Diamondbacks right fielder Merrill Kelly He has been struggling with back pain this week. A quick diagnosis was expected but the problem is taking longer than originally expected, as explained by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
The issue first surfaced on Saturday, leading to Kelly being scratched during live batting practice. He has been sent for an MRI and the results are expected to be announced on Monday. Instead he was sent for further tests, including a CT scan, with the club still avoiding any kind of official announcement on his condition.
“It’s a wide range,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I’m not going to lie. We’re very careful about what we do. We take all the necessary tests to make sure we get everything in the bag before we start transferring that information. We have to find out what’s going on there.”
Time will tell if this is a realization by the club or a sign that the injury is more serious than expected. If Kelly were to miss any time, it would be less than ideal for a club with less rotation depth. Right now, they plan to have Kelly on the sidelines Zac Gallen again Ryne Nelson with Eduardo Rodríguez, Brandon Pfaadt again Michael Soroka fighting for two places. If Kelly is on the shelf, everyone on that team will be in line for rotation gigs to open the season.
Snakes too Yilber Díaz, Cristian Mena, Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt again Dylan Ray on a 40-man roster and the guys on that team can suddenly jump to the status of the next guy. No one in that group has 32 major league innings pitched. Undrafted invitees with some major league experience include Joe Ross, Thomas Hatch again Bryce Jarvis.
Elsewhere, Arizona has a wide open team. They traded Jake McCarthy in the offseason and Corbin Carroll he needs hamate surgery, which means he could start the season on the injured list. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is recovering from surgery last year to repair a torn ligament in his right knee. He was expected to be out until the All-Star break. There are signs that he may pass that time but he is still expected to start the season in the IL.
That goes Alex Thomas as the boy alone seems trapped in the area. Jordan Lawler he could be there again, although he is still used to playing outside after appearing as a midfielder. He also hasn’t hit at the big league level, although he has destroyed minor leaguers and is off to a strong start this spring.
That leaves an open path for hope Ryan Waldschmidt and Piecoro writes that the club did not withdraw that he might break the camp with the team. It would be brave if the snakes finally went down that way. Waldschmidt pitched in Double-A last year and is still not on the 40-man roster. But he can clearly hit, as shown by last year’s .289/.419/.473 slash line and 142 wRC+. He called his home phone Pedro Avila Guardians in yesterday’s Cactus League game.
Waldschmidt is one of the top 100 consensus prospects in the league, so he could be eligible for a promotional incentive if he cracks the Opening Day roster. If he went on to win Rookie of the Year or finish in the top three in MVP voting during his pre-arbitration years, the Snakes would have a future draft pick just after the first round.
There is likely to be a large amount of wetting in the Arizona area this year. Among Carroll, Thomas, Gurriel, Waldschmidt, Lawlar, Jorge Barrosa, Pavin Smith again Tim Tawathey have a lot of options in the mix, and health and performance are sure to shuffle the depth charts in the coming months.
Photo courtesy of Rob Schumacher, Imagn Images
