The Diamondbacks designated right-hander Andrew Hoffmann for assignment, according to MLB Trade Rumors, and the timing tells the whole story. It's not really about Hoffmann. It's about who Arizona needed the roster spot for.
Hoffmann's run in Arizona never got going. The D-backs acquired him from Kansas City just over a year ago in the deal that sent Randal Grichuk to the Royals, and across his time with both organizations he's logged 23 2/3 big league innings with a 6.85 ERA. He opened this season in the majors, got optioned before the end of April, then posted a 6.07 ERA in Triple-A before landing on the minor league injured list in June with an undisclosed injury. Since he's currently hurt, he can't go through outright waivers and, with the trade deadline gone, he'll have to clear release waivers instead.
The move exists to make room for Justin Martínez, and that's the real headline here. Martínez, Arizona's flamethrowing closer, has been out since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2025 after a sprained UCL wrecked his season. Before the injury he was elite — a 2.48 ERA and a 29.5% strikeout rate in 2024 — and Arizona's bullpen has clearly missed that arm, ranking 16th in the majors in relief ERA at 4.11 this season.
Martínez didn't just get medically cleared and walk back onto the roster — he earned it. Rehab outings with Class-A Visalia and Triple-A Reno saw him throw four scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts and just 1 walk, and his fastball was reportedly touching triple digits again, up over 102 mph. For a team trying to squeeze into October, getting that kind of stuff back in the eighth or ninth inning is a massive add.
Arizona also activated infielder/outfielder Jordan Lawlar in the same wave of moves, another former top prospect trying to stay healthy down the stretch after dealing with a broken wrist and a hamstring strain. Between Martínez's velocity and Lawlar's bat, the Diamondbacks are clearly betting that reinforcements matter more right now than developmental fliers like Hoffmann — hence the DFA.
None of this makes Hoffmann a bad story on its own; guys get squeezed off 40-man rosters all the time when a team needs to load up for a playoff push. But paired with Martínez's return, it's a pretty clean signal about where Arizona's priorities are as the calendar turns toward September.