Diamondbacks 2023 Player Reviews: Jace Peterson

Jace Peterson started his career with the San Diego Padres back in 2014. Since then, he's been a journeyman player appearing in the MLB with seven teams in the years since. He started the 2023 season with the Oakland Athletics with whom he signed a two-year deal worth $9.5 million. The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Peterson from the Athletics at the trade deadline to help their revolving door at third base and give them another left-handed bat. He was due 4.5 million dollars this past season and five million next year. The Athletics are covering three million dollars of next season's contract plus three million of this past season's contract. That puts Peterson on the books for just two million dollars in 2024.

At the time, he had an 84 OPS+ and was worth 0.4 WAR with Oakland. The D-backs expected that to continue. However, he slumped upon coming to Arizona. In 41 games in the desert, he had just a 48 OPS+. His BABIP (batting average on balls in play) fell from .279 with Oakland to .246 with Arizona. Yet, he hit more line drives and fewer ground balls with the D-backs lending some belief that he was hit hard by bad luck during his half-season in Arizona. This is further backed up by the fact that his 10-year MLB average for BABIP is .286.

Peterson did have one stand-out moment on offense with the D-backs when he hit two triples in a game against the Reds in a must-win situation that allowed the D-backs to win 10-8. He drove in three runs that game. He had a good first week of September as well when he had four hits and two RBI in seven games.

In the postseason, Peterson had an up-and-down time being shuffled on and off the roster from series to series. He was on the roster for the NL Wild Card Series and NL Divisional Series against the Dodgers. He didn't get a hit in his lone at-bat in the NLDS. Then, he was taken off the roster in advance of the NLCS against the Phillies. The D-backs wanted to have 14 pitchers on the roster. However, in the World Series, against the Rangers, the D-backs put him back on the roster. In a memorable moment in the World Series when Tommy Pham had the chance to get five hits in Game 2 of the World Series in a blow-out win, he gave up his at-bat so that Peterson could get a chance to play. Peterson hit into a fielder's choice, but ended up scoring a run.

2024 Status and Outlook:

Peterson is in a bit of a quandary with the Diamondbacks as his status for the 2024 season and how much playing time he could potentially get is up in the air. It's well-known that the D-backs are seeking to acquire a starting third baseman. This would push Peterson into a backup or utility role. He's able to play second base which would give him some flexibility to stay on the roster. Plus, as mentioned above, he's only on the books for two million dollars. That's a cheap cost for a platoon/backup infielder. It appears that the D-backs are unlikely to roll out another cheap platoon combination with Rivera starting against left-handed pitchers and Peterson getting the strong side of the platoon. 

However, the D-backs have Jordan Lawlar waiting in the wings. When he is ready, Geraldo Perdomo is likely pushed into a super-utility role. Then, there's the fact that Peterson is entering his age-34 season. If the D-backs feel that he's not going to rebound from the tough slump he had, they could cut bait. This is also true as if the Diamondbacks acquire someone, they could look to keep Emmanuel Rivera or re-sign Evan Longoria to serve as the backup or veteran mentor. However, they could just keep Jace Peterson on the roster and see what happens. He's a strong teammate and a veteran ball player that will help this young roster continue to get better. There's multiple avenues that can happen for the D-backs and Jace Peterson. However, as long as he is here, he will do whatever it takes to help the D-backs get back to the World Series.