The D-backs released veteran right-hander Joe Ross, who’d been pitching with their Triple-A affiliate in Reno, per the MiLB.com transaction log.
Ross signed a minor league deal with the Snakes over the winter and cracked the Opening Day roster. He pitched only 3 2/3 innings before being designated for assignment, at which point he cleared waivers, elected free agency and returned to the organization on a new minor league contract. He’s been pitching with Reno since.
It’s been a decent year for Ross with the D-backs’ top affiliate. He’s tossed 21 innings, working mostly in long relief, and posted a 4.29 earned run average in that hitter-friendly setting. The 32-year-old (33 tomorrow) has just a 14% strikeout rate on the year, but he’s offset that lack of whiffs with a 5.8% walk rate, a 47.8% grounder rate and plenty of light contact (87.7 mph average exit velocity, 38% hard-hit rate).
Ross has pitched in parts of nine big league seasons and sits just one day shy of eight years of major league service. He showed glimpses of breaking out as a quality big league starter early in his career, but much like his older brother (Tyson Ross) was routinely set back by injuries. He’s had a pair of Tommy John surgeries in his career in addition to a procedure to remove bone spurs from his elbow. Ross has also had multiple IL stints due to lower back injuries and shoulder troubles.
Ross had a nice season with the ’24 Brewers, tossing 74 innings with a 3.77 ERA and rate stats that were only slightly worse than league average. He was hit hard in a partial season with the ’25 Phillies though, yielding a 5.12 ERA with a career-low 17.1% strikeout rate. Overall, the big 6’4″ righty has a 4.37 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 43% ground-ball rate in 572 major league frames.
Teams in need of some length in the bullpen and/or rotation depth could take a minimal-risk flier on Ross now that he’s a free agent again. He’s stretched out enough for a swingman role right now and could be built up to a starter’s workload without much issue; Ross has a pair of three-inning outings on the books already, the most recent coming early this month. He’s been sitting 95.6 mph with his four-seamer and 96.2 mph with his sinker in Reno. Both would be career-best marks.
