With just days remaining in the regular season, the Arizona Diamondbacks have released starting pitcher Zach Davies, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Davies has not exactly been fantastic and Arizona has other reliable starters, but the decision is still fairly surprising.
Diamondbacks release Davies
Davies, 30, is a veteran soft-tossing right-hander. He's previously pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, and Chicago Cubs. He enjoyed some respectable seasons with Milwaukee and San Diego before ending up with the Cubs in 2021. Davies struggled in Chicago and the Diamondbacks took a chance on him in 2022.
Davies posted a 4.09 ERA across 27 starts during the '22 campaign. Overall, it was a decent campaign for a middle-of-the-rotation type of pitcher.
The same cannot be said for Davies' 2023 performance though. He currently owns a 7.00 ERA over 18 starts for the Diamondbacks.
Arizona is battling for an NL Wild Card spot. They currently hold the second position but there are three teams right behind them with a chance to surpass Arizona.
The Diamondbacks rotation has question marks, which is another reason why the decision to release Davies is surprising despite his struggles. Zac Gallen is a true ace leading the charge, and Merrill Kelly isn't a bad secondary option. Brandon Pfaadt hasn't been great though, and there aren't many options beyond that for Arizona.
The Diamondbacks will be an interesting team to follow as the season winds down. Even if they make the playoffs, Arizona will need to figure out their starting rotation uncertainty in order to have any chance of making a run.
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