After missing the playoffs by the closest of margins in 2024, it was no surprise that Arizona was going to need to bolster its pitching staff, both in the rotation and in the bullpen. Alas, the Diamondbacks remained cursed when it came to acquiring pitchers via free agency. For the rotation, Mike Hazen landed one of the best starting pitchers in the game, a workhorse pitcher with no significant history of injuries or slump. Corbin Burns started the season rough, suffered his first injury early, started pitching well, then went down for Tommy John surgery. For the bullpen, Mike Hazen gave a low-cost, team-friendly deal to Kendall Graveman, one of the better relievers in the game since the start of the 2021 season. Graveman was coming off a season-long stint on the injured list after having been a key member of the Houston bullpen in 2023 when the Astros made it to the AL Championship Series, where they eventually lost to the eventual World Series Champion Texas Rangers.
Hopes were high in Arizona that Mike Hazen had finally spent to land a viable bullpen arm, not one looking for a former all-star bounce-back season. The low cost of the contract with a team option for 2026 seemed like a savvy bit of work by the Arizona front office. Even such a lightweight deal wound up being cursed though. Graveman began the season on the injured list, despite initial assessments having him ready by Opening Day. As it turned out, the injury that forced Graveman to miss Opening Day had little or nothing to do with the shoulder injury that cost him the 2024 season. It was a back strain, an injury that pushed Graveman’s eventual Diamondbacks debut back to May.
Graveman made his debut on 13 May against the Giants in San Francisco. The appearance was a bit of a mixed bag, but the result was an acceptable one. He walked Matt Chapman but was rescued from that by Chapman being caught stealing. Graveman left the field after allowing no runs and no hits facing three batters and getting three outs. He didn’t allow his first run to score until his third outing. In that outing, he allowed four hits and a run. That was the only run he allowed over seven appearances and 6.1 innings in the month of May. However, there were some points of concern starting to build.
Graveman originally made a name for himself as a groundball specialist pitcher. He gained further stature when he unlocked a strong strikeout rate. Both those rates were trending in the wrong direction in Arizona. Graveman faced 25 batters in the month of may. He struck out three and induced only five ground balls. His exit velocities were also heading the wrong way. He allowed his second run if the season when the calendar turned to June. This one another single run on two hits but with no free passes or strikeout. His next outing is where the wheels fell off. In the second game of the now infamous debacle in Cincinnati, Graveman entered the game in the fourth inning, with the Diamondbacks already trailing 5-1. Graveman imploded. He allowed six runs on five hits, two walks, and a hit batter.
Graveman returned to the IL for a short spell before coming back at the All-Star break. He then limped along with the club until just after the trade deadline, getting appearances in mop-up duty. These tended to be a mixed bag in results. But one thing was blatantly obvious. Graveman had nothing of substance left in the tank. He wound up walking more than he struck out, though the walk rate was actually reasonable. The velocity was down significantly. The contact made by batters continued to be effective and his reputation as a groundball pitcher fell apart. The team finally designated Graveman for assignment on 11 August. The team didn’t even wait until the waiting period was up to give Graveman his outright release on 13 August.
Graveman is a free agent this winter. No teams kicked the tires on him after Arizona released him. However, every team needs some extra arms to get them through spring, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that some team out there will give Graveman a minor league deal with an invite to training to see if he can bounce back. At his age and with the significant injury history Graveman has endured, it is also quite likely that Graveman may just hang them up and do something else moving forward. Regardless, his time in the desert is up.