Diamondbacks Select Reliever Looking for a Bounceback Season

Brandon Hughes Looking for a Bounceback Season

Hughes, 28, is looking to return to form with the Diamondbacks this season. He debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 2022 and found success while moving into higher leverage spots as the season went on. The left-hander pitched 57.2 innings for the Cubs in 2022 with a 3.12 ERA. He registered eight saves and eight holds in 2022.

2023 was a different story for Hughes.

Between injuries and ineffectiveness, Brandon Hughes wasn’t right in 2023. He pitched to a 7.24 ERA, which led to the Chicago Cubs non-tendering him.

The Diamondbacks, however, feel they’re getting the best of Hughes.

“Brandon Hughes has been throwing the ball really well. He’s had some good runs at the big league level, was a little bit banged up and injured up until this year and we feel like we’re getting the best version of him again.” manager Torey Lovullo told reporters.

The Pitching Profile

The DBacks are opting to keep an extra reliever in Hughes for the time being while they figure out the rotation after optioning out Henry.

“We wanted an extra reliever for the time being, so we make these shuffles and we do this type of stuff because it makes sense, gets a little bit of flexibility in the bullpen,” Lovullo said.

Brandon Hughes isn’t your typical fireballing relief pitcher. He sits right around 93 MPH with his sinker and fastball. His slider is his best pitch, and it’s the one he tends to use most often. At his peak in 2022, he used the slider 48.3% of the time. That pitch held opponents to a .172 batting average and a .356 slugging percentage. It’s also his put-away pitch.

The Diamondbacks hope that they can see Hughes return to form. Arizona’s bullpen has been a bit of a sore spot since helping the club get to the World Series in 2023. The bullpen sits 20th in the league with an ERA of 4.61. They’re fourth in losses by the bullpen with eight, and the dominance factor just isn’t there. As a unit, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen has only struck out 18% of batters. That’s the second worst in the league, only behind the woeful Colorado Rockies.

Time will tell if Brandon Hughes can return to his 2022 performances.  However, the Diamondbacks currently sit 13-17 and have had an underwhelming follow-up to their run to the World Series last season and can use all the help they can get.