This pitcher's tenure with Arizona's organization is over, for now.
on his player page, the Arizona Diamondbacks have officially released right-handed reliever Christian Montes De Oca. He had been previously outrighted off the 40-man roster Montes De Oca, 26, figured to be a developmental arm in the D-backs' system worth keeping an eye on after making his major league debut in the 2025 season.
However, an injury shortened that campaign and prevented him from making more than one appearance in the majors.Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Christian Montes De Oca blows a bubble before playing the Colorado Rockies during a spring training game at Salt River Fields. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK Montes De Oca pitched to a 4.07 ERA in 17 appearances for the Reno Aces in 2025 — a number that is considered significantly above-average for such an offense-heavy environment. He struck out 26 batters in 24.1 innings thanks to his upper-90s arsenal. Those numbers earned him a call-up on May 16, but he did not get into a game in his first stint with the MLB club. He was optioned back, and eventually recalled on June 7, where he finally made his big league debut. Montes De Oca pitched 2.2 impressive innings of scoreless relief and picked up his first 2 MLB strikeouts. But Montes De Oca would lose the rest of 2025 to injury, having surgery on his lower back. He also reported elbow discomfort at the time and underwent an MRI. It's possible Montes De Oca returns on a minor league deal at some point, although he did not appear to be in Arizona's plans for their 2026 bullpen. With Montes De Oca out of the organization, the D-backs will lose some depth, although they do already have quite a large pool of arms to pull from should they suffer more attrition in 2026. The D-backs have a large group of relievers — some young, some veteran — on the bubble this spring looking to crack the major league roster at some point in the 2026 season. With closer options Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk both out for significant time recovering from Tommy John surgery, Arizona's closer committee is an open competition, led by the likes of Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson and a returning Paul Sewald. "What I've told every single one of them is there's eight spots open, and you've got to go out there and earn it," manager Torey Lovullo said of his relief group. "I want you to have that earning mentality. Nothing's going to be handed to you. How it sits and where it goes, I don't know what that answer is."Born and raised in the desert, Alex D'Agostino is a lifelong follower of Arizona sports. Alex writes for Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI and also Arizona Cardinals ON SI. He previously covered the Diamondbacks for FanSided's VenomStrikes. Follow Alex on Twitter @AlexDagAZMLB Playoff Odds: Where Each Team Stands Ahead of Final Regular-Season Series?
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Seattle Mariners' new lefty reliever should be a valuable addition for 2026When the Ms acquired Jose Ferrer from the Washington Nationals this offseason, they envisioned him pairing with Gabe Speier to form a combination of lethal lefties
Read more »
Rockies reliever Pierson Ohl to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgeryOhl, acquired from Minnesota in a trade in January, had been a limited participant in spring training.
Read more »
Cardinals Should Be Pushing for Michael Kopech, Danny CoulombeThe St. Louis Cardinals should go after another reliever before Opening Day.
Read more »
Rangers' Wyatt Langford Makes Spring Training Debut vs. DiamondbacksThe Texas Rangers return to Surprise to see if they can extend their spring training winning streak to four games when they face the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Read more »
Three Important Takeaways from Rangers Spring Training Loss to DiamondbacksHere are three most relevant points from the Texas Rangers’ spring training loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
Read more »
Diamondbacks’ Nolan Arenado ‘will be a force’ in NL West, Rockies’ Warren Schaeffer says“My expectations are high, and they are high for this group,” Arenado said.
Read more »