In a surprising turn of events, reliever Kevin Ginkel went from being what Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo described as his closer on Tuesday to apparently being so ineffective he was optioned to the alternate site just three days later.

There is no debating how much Ginkel has struggled this season. In 16 innings, he has allowed 21 hits and 13 walks (two intentional) and has posted a 6.75 ERA. He has not resembled the dominant late-inning reliever the Diamondbacks saw when he was first called up late last season.

That said, Lovullo painted a different picture with reporters on Tuesday, saying Ginkel was “doing a good job with repeating pitches right now and getting a lot of swing and miss on his secondary stuff.” He added, “We like what we saw.”

Since then, Ginkel made two appearances. On Tuesday, he tossed 1 1/3 innings with two walks, one strikeout and no runs. He was less effective the next night, taking the loss by giving up two runs (one earned) in the 10th inning against the Dodgers.

He was optioned after Thursday night’s game to make room for Friday’s starter, lefty Caleb Smith.

Asked about his messaging from earlier in the week in light of the roster move, Lovullo answered in two parts. First, he said he sincerely believed Ginkel had been throwing the ball better prior to his past three appearances, but after seeing his fastball command erode the club felt it needed to make a decision to get him back on track.

“We could have let him stumble a little bit,” Lovullo said. “We were going to potentially back him out of the closer’s role and give him some lighter-leverage situations and let him recover that way. But what I expressed to Kevin (Thursday) night was, ‘We aren’t here to just pacify and allow you to kind of feel your way around. We want you to be great again.’”

Lovullo then discussed his approach to dealing with the media, saying he tries not to say things about his players that he hasn’t already told them personally.

“I try to be as honest as possible with you guys,” Lovullo said. “Sometimes I can’t tell you guys everything and that’s just the nature of this relationship. I wish it were different, but I’m very well aware of how I communicate with you guys, knowing the players are going to be listening.

“I don’t try to send messages through the media, but I know they listen, so I do have to be careful. I honestly felt like Kevin was throwing the ball well with the exception of the last two outings.”

Zoning in

For the Diamondbacks, part of the allure of Josh VanMeter, whom they acquired last week in the Archie Bradley trade with the Cincinnati Reds, was his ability to control the strike zone, something few Diamondbacks hitters have done well this year. In parts of seven seasons in the minors, VanMeter accumulated a solid 10.1 percent walk rate.

“That’s kind of been my biggest thing in my career is knowing the strike zone,” VanMeter said. “When you know the strike zone, it’s going to lead to better at-bats because you aren’t going to chase as often. That’s something that I really take pride in. …

“To hit the ball hard, you’ve got get good pitches to hit and you just can’t miss them. For me, that’s really what it boils down to is not chasing and being able to capitalize on mistakes.”

VanMeter came up as an infielder and said he feels most comfortable at second base. The Reds used him in the outfield last season as a way to get him in the lineup. He didn’t have many routes to at-bats in Cincinnati, he said.

“There are a lot of guys on that team that are locked up for a number of years now,” VanMeter said. “I don’t know all the situations here, but I was pretty blocked in Cincinnati. Hopefully being able to come over here will give me a better opportunity.”

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

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