A lot has changed for right-handed reliver Taylor Clarke since he made his MLB debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks in April 2019, his pitching arsenal included. One thing has not: sharing his wife’s first name.
“We always kind of just laughed it off and eventually just kind of got more serious and next thing you know,” Clarke said Tuesday on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo.
He has been married for eight years, and said most people he meets give a “double take” when they learn of the Taylor duo. Clarke, 32, has had since sixth grade when he first met his wife to get used to the fact.
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This season, Clarke has introduced himself to some and re-introduced himself to others, having signed a one-year deal in January after a three-year run with the club from 2019-2021.
The most obvious difference this time around is Clarke being a true reliever. He made 20 starts in his first stint with Arizona and has only made two since (both as an opener) when he was with the Kansas City Royals (2022-25).
After surrendering four earned runs on just one out to open 2026 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 6-foot-3 Diamondback reliever hasn’t allowed a single run in his last 10 appearances across 11.1 innings. His ERA sits at 3.09 with a 0.69 WHIP as of Tuesday, when Clarke worked 1.1 frames (one hit, zero walks) in a loss to the Chicago White Sox.
The running success has been due to an intention he’s had since high school.
“Just filling up the (strike) zone mostly,” Clarke said. “That’s something I’ve always done well and prided myself on, but we’ve added a cutter to kind of protect the changeup to lefties. So, just being to run a ball in on lefties just helps keep my changeup so they’re not sitting on that away (from the plate).
“So I think that’s been a really good pitch that I’ve added that kind of helps just like complete my repertoire to them.”
The righty’s stuff now features a five-pitch mix with the cutter in play, a style Clarke has leaned on 18% of the time, according to Baseball Savant.
Though his strikeout rate is currently a career-low 16.2%, he has not issued a walk yet. He walked batters at a 4.4% clip in 2025 in his third season for the Royals during a career-best campaign (3.25 ERA, .194 opponent BA) up until this point, ranking in the top 3% of all MLB pitchers for walk avoidance.
Why Taylor Clarke returned to Diamondbacks
He was the first bullpen addition Arizona made via a major league free agent contract or trade in the offseason, and Clarke said he was “ecstatic” for the opportunity.
Having the Valley as his home base and familiarity with manager Torey Lovullo and other training staff made the decision an easy one.
“The transition coming back (was) really easy,” Clarke said. “But also just the fact, like kind of looking from the outside in, that they’ve been way more competitive the last few years, and ’23 was great.
“I even came to one of the World Series games (at Chase Field) to watch with my (twin) boys.”
Clarke has done the most work thus far in an excellent bullpen (Jonathan Loaisiga at 11.1 innings pitched), which has collectively pitched to a 2.34 ERA across the last 14 games (since April 4) entering Tuesday night.
The player originally drafted in 2015 by Arizona said there isn’t one specific thing that they are excelling at, but guys are stepping up in “roles that maybe they’re not accustomed to.” Clarke mentioned 27-year-old Juan Morillo is “dominating his late-inning roles,” as a player with only one previous MLB season to build off.
“We definitely have like four or five guys that are interchangeable. I’ll tell you one thing though. It’s definitely going to be a righty coming out (of the bullpen),” Clarke said, making light of the D-backs not sporting any lefties to start the season.
With an improved changeup and slider, Clarke’s bread and butter pitch, he looks to remain one of those reliable arms and be “the best version” of himself.
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