Arizona Diamondbacks DFA Player Acquired From A’s

The Arizona Diamondbacks have designated Jace Peterson for assignment, according to MLB’s transactions page. Peterson had played in 14 of the D-Backs 20 games prior to the news, but he’d received just 26 plate appearances. In that span he went 1-for-22 (.045) with three walks, two runs scored, and a sacrifice fly that resulted in an RBI.

Peterson was acquired from the Oakland A’s at the Trade Deadline last season in exchange for right-hander Chad Patrick.

With the A’s, Patrick played in both Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas, and pitched to an ERA that combined to be over eight between the two stops.

The A’s traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers during the offseason in exchange for their new leadoff hitter, Abraham Toro, who led off Friday night’s game in Cleveland with a home run. It would be the only run that Oakalnd would score until Brent Rooker added a solo homer in the top of the ninth.

Peterson was originally brought in to the A’s to be a stable veteran presence, but his offensive production just wasn’t there for the rebuilding club. He ended up hitting .221 with a .313 OBP in Oakland, and those numbers would dip once he joined Arizona.

Even though he is no longer with the team, Peterson is still one of the highest paid players on the A’s payroll this season. As part of the trade, the A’s agreed to pay $3 million of Peterson’s $5 million salary this season. The $3 million figure is what Baseball-Reference has listed, while FanGraphs says it’s just $2 million.

The A’s payroll leaders are Ross Stripling ($12.5 million, $3.25 M of which is paid by the Giants), Alex Wood ($8.5 M), Aledmys Díaz ($7.25 M), J.D. Davis ($2.5 M base), Paul Blackburn ($3.45 M), Seth Brown ($2.6 M), and Scott Alexander ($2.25 M). Peterson is either at the end of this group, or right in the middle.

The move for Arizona made roster space for Jordan Montgomery to make his first start with his new club, which ended up being a 17-1 rout of the Giants in San Francisco. Montgomery (6 IP, 4 hits, ER, 0 BB, 3 K) out dueled S.F.’s Boras four pitcher, Blake Snell (4.2 IP, 9 hits, 5 ER, BB, 3 K).