Baseball pitcher Kevin Ginkel announces resignation and departure from Arizona Diamondbacks another significant issue for the team…

Arizona Diamondbacks to stick with bullpen roles amid Kevin Ginkel’s struggles

The past week has not been kind to Kevin Ginkel, with the Diamondbacks’ typically reliable set-up man having allowed four runs in as many outings.

But before Tuesday’s game against the Reds, manager Torey Lovullo said he has no plans to give Ginkel work in lower-leverage situations.

“Not right now,” Lovullo said. “I’m gonna stay with him for right now.”

One of Ginkel’s poor outings came Saturday in Baltimore, when he was bit by a home run on a well-located pitch off the plate.

The other two, though, were more his doing, with poor command leading to both walks and base hits.

Lovullo, though, does not like to move players in and out of bullpen roles based on tiny sample sizes. And since last June, Ginkel has been one of the better relief pitchers in baseball. Including the postseason, he has a 2.19 ERA in that span, with more than a strikeout per inning.

Ginkel’s recent struggles have come in contrast to fireballer Justin Martinez, who has a 0.71 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 12⅔ innings this year. But while the 22-year-old Martinez is seen as a future closer, he is still a young player learning how to pitch with consistency at the major league level.