Diamondbacks DFA RHP Dylan Floro, recall LHP Blake Walston

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks designated veteran reliever and trade deadline acquisition Dylan Floro for assignment on Sunday, the club announced. Arizona recalled left-handed pitching prospect Blake Walston.

Walston provides length to a bullpen that threw 7.1 innings in Saturday’s 15-8 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Floro threw two frames with five earned runs during the defeat, upping his ERA to 9.37 in 16.1 innings pitched since the trade deadline.

Floro came over as a nine-year veteran with a 2.06 ERA and 2.64 FIP this season for the Nationals. The Diamondbacks made two trades for relievers, nabbing former Miami Marlins left-hander A.J. Puk along with Floro to strengthen the unit at a time of transition with Paul Sewald exiting the closer’s role around the deadline.

Floro’s velocity took a nosedive after the trade, as his sinker dropped from 90.4 mph in July to 88.4 mph in September, according to Statcast. Similar occurrences happened with his four-seamer, changeup and slider, and his average exit velocities jumped.

The Diamondbacks traded minor league infielder Andres Chaparro to the Washington Nationals for Floro at the buzzer of the trade deadline — the deal went down while the two clubs faced each other, so Floro just switched clubhouses. Chaparro has a .744 OPS in 109 plate appearances in Washington, although he would not have had any obvious role in Arizona this season.

Floro has primarily filled out lower-leverage innings but had not earned a higher-stakes role.

Blake Walston returns to Arizona

Walston returns for his third stint in the major leagues this season. In 12.2 innings across two starts and a relief appearance, Walston owns a 2.84 ERA with nine walks and 11 strikeouts.

He landed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation on June 6 and missed more than two months before returning to Triple-A Reno.

The 23-year-old last pitched on Tuesday for the Aces, tossing 5.2 innings with one earned run.

Blake Walston (@Dbacks No. 25) was sharp in his first MLB start.

4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K pic.twitter.com/nw4Rf3xnSo

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 26, 2024

The Diamondbacks placed starter Ryne Nelson on the 15-day injured list Saturday retroactive to Wednesday, likely moving Jordan Montgomery from his long relief role back into the rotation. Yilber Diaz threw 71 pitches out of the bullpen on Saturday, so length quickly became a need.

By designating Floro for assignment, the Diamondbacks have 39 players on the 40-man roster.

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