Diamondbacks release veteran infielder after designating him for assignment

The Diamondbacks have released Jace Peterson, according to the infielder’s transaction log at MLB.com. That was expected after Arizona designated him for assignment last week.

That ends Peterson’s tenure with the Snakes, which began last summer. The D-Backs sent minor league righty Chad Patrick to the A’s to take a flier on the versatile infielder. 

Peterson was sitting on a middling .221/.313/.324 slash line at the time of the trade, but he’d been a more productive player for the Brewers over the preceding two seasons. Between 2021-22, the left-handed hitter posted a .243/.332/.376 slash in over 600 plate appearances.

Moving to the desert didn’t spark the turnaround for which Arizona was hoping. Peterson’s bat faded further down the stretch, as he hit .183/.276/.258 in 41 games. 

He got off to an even slower start this year. Peterson collected one hit and three walks over his first 26 plate appearances before Arizona took him off the roster.

The 33-year-old (34 next month) is free to explore other opportunities. He’s still due what remains of this season’s $5M salary. The A’s agreed to pay $2M of that sum as part of last summer’s trade, while Arizona is on the hook for the other $3M. 

Any team that signs Peterson would only owe him the prorated portion of the $740K minimum for whatever time he spends in the big leagues this year. Nevertheless, his offensive downturn could require that he take a minor league deal and look to play his way back to the majors.