Out all of last season, Graveman agrees to 1-year deal with D-backs

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Soon after D-backs GM Mike Hazen said he was still in the market for relief pitching, the team agreed to a one-year contract with veteran right-handed reliever?Kendall Graveman. The deal, which is for $1.35 million according to a source, was officially announced on Monday morning.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported that Graveman can increase his salary to $3.3 million with incentives. To make room on the roster since it is a Major League deal, Arizona designated right-hander Seth Martinez for assignment.

Graveman missed the entire 2024 season after?undergoing right shoulder surgery prior to the season, but the D-backs saw him throw and believe that he is fully recovered.

The 34-year-old Graveman has spent nine seasons in the Majors and has been an effective reliever since the start of 2021. In 2023, his most recent season, Graveman recorded a 3.12 ERA over 66 1/3 innings split between the White Sox and Astros.

There is some uncertainty about?how the D-backs will handle the back end of their bullpen, and Graveman could figure into the mix. He registered 24 saves from 2021-23 with the Mariners, Astros and White Sox.

When the offseason started, adding a back-end reliever with closing experience was something that was on Hazen’s offseason to-do list.

“We have a lot of good arms in our 'pen,” Hazen said prior to the Graveman signing. “Probably have one of the best talent bases in our 'pen that we've had in a while. They've good stuff. You know, it's a good mix of arm slots and righties and lefties and diversity of looks.”

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo has said there will be a competition for the closer’s role in Spring Training. Right-hander Justin Martinez and lefty A.J. Puk are the leading candidates after strong performances last year, but Lovullo wasn’t ready to rule out longtime setup man Kevin Ginkel.

Where Graveman will fit into that mix remains to be seen.

Choosing a closer during Spring Training can be tricky because it is next to impossible to simulate the late-game situations a closer faces during the regular season. In the later innings of spring games pitchers are usually facing Minor League hitters as opposed to a team’s regulars.

It’s something that Hazen and Lovullo have talked about -- should they bring in their late-inning guys earlier in games when regulars are still in the game? Would that matter?

“I think Spring Training is always a big challenge for an under-reaction, an overreaction, being overwhelmed, underwhelmed,” Lovullo said. “It's just a little bit of a challenge. So we look at it a little bit differently. We don't necessarily base it off the results, but sometimes [the way] we do it just depends on what the competition is and what it looked like in the moment. And we want to see guys make pitches, shape pitches, have mound presence. And we want to get to know the guys and the group that we have. I think the heartbeat and the mind has something to do with it as well. Can't just throw anybody out there. It's a very tough situation, and I think a few people are going to be strongly considered.”