Arizona Diamondbacks’ Opening Day bullpen is all righties

PHOENIX – The 2025 Arizona Diamondbacks’ bullpen was a revolving door of injuries and uncertainty. Manager Torey Lovullo’s remedy for this season’s relievers may be even wackier – zero left-handers. 

Seventeen different Diamondbacks recorded a save for Lovullo a season ago in a campaign that saw the team win 80 games and finish fourth in the National League West. To put that in perspective, no MLB team had ever utilized more than 14 pitchers to close out a game before the record-breaking season. 

For a club that ranked top-10 in the league in nearly every major offensive statistic, the chaotic bullpen lagged behind, finishing bottom five in reliever ERA, WHIP and strikeouts per nine innings. A solution to that problem was the biggest question staring back at general manager Mike Hazen this offseason. 

“We’re going to try to build out as much depth in the bullpen as possible,” Hazen said of his hopeful answer to the reliever conundrum. “We want to increase the stuff that’s out there, the swing and miss that’s out there.”

Lovullo, meanwhile, viewed this year’s spring training as an opportunity for competition to breed success. In February, when he was asked how many spots were up for grabs in the bullpen, his reply was succinct. 

“All eight of them,” Lovullo said. “Earn it. Nothing is going to be handed to you. There is nothing for free in this game, and we’ve got to get back to that concept.”

As the Diamondbacks shipped out of Salt River Fields and the final trimmings were made on the Opening Day roster, the winners of that bullpen competition were revealed: eight relievers who all throw from the right side. It’s the first time in the Lovullo and Hazen tenure, now entering year 10, that no southpaws in the pen will break camp with the team.

“We don’t have a lefty in the bullpen. I’m very well aware of that. However, we feel very comfortable with some of our reverse-split guys that can go out there and attack left-handed hitters,” Lovullo said of the decision to exclude a lefty. “I want very trusted relievers back there that are going to fill up the strike zone, create swing and miss, and create weak contact. That’s our goal.”

Injuries played a role in the decision by Lovullo and Hazen. Left-handed stalwarts A.J. Puk and Andrew Saalfrank are still recovering from Tommy John and shoulder surgeries respectively, and were never options for the Opening Day bullpen. Puk has begun throwing short bullpens, but likely won’t be ready to return until closer to July, while Saalfrank’s surgery was season-ending. Lovullo wants to make sure there’s not a continuation of the rash of pitching injuries he had to work around last season. 

“We went through last year with some big injuries, so we might adjust the usage in the early parts of the season, April and part of May, so these guys can step on the gas pedal,” Lovullo said of his strategy to ease pitchers into full workloads. “Last year was rough, and we’ve learned a lot from that, me especially.”

While the eight players making up the Opening Day bullpen are settled, the one who runs out to toe the rubber for the first save opportunity of the season is still a mystery. 

Paul Sewald is option number one. The veteran reliever signed a late-offseason contract with Arizona in February, and reunites with the squad he pitched for in 2023 and 2024. Sewald recorded a franchise-record six saves with the Diamondbacks during their playoff run to the World Series in 2023, and has 15 or more saves in three of his past four seasons. 

Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel are two more seasoned Diamondbacks familiar with the closer role, combining for 24 saves in their careers. Both righties will provide stability and comfort for Lovullo as he navigates the new-look pen, but whether they still have the juice needed to close out games is up in the air. 

Jonathan Loáisiga is one more intriguing option who could eventually slide in as the closer with strong performances. After eight seasons with the New York Yankees, Loáisiga signed with Arizona as a non-roster invite in January, and struck out nine in his eight spring training innings. 

Loáisiga has been plagued by injuries as a big leaguer, but features the stuff and swing-and-miss qualities Hazen and Lovullo crave. The right-hander has ranked in the 86th percentile or better in average fastball velocity every season of his career. 

No matter who the closer is out of the gates this year, the roster construction quirkiness will immediately be put to the test as the Diamondbacks open the season Thursday in Los Angeles against their division rivals and the back-to-back World Series champions, the Dodgers. How Lovullo chooses to manage the late-game matchups between his staff and LA’s left-handed hitting stars, Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker and Freddie Freeman, will be under intense scrutiny.

Related