Arizona Diamondbacks Bullpen Preview

Across the board, the 2014 season was a disaster for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The club finished with a 64-98 record, which was the worst in all of baseball.

One of the many reasons why the D-Backs performed so poorly last season was the struggles of their bullpen. The unit finished with a 3.92 ERA last year, which was good for 23rd in all of baseball.

Despite no big changes, the organization expects this group to be improved this coming season with a couple of key veterans returning from injuries and a slew of young arms being close to ready for the big league level.

Let’s kick things off by looking at who will be closing out games for the D-Backs this season.

Sep 17, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Addison Reed throws in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field. The Giants defeated the Diamondbacks 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Closer: Addison Reed – 1-7 record, 4.25 ERA, 15 BB, 69 K’s in 59.1 innings last season

Reed had a rough go of it in his first season in a Diamondbacks uniform after being acquired by the club from the Chicago White Sox during the winter. He had six blown saves in 38 attempts, which is hardly Mariano Rivera like.

The right-hander pitched much better on the road last season than he did at Chase Field. Reed had a 3.62 ERA on the road, which was more than a full run lower than his ERA at Chase Field.

With a full year under his belt, look for Reed to be a bit more comfortable in his role this season. He might not be in a D-Backs uniform for long though given his ever-increasing price tag and the fact that this club has lots of quality young arms which could take over Reed’s role.

Aug 27, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Brad Ziegler (29) throws during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Set-Up Man: Brad Ziegler – 5-3 record, 3.49 ERA, 24 BB’s, 54 K’s in 67 innings last season

Ever since he entered the league in 2008 with the Oakland Athletics, it’s hard to find a more consistent reliever than Zig. Over seven big league seasons, Ziegler has a 2.56 ERA with 108 holds.

Last season was a bit of a struggle for the veteran though as he had the highest ERA of his career at 3.49. A lot of that had to do with a bum knee that Ziegler was suffering from in the final couple months of the season, which required microfracture surgery in September, a procedure fans here in Phoenix are very familiar with.

Despite how serious the surgery is, Ziegler is progressing well and is hoping to be ready by the start of the season in early April.

Sep 17, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randall Delgado against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Long Relief: Randall Delgado – 4-4 record, 4.87 ERA, 35 BB’s, 86 K’s in 77.2 innings last season

This is a position that’s been held by Josh Collmenter over the past couple of seasons, but with Colly now at the top of the starting rotation, this job now firmly belongs to Delgado.

Delgado was up and down in 2014. Of course, a lot of that probably wasn’t his fault because he really didn’t have a set role until the very end of the season. Delgado had two great months last season (0.64 ERA in July and 1.53 ERA in September) with a bunch of bad months in between.

With the rotation in flux, this club is going to need more consistency out of Delgado in 2015 because he’ll more than likely be pitching a ton of innings.

Middle Relief

Sep 24, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Evan Marshall (50) pitches in the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Minnesota Twins win 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Evan Marshall – 4-4 record, 2.74 ERA, 17 BB’s, 54 K’s in 49.1 innings last season

This guy was one of the few bright spots for this club last season. He came up in early June and pitched well for pretty much most of the season. The lone exception for the 24-year-old was the month of June where Marshall gave up seven runs in only nine innings of work.

In my eyes, he projects to be a perfect eighth inning guy. If Ziegler proves that he’s healthy and is pitching well, there’s a distinct possibility that he’s moved before the Trade Deadline, giving Marshall a chance to take over the eighth inning role.