Henry Owens grabbed off waivers by Diamondbacks

If the Red Sox were indeed hopeful of slipping Henry Owens through waivers and keeping him under their control, that gambit failed Friday.

The Arizona Diamondbacks claimed Owens off outright waivers, two baseball sources confirmed.



The Sox had placed Owens on waivers earlier this week, taking him off the 40-man roster with the idea of outrighting him to Triple A Pawtucket, where he could continue to work on some adjustments to his delivery. Owens, who battled command issues for much of his pro career, dropped his arm slow down last spring and was still in the process of getting comfortable with his new mechanics.

He pitched in the Arizona Fall League recently, but issued 13 walks and hit five batters in 21.1 innings, indicating that the adjustments were still very much a work in progress.

During the 2017 season, Owens went back a step in the minors, pitching at Double A Portland for half the season, where he was 3-6 with a 5.36 ERA in 12 starts. He also averaged almost a walk per innings (55 in 57 innings pitched).

Owens spent parts of 2015 and 2016 in the big leagues and sports a career mark of 5-6 with a 5.19 ERA in 16 starts.

In Arizona, he'll be reunited with GM Mike Hazen, assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye and manager Torey Lovullo, all of whom he knows from his time in Boston.

Owens had an option remaining, so the Diamondbacks will be able to move him back and forth between Triple A and the big leagues if necessary.

A first-round pick of the Red Sox in 2011, Owens is 25. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe was the first to report him being claimed by Arizona.