Arizona Diamondbacks designate former Minnesota Twins pitcher Anthony DeSclafani for assignment
The Arizona Diamondbacks designated former Twins pitcher Anthony DeSclafani for assignment on Monday, the team announced. Arizona recalled right-handed pitcher Juan Morillo from Triple-A Reno as a corresponding move.
The Twins traded for DeSclafani along with outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez and right-handed pitchers Justin Topa and Darren Bowen in exchange for infielder Jorge Polanco in the 2023-24 offseason. While Gonzalez looks like a promising prospect and Topa has provided Minnesota with value this season, DeSclafani never made an appearance for the Twins, missing the entire 2024 season with a right elbow strain before electing free agency in the 2024-25 offseason.
DeSclafani, 35, signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees in May. After about a month of pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, DeSclafani was released, and then he signed a deal with the Diamondbacks. He started as a long reliever for Arizona before moving to the starting rotation due to starting pitcher Merrill Kelly getting traded to the Texas Rangers. DeSclafani suffered a thumb injury after three starts with the Diamondbacks and made two outings after returning from the IL. In 38 1/3 innings with Arizona, DeSclafani posted a 5.12 ERA with a 21.3% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate.
DeSclafani relies on six pitches: a high-80s slider, mid-80s knuckle-curve, mid-80s split-finger, mid-90s sinker, mid-90s four-seamer and low-80s sweeper. He made his MLB debut in 2014 with the Miami Marlins before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds in the 2014-15 offseason. He spent five seasons with the Reds before signing with the San Francisco Giants, where he played a crucial role in their 2021 season, which ended in a 107-win campaign. The Giants traded DeSclafani to the Seattle Mariners after the 2024 season, and the Mariners subsequently traded him to the Twins. In his career, DeSclafani has a 4.24 ERA with a 20.9% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate in 981 1/3 innings.
At this point, DeSclafani's future in Major League Baseball is in jeopardy. He will likely clear waivers and be released. A team will likely offer him a minor league deal next season, but he will have to pitch well to earn another opportunity at the big-league level.