Diamondbacks remove Addison Reed from closer role

    The Arizona Diamondbacks made the decision to go with a closer by committee Friday afternoon after the struggles of Addison Reed have not shown any signs of going away.
    The Diamondbacks currently sit in fourth place with a 15-18 record, and are 6.5 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
    Arizona fans are no strangers to the dramatic ninth innings Reed has experienced since joining the Diamondbacks in 2014, but his 2015 campaign has been concerning, thus the change by first-year manager Chip Hale.
    In the 10.0 innings Reed has pitched so far, he has picked up only two saves to match his two blown saves, has an 0-2 record and has a career-high 7.20 ERA. It is only 33 games into the season, but at some point Hale does need to consider other options to not fall too far behind in the division.
    Perhaps the biggest factor to Reed's inflated ERA is the fact he is allowing runners on base at an alarming rate, and has allowed 19 baserunners (15 hits and four walks) leading to a bloated 1.90 WHIP.
    The move comes at a time when the Diamondbacks will open up a seven-game road trip against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins -- and both clubs are under .500 -- so finding out if the bullpen has a reliever who can do damage control in the ninth inning is something Hale should experiment with at this time.
    According to Nick Piecoro, the Diamondbacks beat writer for AZ Central Sports, Hale said veteran Brad Ziegler "could be an option for the ninth inning but plans to keep his options open in case Ziegler is needed earlier," via Piecoro's Twitter account.
    Ziegler has experience as a closer when he compiled 13 saves in 2013 after taking over for former Diamondbacks closer J.J. Putz.
    Hale does not expect this to be a permanent solution as he stated the reason for Reed's struggles are mechanical because of a short spring training for the 26-year-old reliever.
    Piecoro also tweeted that Hale can see Reed "returning to closer's role once he gets himself back on track."
    Finally, Piecoro tweeted that Reed accepts the change and said, "There's not one part of me that thinks I've been throwing the ball somewhat well."
    Reed has 103 career saves in his five major-league seasons. Before being traded to Arizona in 2014, Reed spent his first three season with the Chicago White Sox.

Information was gathered using outside media sources: espn.com, arizonasports.com, twitter.com, baseball-reference.com, and azcentral.com.