Sources: 2020 Arizona-S.D. series in Mexico City
DENVER — In announcing their schedule for the 2020 season on Monday, the Diamondbacks made no special mention of an odd two-game series against the San Diego Padres in April that features games on Saturday and Sunday bookended by off days on Friday and Monday.
But that weekend — April 18 and 19 — is expected to be the Diamondbacks’ next foray onto the international stage. The Diamondbacks and Padres are planning to travel to Mexico City for a twogame set to be played in Estadio Diablos, a new facility that opened earlier this year.
According to sources, the announcement hasn’t been made yet because details are still being finalized. The games are listed as home dates for the Diamondbacks. The existence of the series was first reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale earlier this year.
The Diamondbacks will open next season with a four-game set at Chase Field against the Atlanta Braves beginning on April 26, a Thursday.
Their interleague schedule features home games against the Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals.
The road interleague portion includes games at Kansas City, Chicago, Houston and Cleveland.
Swihart designated
To clear a spot on the roster for infielder/outfielder Josh Rojas, the Diamondbacks designated outfielder Blake Swihart for assignment, bringing an end to his brief tenure with the organization.
Picked up in a trade with the Boston Red Sox in April, Swihart went just 9 for 66 (.136) with three homers and four walks for the Diamondbacks. After missing 2 1/2 months with an oblique injury, he was given only two at-bats — both of which ended with a strikeout on Sunday — during his most recent stint on the active roster.
When the club picked him up, General Manager Mike Hazen said the thinking was that if Swihart went elsewhere and got a chance at regular at-bats, he would play so well the Diamondbacks would never have a chance to acquire him.
As it turned out, he languished with the Diamondbacks in the same way he did with the Red Sox, and the club ultimately felt Rojas would provide the better chance to help gain ground in the wild-card race.
“(That is) absolutely right,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’re in that spot right now. We feel like we’re in this. It’s not the first decision that we’ve made over the past several weeks that have sent that signal. … We’re about winning baseball games right now.”
The Diamondbacks traded outfield prospect Marcus Wilson to the Red Sox in exchange for Swihart. Wilson has had an up and down year in the minors since the trade.
In addition to Swihart, the club also received international bonus slot money from the Red Sox, which it used to sign a pair of young prospects, including the now-19-year-old Leodany Perez, a lightning-fast outfielder/second baseman.
The Diamondbacks are hopeful Swihart clears waivers and remains in the organization.
“I don’t know what the process is going to yield,” Lovullo said. “I do know if he can rejoin our organization and get a chance to play he can get back to the form I saw from him several years ago (in Boston).”
Short hops
Left fielder David Peralta was out of the lineup Monday night because of neck stiffness, Lovullo said. He said Peralta felt discomfort during his final at-bat of the night Saturday against the Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen.
Right-hander Luke Weaver is scheduled to throw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday, Lovullo said. It would be Weaver’s second since going down with elbow issues in May. Lovullo belatedly informed reporters that Weaver underwent an MRI last week. “Everything is progressing,” Lovullo said. “It showed improvement and showed healing.”