6:42 p.m.: It’s $1.55MM guaranteed, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. The deal includes benefits that could increase Clarke’s earnings to more than $2MM.
2:45 p.m.: The Diamondbacks announced that they have signed a reliever Taylor Clarke on a one-year contract. They chose the right hand Gus Varland with an assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. The club did not disclose the terms of Clarke’s salary, who is represented by the Ballengee Group.
Clarke, 33 in May, should be a familiar name to Arizona fans. The Snakes selected him out of the College of Charleston as a third-round pick in 2015. He began playing the swinging role four years later and spent parts of three seasons with the MLB club. Clarke moved almost permanently to the bullpen in the shortened season and has been a full-time reliever for most of the last decade. He got some work as a starter with Milwaukee’s Triple-A team in 2024 but worked in the bullpen as a major leaguer.
Clarke is undrafted out of Arizona after posting a nearly 5.00 earned run average in the 2021 season. He received a major league contract with the Royals a few weeks later and spent the next two seasons in the Kansas City bullpen. Clarke posted decent strikeout and walk numbers but suffered from a high average of balls in play, resulting in a combined 5.08 ERA over those two seasons. The Royals traded him to Milwaukee, who moved him through waivers and kept him in Triple-A.
The Royals liked Clarke enough to bring him back on a minor league deal last season. They called him up in early May and were rewarded with the best season of his career. The 6’4″ righty threw 55 1/3 innings of 3.25 ERA ball. His 21.4% strikeout rate and 10.1% strikeout percentage were each worse than normal. Clarke achieved an unbearably low BABIP of .208 against him, but he averaged his walks at a very nice 4.4% clip and he excelled in the second half.
It was surprising that Kansas City, however, chose not to trade an arbitration contract that could be worth up to $2MM. That set the stage for a back-to-back 2021-22 season. Clarke follows a non-tender from KC by signing a major league contract with Arizona.
Clarke has more than five years of service, which means he cannot be sent to children without his consent. He’s locked in the opening day bullpen Ryan Thompson again Kevin Ginkel. The Diamondbacks don’t have the quality arms to cover high-profile situations this season AJ Puk again Justin Martinez they are injured. Clarke pitches down between the innings but lacks top-order experience. The backfield of the bullpen remains arguably the biggest weakness as Arizona tries to compete for a playoff spot.
Varland, the older brother of Toronto’s Louis Varland, was a waiver claim from the White Sox in August. The 29-year-old righty was on the minor league injured list at the time because of a season-ending strain. He held a spot on Arizona’s 40-man roster for several months but didn’t pitch for the organization. The former 14th-round pick has a 4.82 ERA in 42 major league appearances through 2023-24. Varland split that time between Milwaukee, the Dodgers, and the White Sox.
Arizona has five days to trade Varland or place him on waivers. He’s never been a virgin and doesn’t have three years of major league service, so he’ll stay in the organization if they pick him up on unclaimed waivers.
Photo courtesy of Denny Medley, Imagn Images.
