The Diamondbacks have decided to send righty starting pitcher Micah Owings to AAA as he has really struggled as of late. Owings has pitched in 22 games (18 starts) for the Diamondbacks this season and he is 6-9 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. The D-Backs should have thought about keeping Owings around as a bat off the bench as he can really hit the baseball. He is 15 for 52 (.288 avg, .736 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs this season. Yusmeiro Petit will replace Owings in the starting rotation. Petit has pitched in 11 games (2 starts) for the D-Backs this season and he is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He must be real fine with his location to succeed because he doesn’t have a big heater. 27-year old righty reliever Jailen Peguero has been called up to replace Owings on the roster. He pitched in 2 games earlier this season for the D-Backs and he was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Peguero has also pitched in 41 games (0 starts) in AAA ball this season and he was 5-4 with 4 saves, a 4.42 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has whiffed 60 batters in 59 innings in the minors but he has also walked 36 batters which tells you that he has good stuff but has no idea where the ball is going.

When Eric Byrnes went down for the season due to a very serious hamstring injury the D-Backs didn’t panic. They moved Conor Jackson to left field and they got Chad Tracy out of mothballs to play 1B. All Tracy has done this July is go 24 for 64 (.375 avg, .982 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. Tracy lost his starting job at 3B to Mark Reynolds last season after he was injured and he was backing up at 1B until Byrnes’ injury but he’s showing he still has a ton of life left in his bat. Tracy has now played in 45 games for the D-Backs this season and he is 44 for 145 (.303 avg, .836 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 6 homers and 27 RBIs. The D-Backs are looking for a power hitting outfielder but that likely won’t effect Tracy’s playing time. It might, however, cut into Justin Upton’s playing time as he has not played well this season.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired 29-year old righty closer Jon Rauch from the Nationals for 2B/SS Emilio Bonifacio. Rauch has been dominant this season for the Nationals as he has worked in 48 games in which he is 4-2 with 17 saves, a 2.98 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Rauch has now pitched in 255 games (11 starts) in his major league career and he is 24-17 with 23 saves, a 3.63 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Look for Rauch to challenge Brandon Lyon for the closer’s job in Arizona with the loser likely working in the 8th inning. Lyons overall numbers are solid (2-4, 20 saves, 3.86 ERA and 1.29 WHIP) but he has been awful in June & July. In the last two months, Lyon has pitched in 18 games and he is 1-3 with 8 saves, a 6.62 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Emilio Bonifacio seems like a small price to pay for a back end reliever like Jon Rauch. He played in 85 games in AAA ball this season and he was 111 for 367 (.302 avg, .735 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 1 homer, 29 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He also has played in 8 games for the D-Backs this season and he was 2 for 12 (.167 avg, .417 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Bonifacio was the #6 prospect in the D-Backs system according to Baseball America coming into this season but they won’t lose any sleep over losing him to acquire Rauch. A fine move by the D-Backs.

The Diamondbacks have placed lefty reliever Doug Slaten on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right knee. This will hurt the D-Backs as he was the only lefty reliever on the roster. He pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs this season and he is 0-3 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The D-Backs have recalled righty Billy Buckner up from AAA ball to replace Slaten in the bullpen. Buckner has started 19 games in AAA ball this season and he is 5-8 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP this year. He has also worked in 2 games (0 starts) with the D-Backs in which he is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Diamondbacks should really be looking for a lefty reliever as well as a good hitting outfielder on the trade market.

The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder Justin Upton on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique muscle. Upton has played in 83 games this season for the D-Backs and he is 67 for 277 (.242 avg, .786 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 11 homers and 31 RBIs. He has also whiffed 97 times this season which will need corrected in the future if he wants to stay in the starting lineup. The D-Backs should be in the market for a solid reserve outfielder who can start in a pinch like the one the team is in right now with both Upton and Eric Byrnes out.