Arizona Diamondbacks News 4/28: Ildemaro Vargas Wins Player of the Week

“We’re deep, and we got guys coming back,” Soroka said on Thursday. “So it’s an exciting team to be a part of, and it’s easy to rally around guys like Vargas and (Geraldo) Perdomo who keep the life going around here. It’s been a good atmosphere.” D-backs May Have Avoided Worst-Case Zac Gallen Injury Scenario by Alex D’Agostino [SI] Because for the first three frames of Saturday’s game, Gallen’s stuff looked sharp, his command was dialed in, and he was generating whiffs on both his knuckle-curve and slider despite the lofty 7,300-plus foot elevation of Mexico City.

If Gallen was beginning to generate some forward momentum, a stint on the IL or a skipped rotation turn might have derailed it. That may still be the case, depending on if his shoulder nags him in the coming days.

But for now, it looks like a somewhat safe bet that Gallen won’t miss much time, if any. That, of course, could still change. Merrill Kelly Seeks Redemption as Brewers Challenge Looms by Jack Sommers [SI] **Chad Patrick** was traded by the D-backs to the Athletics for Jace Peterson at the 2023 trade deadline. Last year he posted a 3.53 ERA in 120 innings for the Brewers, who acquired him in November of 2023. This year he has a 2.35 ERA in 23 innings, lowering his career ERA to 3.34 in 143 innings.

Twice the Brewers have used Patrick as the bulk pitcher behind an opener, and it’s possible they may do so again for this game. The official starter has not been named as of this writing.

Around the League

Guards calling up Aussie Bazzana, no. 1 overall Draft pick in 2024 (source) by Tim Stebbins [MLB]

Get ready, Cleveland. The Travis Bazzana era is about to get underway.

The Guardians are calling up Bazzana (their No. 1 prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline) from Triple-A Columbus, a club source told MLB.com on Monday night. The 23-year-old second baseman and No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft could make his big league debut as early as Tuesday vs. the Rays at Progressive Field.

This has been a memorable year already for Bazzana, who was a non-roster invitee in big league camp this spring for the first time while also representing his home country of Australia in the World Baseball Classic. Though he was ultimately assigned to Columbus near the end of camp, he made a strong impression with both his performance and work ethic. Red Sox’s Story: Conversation with Breslow ‘part of process’ [ESPN] Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Monday he’s open to feedback about his communication style, which drew criticism a day earlier after the team’s surprise firing of manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff.

Veteran shortstop Trevor Story called Breslow’s explanation of Cora’s firing when Breslow met with the team Sunday morning not “satisfactory.” Reliever Garrett Whitlock noted that Breslow didn’t give players the chance to ask questions during that meeting. Can the Struggling Astros Turn Their Season Around? by Dan Szymborski [FanGraphs] The Houston Astros have a knack for disappointing Aprils. Despite usually being projected as the favorite or second favorite in the AL West every year for the last decade, the last time the Astros *didn’t* have a losing record at some point in the second half of April was 2019. But year after year, they’ve tended to get a powerful second wind. Excluding 2020, for obvious reasons, they haven’t finished with fewer than 87 wins in a season since 2016; overall, Houston has the second-most wins in baseball since the start of the 2017 season. During those previous mediocre starts, the projections have stood by the Astros. This time… not so much.

To see the last time the Astros started this dreadfully, you don’t have to go back very far. In 2024, they hit their nadir after 26 games, at 7-19. I wrote then, as I do now, about the hole they were digging for themselves. Though it was still an uphill battle to come back in the AL West — they in fact did, handily — the projections never turned sour. ZiPS projected the Astros to win 88 games going into that season, and despite their 7-16 record at the time I wrote that article, the computer still thought they’d continue to win games at the previously predicted rate.

ZiPS does not have the same optimism that it had in 2024. Can Chase Hollander Defeat Coors Field? by Charlie Wright [MLB Trade Rumors] Rockies right-hander **Chase Dollander** fired seven scoreless innings to earn a win against the Mets on Sunday. The outing lowered his April ERA to a pristine 1.29. He’s piled up 34 strikeouts over 28 innings this month. Sunday’s outing was the first traditional start of the season for Dollander. He’d pitched exclusively out of the bullpen to begin the year, typically as a bulk reliever following an opener.

Dollander’s win over the Mets came at Citi Field. It was his fifth appearance on the road this season, compared to just two games at Coors Field. The young righty has been able to tame the hitter-friendly venue so far. Dollander allowed a run over 4 1/3 innings at home against the Phillies in his second outing of the season. He limited the Padres to a run across six innings early last week, piling up nine strikeouts. Colorado scored one run total in Dollander’s two home games, saddling him with the loss both times.