Last week Arizona placed Craig Counsell on the disabled list with a pinched nerve in his neck. Counsell had been out of the lineup since August 8th due to pain in his neck and numbness in his right arm. He's already received two epidural shots and will reportedly receive a third. Although he's visited two specialists, neither has been able to determine a cause for the pinched nerve, so he's essentially playing a waiting game. The problem could easily keep him out for the remainder of the year.

Damian Miller returned from the disabled list to fill Counsell's roster spot. The Diamondbacks had placed Miller in late July with a lower back strain. He's had a variety of small injury problems over the course of the season, so it likely was wise of Arizona to give him a short rest before the final push to the playoffs and the postseason.

Miller's trip to the DL cleared room on the roster for the activation of Erubiel Durazo from the disabled list. Durazo once again returned strong from his injury and will likely continue to produce at a high level until he encounters his next health problem.

Now that Miller's been off the disabled list for a week and shown no lingering health problems, the Diamondbacks felt comfortable only carrying two catchers and demoted Rod Barajas yesterday. At the same time, Arizona placed Greg Swindell on the DL with a lower back strain, recalling Eddie Oropesa and Alex Cintron. Cintron was bumped off the roster earlier in the season by the return of Matt Williams from his severe pre-season injury. There's currently no schedule for Swindell's return, though due to the timing of his DL trip, Arizona will have an extra player available for their playoff roster.

The Diamondbacks selected Barajas for demotion over Moeller because Moeller is out of option while Barajas had one left. However Arizona may decide to recall Barajas on August 31st in order to keep their playoff choices open, and if not he'll certainly be a part of September roster expansion. Moeller successfully passed through waivers when the Diamondbacks demoted him in April, but Arizona recalled him in mid-July when Miller began experiencing back spasms prior to his DL trip.

In order to make room for Moeller on the roster, Arizona waived Jose Guillen who became a free agent after declining a minor league assignment. After a month without a team, Guillen signed a minor league contract with the Reds on Tuesday. He should receive a September call-up with Cincinnati and provide them with an additional pinch hitter and reserve outfielder for their playoff run.

Arizona has maintained a fairly full DL this season, though often times it seems as though they're exaggerating injuries in order to avoid sending players through waivers when they want to open space on the roster. Greg Colbrunn spent 15 days at the end of July on the disabled list with a strained calf/Achilles' tendon. His placement on the DL coincided with the activation of Jay Bell. Bell's calf has not caused him any trouble since he rejoined the team, but he's received far less playing time this season with Junior Spivey excelling. Upon Colbrunn's return, Arizona placed Chris Donnels on the disabled list with a lower back strain. I expect he'll find himself healthy again after roster expansion.

The Diamondbacks were without Rick Helling for 19 days over the end of July and first part of August. Helling originally didn't think the sprain he suffered to his right ankle in Arizona's July 2nd game against LA would cause him to miss time, but after one missed and one shortened start, he headed to the DL. Luckily, there have been no lasting effects from the injury.

John Patterson replaced Helling on the roster and returned to the minors when Helling rejoined the team. Montreal drafted Patterson out of high school with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 1996 draft. Patterson became one of the loophole free agents that season when four teams failed to offer contracts to their 1st round draftees within the first 15 days after the draft. He then signed with the Diamondbacks for a $6.075 million bonus. Patterson demonstrated excellent skills for three seasons before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2000. While he's not returned at the same levels he displayed prior to the surgery, Patterson still possesses a relatively strong skills' set. In 99.2 innings at AAA Tucson in the Pacific Coast League this season, he has an 89:38 K:BB with 110 H and 13 HR allowed.

During his time in the majors, Patterson compiled a 13:4 K:BB with 18 H and 5 HR allowed in 16.2 IP over 3 starts. The 24-year-old will obviously need to work on reducing his homer rate before he can consistently contribute in the big leagues, and his AAA numbers indicate a small control problem. Consequently, with the Diamondbacks in a run for the pennant, he likely won't receive much work even if he's recalled in September. However, he will receive an opportunity in Spring Training next season and could join the team mid-2003 if he doesn't break camp with them.

On Tuesday, the Diamondbacks and Mets announced that the player to be named later for Mark Little is RHP P.J. Bevis. Arizona signed Bevis out of Australia as a nondrafted free agent in 1998. Bevis worked as a starter in Rookie-ball for his first three years with the organization. Last year, the Diamondbacks assigned him to the Short-Season Northwest League to work as a reliever and promoted him mid-season to AA El Paso in the Texas League. Back at AA El Paso this season, the 22-year-old has compiled a 62:29 K:BB in 63.2 IP with 50 H and 3 HR allowed.

He'll provide the Mets with yet another pitching prospect in their upper minors that should be ready to contribute to their pen in the next year, depending on his success in jumping to AAA. The Mets have successfully managed to turn the low-upside throw-in AAAA outfielder from one trade into a player of value. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks, who always appear to be looking for bullpen help, have thrown away a decent player for roster filler.