CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians traded left-hander Konnor Pilkington to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday for $100,000.
Pilkington appeared in 15 games and made 11 starts for the AL Central champions last season, going 1-2 with a 3.88 ERA. The 25-year-old began this season with Triple-A Columbus before being recalled by the Guardians last week.
He made a relief appearance against Colorado on April 25, allowing one hit in two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. With the Clippers, he is a disappointing 0-2 with an 8.36 ERA in four outings.
Pilkington became expendable due to Cleveland's abundance of young pitching talent. Rookies Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee have been impressive since arriving and appear to be part of the rotation going forward.
An alum of Mississippi, Pilkington was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2018. The southpaw was acquired by Cleveland before the 2021 trade deadline in exchange for former Gold Glove second baseman César Hernández.