Breaking: Diamondbacks Lands Home Another 30 Year Old Rising Star To MLB Spotlight With $1.8M Bridge Deal!!

The Diamondbacks have signed reliever Matt Foster to a minor league deal, as announced by their Triple-A affiliate in Reno.

Foster, 30, had been pitching in Mexico for the past six weeks with the Algodoneros del Unión Laguna. Despite the hitter-friendly environment, he excelled—giving up just two runs (one earned) over 13 2/3 innings. He struck out 13 batters and didn’t issue a single walk to the 51 hitters he faced. That impressive performance quickly earned the Alabama native another shot in affiliated baseball.

The Diamondbacks are just the second MLB team Matt Foster has been part of. Originally drafted by the White Sox in 2016, he spent parts of four seasons with Chicago. His standout year came in 2020, when he posted a 2.20 ERA and struck out 28% of batters over 28 2/3 innings. However, his performance declined in 2021 and 2022, and he underwent Tommy John surgery early in 2023. As a result, he missed that entire season and pitched just 6 2/3 innings in the majors late last year, during which his average fastball velocity dipped to 91.9 MPH—about two miles per hour lower than his pre-surgery norm.

The Diamondbacks’ bullpen has been hit hard by injuries. Justin Martinez, Cristian Mena, A.J. Puk, Kendall Graveman, and Christian Montes De Oca are all sidelined. Martinez and Montes De Oca have already had surgery, while Mena is expected to miss several months. Puk, who is recovering from a flexor strain, was recently shut down again due to ongoing soreness and will undergo further evaluation.