Diamondbacks recall Andrew Young, release Bryan Holaday

The Diamondbacks have recalled infielder Andrew Young, per a team announcement. To make room on the roster, catcher Bryan Holaday has been released.

It’s been an up-and-down season for Young. He’s been optioned to the minors and recalled six times already this season and has seen mixed results. In a small sample size of 67 plate appearances at the big league level, Young has shown some power but also a lot of strikeouts. His overall line is .228/.328/.596 for a wRC+ of 140, despite striking out a whopping 49.3% of the time (MLB average is 23.4%). His Triple-A output on the year is similar, a line of .282/.380/.564, wRC+ of 128 and a strikeout rate of 35.4%.

Young can play multiple positions but has been primarily slotted into second base this year. Josh Rojas has gotten the bulk of playing time at the keystone in Arizona this season, but the club recently lost Asdrubal Cabrera on waivers, who had been the regular third baseman. With him out of the picture, that could potentially open up some infield playing time for Young at the hot corner or at second if Rojas slides over to third.

As for Holaday, the veteran catcher has become extraneous given the presence of Carson Kelly and the emergence of Daulton Varsho. He hasn’t started a game since August 19, only getting three pinch-hit plate appearances since then. Overall, he’s gotten 34 plate appearances on the year, slashing .194/.265/.258. He’ll now head to the open market and look for a new home.