Diamondbacks bring back RHP Scott McGough on minor league deal, sign RHP John Curtiss

The Arizona Diamondbacks are giving another look to right-handed reliever Scott McGough, who has agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, the Triple-A Reno Aces announced on Tuesday.

Arizona additionally agreed to terms with right-handed relief pitcher John Curtiss to a minor league deal with a spring training invite.

McGough spent the past two seasons on the Diamondbacks after pitching in Japan. The D-backs declined a mutual option to keep McGough on the active roster at the start of this offseason.

The 35-year-old made 89 appearances for the D-backs with a 5.59 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 103 innings. He worked a 3.22 ERA in Triple-A Reno last year in 36.1 minor league frames.

The right-hander allowed no earned runs in 17 straight appearances spanning 22.1 innings in May and June of 2023, but that was the highlight of his D-backs tenure.

His ERA was a gnarly 7.98 for the rest of that season, and a shoulder issue ended his campaign in the middle of September. He was optioned three times last year and made more appearances for Triple-A Reno than the big league club. Opponents produced a .906 OPS against him in the major leagues in 2024, while his strikeouts dropped from 28.6% in 2023 to 16.7%.

Diamondbacks sign John Curtiss

Curtiss is a 31-year-old hurler with 94 MLB appearances across seven seasons. The 6-foot-5 hurler has rolled with a 92-94 mph four-seam fastball, a slider and a changeup over the past couple years.

He spent the shortened 2020 season with the American League-winning Tampa Bay Rays, where he was teammates with D-backs reliever Ryan Thompson. He was the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the Fall Classic against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the series. That campaign came in the midst of Curtiss’ best big league stretch. From 2019-21, he pitched 71.2 innings with a 2.89 ERA and 70 strikeouts.

In September 2021, however, he underwent Tommy John surgery and did not pitch again until 2023.

Curtiss pitched 15 games for the New York Mets before undergoing another season-ending surgery to remove a loose body from his elbow. He only pitched in three MLB games last year for the Colorado Rockies, although he made 43 appearances for Triple-A Albuquerque with a 3.96 ERA.

McGough and Curtiss join fellow non-roster invitee pitchers Kyle Amendt, Jeff Brigham, Christian Montes De Oca, Juan Morillo, Listher Sosa, Thyago Vieira, Josh Winder, Kyle Backhus and José Castillo at spring training.

Last year, three pitchers who were NRIs pitched in the major leagues for Arizona: Brandon Hughes, Logan Allen and Humberto Castellanos.

Pitchers and catchers officially report on Wednesday.

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