Arizona Diamondbacks’ revamped pen an early bright spot

SAN DIEGO — When they were hired in October, the new members of the Diamondbacks front office inherited a bullpen that ranked among the worst in the majors last season. Not only was there no established closer, there were only two pitchers who appeared to have big league jobs secured. As it turned out, there were benefits to such uncertainty.

“The one thing we had available,” General Manager Mike Hazen said, “was opportunity.”

That opportunity went a long way, and the Diamondbacks have been able to reshape their bullpen into what so far has been a largely dependable unit.

The season isn’t yet two months old, but the Diamondbacks bullpen has looked overpowering and deep, a collection of mostly power arms capable of dominating in short bursts or multiple innings, and seemingly able to do so without being bogged down by strictly defined roles.

Best of all, the Diamondbacks were able to assemble the group on the cheap, putting it together for a guaranteed outlay of about $10 million – or roughly two-thirds what the New York Yankees are paying closer Aroldis Chapman this year.

With five bullpen spots up for grabs, the Diamondbacks started by addressing the ninth inning, settling on veteran Fernando Rodney, whom they gave a one-year, $2.75 million guarantee.

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They signed him relatively early – agreeing to terms during the winter meetings, before all of the top free-agent closers had come off the board – doing so in part because they didn’t want to risk deep-pocketed clubs circling back on him after missing out on a bigger name. They also didn’t want to risk going into spring training without a closer in place.

“I do think one of the things with a bullpen is, it seems to me that most of the time when teams go into spring training with a closer competition, oftentimes it doesn’t work out,” Diamondbacks Assistant General Manager Jared Porter said. “With Rodney, we wanted to bring in someone who was going to be in that role and have that job, who has done it before, and who could take some pressure off the other guys.”

The Diamondbacks then set their sights on an array of targets. Hazen said the club at least had talks, if not negotiations, with nearly every free-agent reliever on the market, and with a wide-net approach that lasted into spring training, the club eventually signed eight pitchers to minor league contracts, all of whom came to the big league camp to compete for a job.

There was J.J. Hoover and Erik Davis, Tom Wilhelmsen and Keyvius Sampson, Jorge De La Rosa and T.J. McFarland, Brian Matusz and Kevin Jepsen. All had big league experience. All were coming off down years – or seasons spent entirely in the minors. And all came with virtually no risk for the Diamondbacks.

Porter said he broke them down into three groups. First, there’s the pitchers almost certain to get minor league deals; next came a wave of pitchers who were nontendered; and, lastly, there were those who thought they’d get a major league guarantee but had to settle for a minor league contract.

“To me, you have to be patient and know it’s not a sprint early in the offseason,” Porter said. “You try to sign the guys you really like and then try to wait it out after that.”

Not all of them worked out – Jepsen was released in March, Matusz and the club parted ways this week – but from that collection the Diamondbacks were able to cobble together the backbone of a reliable bullpen.

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Hoover and Wilhelmsen had dominant springs and easily secured jobs. De La Rosa flashed good stuff but only so-so results, leaving the Diamondbacks with a difficult late-March decision of whether to add him to the roster or potentially release him. Ultimately, they stuck with him, betting on De La Rosa’s stuff and makeup eventually leading to better results.

Hoover (2.57 ERA in 14 innings) and De La Rosa (2.35 ERA in 15 1/3 innings) have elevated themselves into late-innings roles. Wilhelmsen (4.26 ERA in 19 innings) has pitched in a variety of situations.

De La Rosa ($2.25 million), Wilhelmsen ($1.25 million) and Hoover ($900,000) each received relatively modest guarantees upon making the big league roster, and have the opportunity to earn more in contract incentives, as does Rodney.

McFarland, who hung around until late in camp before being sent to Triple-A Reno, worked his way back to the majors in late April and allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings before landing on the disabled list with an ankle contusion. He’s making $800,000.

Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks have received excellent results from a handful of in-house candidates.

Starter-turned-reliever Archie Bradley has been a revelation, exhibiting perhaps the most dominant stuff on the staff. Right-hander Randall Delgado shook off a rough start to the season to become a valuable long reliever. Lefty Andrew Chafin, after a rocky season last year, is pitching more like he did during his standout rookie year.

A year after posting the majors’ fourth-worst bullpen ERA at 4.94, the Diamondbacks are tied for the 10th-best at 3.76. They have just two blown saves, making them one of just four teams with two or fewer.

Just as impressive, the Diamondbacks have had success without help from right-hander Jake Barrett, who was the club’s best reliever last year and one of the two who entered the offseason seemingly assured of a job.

Barrett, however, missed all of spring training with shoulder problems; healthy again, he completed a rehab assignment and was optioned last week to Triple-A Reno.

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Along with Barrett, the Diamondbacks also have depth in the form of Rubby De La Rosa, who also signed a minor league deal as he works his way back from elbow problems.

Club officials are quick to give credit to the pitchers themselves for how well they’ve thrown, while also mentioning the contributions pitching coach Mike Butcher, bullpen coach Mike Fetters and others in the organization have made to support them.

But Porter, who oversees the club’s pro scouting department, acknowledges the challenging nature of rebuilding a bullpen with so many jobs up for grabs.

“I think it’s really exciting,” Porter said. “It’s an opportunity to make an impact and also simultaneously provide an opportunity for these players to bounce back or, in the case of Archie or Chafin or Delgado, to take steps forward in their careers.”

Hazen said the lack of clearly defined roles other than closer has given manager Torey Lovullo the freedom to deploy them in a variety of ways.

“Those guys are all pitching really well, whether they came in on guaranteed deals or on non-roster deals, they went out in spring training and earned those spots and they’re pitching well for us,” Hazen said. “It’s a good group. They’ve done their job. It’s been different guys in different spots.”

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

Saturday’s game

Diamondbacks at Padres

When: 7:10 p.m.

Where: Petco Park, San Diego.

Pitchers: Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (2-3, 4.57) vs. Padres RHP Luis Perdomo (0-0, 4.19).

TV/Radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7), KHOV-FM (105.1).

Ray labored through four innings his last time out, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks against the Pittsburgh Pirates. … Since posting a 1.96 ERA in his first three outings, Ray has a 6.33 ERA in his past five. … Ray is averaging 5.2 walks per nine innings, fourth highest in the majors. … Perdomo allowed eight runs in 10 1/3 innings in his first two starts but has a 3.00 ERA in four starts since. … He has shown improvement in several statistical categories, including lowering his hits, walks and homers allowed and increasing his strikeout rate. … Perdomo throws a sinking fastball that averages 94.5 mph, according to BrooksBaseball.net.

Coming up

Sunday: At San Diego, 1:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zack Godley (1-0, 1.93) vs. Padres LHP Clayton Richard (2-5, 4.86).

Monday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (5-2, 3.09) vs. White Sox RHP Miguel Gonzalez (3-4, 4.29).

Tuesday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (3-4, 4.38) vs. White Sox RHP Dylan Covery (0-3, 7.64).