By Jackson RobertsShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberIt was a trying year for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who certainly didn't finish the season with the same pitching staff they'd hoped they would carry.
While starting pitcher Corbin Burnes undergoing Tommy John surgery was the big story of the season, the Diamondbacks also lost both of their top relievers, righty Justin Martinez and lefty A.J. Puk, to season-ending injuries quite early in the year. That caused them to turn to some names they likely never envisioned picking up, including six-year veteran Jake Woodford.
Woodford made 22 appearances for the D-backs between early July and mid-September, and he pitched to a ghastly 6.44 ERA in 36 1/3 innings. Once a fairly promising pitching prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals, Woodford now is just trying to stay in the league.
...Now, Woodford has his next opportunity, but he'll have to work hard in spring training to keep his big-league dreams alive. He recently signed a minor-league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to the transactions log on his official roster page.
The deal was signed last Tuesday, but it took at least another day or two to be reflected on the log.
It was a hectic year for Woodford, who signed with the Colorado Rockies in January, then joined the New York Yankees after his release in March, then moved on to the Chicago Cubs after another release in June, then finally ended up in Arizona to finish out the campaign.
Woodford has been a member of a big-league roster every year since 2020, but he's never thrown more than 67 1/3 innings in a season. His best year came as a member of the 2022 Cardinals bullpen (the last St. Louis team to make the playoffs), as he pitched to an impressive 2.23 ERA in 27 outings as a multi-inning reliever.
Tampa Bay has been known in the past for getting the most out of its pitching talent, and that reputation has slipped a bit in the last couple of seasons, though one can excuse some of the club's pitchers for being victimized by the home run ball while playing in a minor-league ballpark.
There's no guarantee Woodford makes it to the Rays' big-league roster in their return to Tropicana Field this year, but if he does, it will be interesting to see what tweaks they make to his arsenal, which was ineffective with the D-backs.
More MLB: Dodgers Urged to Trade for $100 Million Twins All-Star
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