leagues in 2023, Pfaadt became a postseason star that October during Arizona’s run to the World Series. He pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in the D-backs’ series-clinching victory over the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLDS. He then tossed 5 2/3 scoreless frames in the team’s NLCS Game 3 win over the Phillies. The 27-year-old has had trouble duplicating that success. From 2024-25, he recorded a 4.97 ERA (85 ERA+) over 358 1/3 innings.
Strowd, 28, was acquired via trade from Baltimore during the offseason. He has a 4.95 ERA through 20 appearances out of Reno’s bullpen this year. The 24-year-old Abner has made one appearance for Arizona this season, pitching 2 1/3 innings during a loss to Milwaukee on April 30. He has a 5.12 ERA across 19 appearances at Triple-A this season.