D-backs Strengthen NL’s Best Bullpen

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline approaching the Arizona Diamondbacks wasted no time stocking up for what they hope to be a second-consecutive trip to the playoffs.

OFFICIAL: #Dbacks acquire RHP Matt Andriese from the Tampa Bay Rays for C Michael Perez and RHP Brian Shaffer.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the club designated RHP Randall Delgado for assignment.

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 25, 2018

The deal bolsters the National League’s best bullpen as the D-backs sit just a half game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

The 28-year-old Andriese went 3-4 with a 4.07 ERA for the Rays allowing 27 earned runs in 59.2 innings pitched. He made four starts in his 27 total appearances. Originally a third-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2011, the right-hander was dealt to Tampa in a multi-player trade in late January of 2014. 

#Dbacks GM Mike Hazen on new pitcher Matt Andriese: He’ll go into the bullpen right now. It’s multiple years of control after this year so this is both a short and long-term move for us.

— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) July 25, 2018

Perez, 25, batted .284 with six homers and 29 runs batted in for Triple-A Reno. He appeared in 58 games and was a non-roster invitee to D-backs Spring Training in 2018. Shaffer was a sixth-round pick of the D-backs in 2017.

The veteran Delgado went 2-0 with a 5.14 ERA in six games with Arizona this season.

The D-backs finish their four-game series with the Cubs in Chicago Thursday morning.