Diamondbacks move Trevor Cahill and his 9.17 ERA to the bullpen - MLB

The Diamondbacks begin play today with a major-league worst 4-11 record and are already six games behind the first-place Dodgers in the National League West, so they have decided to shake things up their starting rotation.

Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona reports that the Diamondbacks will move the struggling Trevor Cahill to the bullpen. Mike Bolsinger has been called up from Triple-A Reno and will make his first major league start Saturday against the Rockies.

Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson hinted last week that Cahill’s spot was in jeopardy, so six runs (two earned) on five hits and five walks over four innings yesterday against the Dodgers was apparently the last straw. The 26-year-old right-hander is 0-4 with a 9.17 ERA and 13 walks over 17 2/3 innings this season.

Cahill is owed $20 million through 2015 and his contract includes a pair of club options for 2016 and 2017, so the Diamondbacks have some incentive to get him straightened out. As far as early April decisions go, this feels like a panic move, especially since Bolsinger and Josh Collmenter aren’t better bets for success. The Diamondbacks are clearly focused on winning now, so it might not be long before we see top prospect Archie Bradley make his major league debut.

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CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”