Nick Piecoro

azcentral sports

During what turned out to be his final inning of work before a demotion to Triple-A Reno, Diamondbacks right-hander Shelby Miller gave up a deep fly ball to left field off the bat of the Padres’ Yangervis Solarte.

Brandon Drury, a lifetime infielder who had never played a professional inning in the outfield prior to this year, drifted back before watching the ball bounce just short of the wall. It was not an easy play, but instead of escaping the inning unscathed, it cost Miller another run.

Corner outfielders costing their pitching staff extra bases has been an ongoing theme for the Diamondbacks this season. And, coincidentally, it’s been the absence of one of the players Miller was traded for that has seemed to hurt them the most.

A somewhat overlooked part of the Shelby Miller trade has been what the loss of outfielder Ender Inciarte has meant to the Diamondbacks’ outfield defense. Certainly, Inciarte’s absence has been felt given the injury to A.J. Pollock. But even if Pollock were healthy, Inciarte would be sorely missed.

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In 2015, the Diamondbacks had 69 defensive runs saved, nearly 25 percent more than the next closest team in the major leagues. Inciarte alone was responsible for 29. It helps explain how the Diamondbacks pitching staff managed to post a 4.04 ERA last season.

A little past the midway point this year, the Diamondbacks have just eight defensive runs saved. While Chris Owings and Michael Bourn have helped offset the loss of Pollock – the Diamondbacks are second in runs saved in center field – the drop-off on the corners has been devastating.

The Diamondbacks are tied for seventh-worst in the majors with negative-5 runs saved in right field. In left field, they’re even worse: At negative-15, they’re dead last. They were a combined plus-19 on the corners in 2015.

Even though Inciarte has not swung the bat as well this season as he did last year, he remains one of the majors’ best defensive outfielders.

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“It’s been an interesting change from last year in the terms of the quality of their defenders,” one National League talent evaluator said. “You take that many defensive runs off the board and talk about what that does to a team’s ERA? That’s 100 percent what just happened.”

Certainly, the absence of a solid defender in David Peralta for more than half the year has played a part. But so, too, has the lack of depth in the organization beyond Socrates Brito, who was slumping to start the year and is now out with a foot injury.

That shortage of competent outfielders has put pressure on a converted infielder like Drury, who can hardly be blamed for his defensive struggles, and on second-year outfielder Yasmany Tomas, whose signing is looking more and more like a costly mistake.

Tomas has shown flashes of delivering on his offensive potential – for days at a time, he has turned his impressive tools into massive production at the plate – but his inconsistent approach has held him back, particularly with runners on base.

The club had high hopes for Tomas’ defense this year (“Average is out the door,” first base/outfield coach Dave McKay said in spring training. “He’ll be much better than average”) but that hasn’t worked out, either. Defensive metrics still rate Tomas in the bottom quarter of major-league outfielders.

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The signing of Tomas to a six-year, $68.5 million deal has led to a 1-2 punch of bad outcomes. First, the club parted ways with players who have been far more productive than him, including Inciarte and Mark Trumbo.

Second, the Diamondbacks have wound up playing Tomas regularly, which hasn’t helped their cause; among major-league outfielders with at least 700 plate appearances since the start of last season, Tomas ranks dead last with negative-1.9 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball-Reference.

The Diamondbacks have pointed out that Tomas is still young (25) and relatively inexperienced, but if they were expecting him to take a while to develop, they shouldn’t have paid him like a big-league regular, nor should they have given him an opt-out after the fourth year of his deal.

For as unpredictable as some aspects of this disastrous season have been, from the struggles of Miller and Patrick Corbin to the injuries of Pollock and others, the idea that their lack of depth or their outfield defense might prove costly was not hard to see coming. If the club expects its pitching staff to bounce back next year, these should be front-burner issues in the offseason.

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

Tuesday’s game

Blue Jays at Diamondbacks

When: 6:40 p.m.

Where: Chase Field (Roof hotline: 602-462-6262).

Pitchers: Diamondbacks RHP Zack Godley (2-0, 5.28) vs. Blue Jays RHP Aaron Sanchez (9-1, 2.97).

TV/Radio: FSAZ, FSAZ+/KMVP-FM (98.7), KSUN-AM (1400).

Godley will be recalled from Triple-A Reno to make his third big league start this year. … He was sharp in his most recent start for Reno, going seven innings and giving up just one run vs. Oklahoma City. His most recent major league outing was not as good; he gave up four runs in five innings against the Padres on July 5. … Sanchez had a tremendous first half and was named to the American League All-Star team. … He hasn’t lost since April 22 vs. Oakland. … The Blue Jays as a team are 11-7 in his starts. … He features a fastball that averages 94.7 mph along with a curveball and a change-up, according to FanGraphs data.

Up next

Toronto Blue Jays

Blue Jays update: The Blue Jays have gone 12-8 since they last faced the Diamondbacks in June, when the two clubs split a two-game series at Rogers Centre. During that stretch, Blue Jays hitters have posted an .809 OPS, with 3B Josh Donaldson (1.171), 1B Edwin Encarnacion (1.003) and SS Troy Tulowitzki (.900) hitting well during that stretch. The Diamondbacks will not face RHP Marco Estrada, who is on the disabled list with a back injury. He leads the Blue Jays rotation with a 2.93 ERA. RHP Roberto Osuna is 19 for 21 in save chances with a 2.16 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings.

Coming up

Wednesday: At Chase Field, 12:40 p.m. Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (4-8, 5.25) vs. Blue Jays RHP Marcus Stroman (7-4, 5.15).

Thursday: Off.

Friday: At Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Archie Bradley (3-5, 4.37) vs. Reds TBA.

Saturday: At Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (5-8, 4.49) vs. Reds RHP Dan Straily (4-6, 4.07).