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Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt: Moving to bullpen role
Rotowire
Pfaadt will transition to the bullpen following the return of Merrill Kelly (back) from the injured list, Jody Jackson of Bally Sports Arizona reports.
Pfaadt has struggled mightily to find his footing over his first three starts of the 2026 campaign, as he's given up 11 runs over 16.2 innings of work. He'll search for success as a reliever while Michael Soroka will remain in Arizona's starting rotation going forward.
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Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt: Tagged with first loss Saturday
Rotowire
Pfaadt (0-1) took the loss Saturday, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks over six innings as the Diamondbacks fell 4-3 to the Phillies. He struck out six.
All four runs off the right-hander crossed the plate in the third inning on back-to-back homers by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. The outing still qualified as Pfaadt's first quality start of 2026, albeit barely, as he tossed 65 of 101 pitches for strikes. He carries a 5.94 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 11:6 K:BB through 16.2 innings, and with Merrill Kelly (back) close to making his season debut, Pfaadt could get bumped from the rotation given his rocky start to the year.
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Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt: Falls apart late in no-decision
Rotowire
Pfaadt did not factor into the decision Sunday against Atlanta, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out two over 4.2 innings.
Pfaadt got off to a shaky start, surrendering a solo homer to Drake Baldwin just two batters into the game, but he briefly settled in by retiring 10 of the next 13 hitters. The right-hander ran into more trouble in the fifth inning, where two more runs came across, including one on a wild changeup that reached the backstop, allowing a free runner to come home. After surrendering five runs in his season debut and a disappointing Sunday, it's been a slow start to 2026 for the 27-year-old. Pfaadt will look to bounce back in his next outing against Philadelphia, a lineup that has been roughly middle of the pack offensively to begin the season.
Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt: Gives up five runs in 2026 debut
Rotowire
Pfaadt did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing five runs on six hits and one walk over six innings during a 7-5 victory over the Tigers. He struck out three.
Pfaadt retired the side in order in five of six frames Tuesday, but the third inning was a mess as Detroit rallied for five runs on six hits. Despite that seemingly strong performance for most of the night, the right-hander generated just six swinging strikes on 85 pitches, which isn't exactly an encouraging season debut after his strikeout rate already dropped more than five percentage points to 19.2 percent from 2024 to 2025. A matchup with Atlanta this weekend presents a difficult matchup for Pfaadt his next time out.
Pfaadt allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one over 2.1 scoreless innings in Wednesday's Cactus League start against the Athletics.
Pfaadt threw an efficient 25 pitches (15 strikes) to get those seven outs in his Cactus League debut, as Athletics hitters were aggressive. The right-hander was behind other starters in camp, because of a side issue that cropped up during offseason workouts. Pfaadt threw all six of his pitches. Despite the late start, he should have enough time to be ready by Opening Day.
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Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt: Set for Cactus debut Wednesday
Rotowire
Pfaadt (side) will make his Cactus League debut Wednesday against the Athletics, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
The Diamondbacks have eased Pfaadt into things this spring after he had a side issue during the offseason. Pfaadt pitched in a backfields game last week and will progress to an official spring training contest Wednesday. The right-hander is expected to be ready to roll for the beginning of the regular season.
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Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt: Coming back from side issue
Rotowire
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that Pfaadt is being "slow-played" during spring training because of a side issue that popped up over the offseason, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
Pfaadt is pitching in a backfield game Thursday and Lovullo indicated that the injury is unlikely to prevent the right-hander from being ready for the start of the season. That's if Pfaadt is able to avoid a setback, of course. The right-hander is coming off a disappointing 2025 campaign that saw him collect a 5.25 ERA over 33 starts, but his rotation spot should be secure as long as he's healthy.
Pfaadt (13-9) allowed eight runs (seven earned) on six hits and a hit-by-pitch and struck out five without walking a batter over four innings, taking the loss Sunday versus the Padres.
Pfaadt's season finale was a microcosm of his season -- strong control, a few mistakes and a hearty dose of bad luck. He allowed four or more runs in four of his last seven starts of the season, winning just one of those games. Overall, he ended the year at a 5.25 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 147:37 K:BB across 176.2 innings across 33 starts.
Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt: Decent in no-decision
Rotowire
Pfaadt allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings in a no-decision Tuesday versus the Dodgers.
Pfaadt had some trouble against Teoscar Hernandez, who hit a solo home run and a two-run triple off the Arizona righty. Other than that, it was a fine performance for Pfaadt, who has not taken a loss in his last seven outings. He's allowed 21 runs over 39.2 innings in that span, but he's also posted a 34:7 K:BB, showing some improvements in control down the stretch. For the season, he has a 5.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 142:37 K:BB through 172.2 innings across 32 starts.
Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt: Nothing to show for nine scoreless
Rotowire
Pfaadt didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 5-1, extra-innings loss to the Giants, allowing just one hit and one walk over nine scoreless innings. He struck out seven.
Had he gotten any run support at all, Pfaadt would have delivered his first career shutout on 97 pitches (65 strikes) in the best performance of his career. Instead, the right-hander had to settle for a no-decision as neither offense woke up until the 11th inning. Pfaadt has produced two quality starts in three September outings, but he got tagged for five runs ove 4.2 frames in the other start, and since the beginning of August he carries a 4.83 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 40:10 K:BB over 50.1 innings even with Wednesday's stellar effort. He'll try to continue wrapping up his regular season on a high note in his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come at home early next week against the Dodgers.
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