June 21: MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports that A.J. Puk underwent internal brace surgery and not a Tommy John procedure. Tommy Henry, however, will require Tommy John. Gilbert adds that Justin Martinez, another D-backs pitcher in need of Tommy John surgery, will have his operation performed next week.
June 20: Diamondbacks reliever A.J. Puk underwent elbow surgery today, manager Torey Lovullo tells the Burns & Gambo show. Puk had visited Dr. Neal ElAttrache after experiencing recurring soreness as he tried to work back from a flexor strain. Lovullo didn’t have specific details as to whether he required a full Tommy John ligament replacement or some kind of modified internal brace procedure. Puk’s season is over in either case. He’s likely to miss most or all of 2026 as well.
Additionally, the manager told Burns & Gambo that catcher Gabriel Moreno has a hairline fracture in his right index finger. The D-Backs placed Moreno on the 10-day injured list yesterday but had initially called it a hand contusion. He has evidently been playing through an undiagnosed fracture for some time. A return timetable is unclear but will be measured in “weeks, not days.” Topping it all off, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that left-hander Tommy Henry is also headed for season-ending elbow surgery.
The news on Puk is terrible but unsurprising. He has been plagued by elbow issues for the past two months. He’d undergone Tommy John surgery once before in his career. The 6’7″ southpaw required the procedure in 2018 when he was a member of the A’s farm system. He missed that season and was limited to 28 combined appearances between the minors and MLB the following year.
Acquired from the Marlins at the 2024 deadline, Puk has been one of the most dominant relievers in the sport since getting to Arizona. He recorded 43 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings after the trade last summer, working to a 1.32 ERA in the process. He had fanned 12 more hitters against two walks while collecting four saves in his first eight appearances this year. Aside from a terrible stint in Miami’s rotation early last season, he has been generally excellent since the A’s traded him to Miami over the 2022-23 offseason.
Depending on the nature of the surgery, there’s a decent chance this will end his time with the D-Backs. Puk has over five years of MLB service. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the final time next offseason. He’d earn only a modest raise on this year’s $2.95MM salary, but a full ligament repair would make him a non-tender candidate. Players usually require 14-plus months to return from Tommy John surgery, and that would be Puk’s second such procedure. He’s likely to be out through next year’s All-Star Break even if he “only” needed the internal brace procedure, though the D-Backs would happily retain Puk for around $3MM if they felt they could get half the season from him.
The news on Puk comes a week after the news that Justin Martinez, the team’s other top reliever, also needs to go under the knife. Corbin Burnes and Jordan Montgomery have been Tommy John victims in the rotation. It’s difficult for any team to weather that kind of injury luck. Arizona has hovered around .500 despite having an elite offense because of their issues on the mound.
They’ll lose Moreno from that lineup for what seems like a decent chunk of time. There’s a significant drop off to light-hitting backup Jose Herrera. The Snakes selected Aramis Garcia to work off the bench behind Herrera. Adrian Del Castillo is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. He’s a far better hitter than either Herrera or Garcia but isn’t regarded as a great defender. Del Castillo won’t be an option in the immediate future regardless, as he landed on the Triple-A injured list today with what is expected to be a minor back injury. Moreno will be the clear starting catcher once he’s healthy, but his injury could lead the Snakes to pursue a veteran #2 who can provide more punch than Herrera offers.
Henry, 27, is a former second-round pick who has a 5.07 ERA over 37 career appearances. He has an ERA above 8.00 over 11 starts in Triple-A Reno this year. This is his final minor league option season and he seems unlikely to stick on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason. His elbow injury occurred in Triple-A, so he’s on the minor league injured list. He’ll continue to count against the 40-man for now. The D-Backs may place him on the MLB 60-day IL or simply decide to release him (which would save them a bit of money relative to putting him on the MLB injured list) once they need another roster spot.
Dbacks “magic year” when everything was lined up and they pushed their payroll to the breaking point has not gone well. Just goes to show, whether it’s “on schedule” or early, you gotta go for it when the chance comes if you’re a mid to low revenue team.
The Dbacks have tried as hard as any team in baseball to build a contender these last few years.
It just goes to show, that even the best of intentions and plans go awry without a little good luck on the health front.
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
Didn’t I read this same article about an hour or two ago? No updates in this one over the last one.
You’ve got this!
In other news from the day, the Arizona Diamondbacks reported that GM Mike Hazen had Tommy John surgery and is out through the 2026 season.
Terrible when the GM is the emergency pitcher and he has Tommy John too.
Don’t trade for relievers with term left on their contracts. You open yourself up to this happening.
I can see them as one of the teams taking a flyer on Erik Swanson to help out with that bullpen.
As an organization, you can’t be afraid to go for it. They did and failed, unfortunately. You’re either the Rays who never take a risk or the Dbacks who do and lost the bet. I’d prefer to go for it.
All things considered, I don’t want to read another Dbacks article until years end. I know the ending of every MLBTR Dbacks story… TJS.
I think a cool article idea could be to break down roster construction of some of the forgotten teams that “went for it” and failed throughout the years. History remembers the champs and dynasties more, but teams like these D-Backs are so interesting from a roster-building standpoint. I think those articles would fit MLBTR’s wheelhouse pretty well.
“Failed” is a strong word since they won a pennant, but I should say the more forgotten teams compared to the success stories of their era. Like, I don’t care about the 2000s Lakers, but show me the Kings’ story instead. Same with the early 90s White Sox, the 2004 Twins, and all them.
To every single poster on this thread who has written the Dbacks obituary for the 2025 season, I say “It is only June 21!” And I say “The sky is falling!” I predict the Dbacks will make the Postseason as a Wild Card team in 2025!
I agree
Instead of focusing solely on who the Dbacks have lost this season. Let’s take a look at who they have right now. There is a lot of depth on this 2025 team.
For example, the starting pitchers are Gallen, Kelly, Rodriquez, Pfaadt and Nelson. By comparison, the 2023 team that went to the WS had Gallen, Kelly, Doug Davis, Pfaadt and Nelson. Davis had a 7.00 ERA and another starter on that 2023 team had a 10.23 ERA. His name was Madison Bumgarner. This 2025 team has a stronger starting unit than the 2023 team that made the playoffs and went to the WS.
Lefthander Doug Davis left the D’backs after the 2009 season.
Instead of focusing on who is lost to injuries, take a look at the depth on offense. Still in the minors are: Jake McCarthy, Jordan Lawler, Adrian Del Castillo, Blaze Alexander, Trey Mancini and Jorge Barrosa. And the current roster of position players is more dynamic than the 2024 offense that finished in the top 5 in the league last year.
Instead of focusing on what the Dbacks have lost to injuries, remember the old adage that bullpens are notoriously inconsistent from year to year. So yes we’ve lost Martinez and Puk and much of the rest of the opening day roster in the bullpen have underperformed, but there are some pieces coming together in the current bullpen, there are several 40 man roster arms in the minors and there is always the July 31 Trade Deadline. Again, the 2023 bullpen came together at the very end of the season and was a strength in the drive to the WS.
I concur, scottaz. Losing Burnes was understandably rough, but not many teams have a Ryne Nelson queued up to replace him. Get the BP sorted and everything else falls in place. As a side note, I was at Thursday’s game in Toronto. Beautiful city, great stadium and awesome game for Dbacks fans.
I’d like to see Tawa get an extended run in CF to see if he can take over allowing Thomas or McCarthy to be part of a package for a controllable high leverage RP.
If the Dbacks didn’t have Puk, they wouldn’t have any Puk at all.
*hurt
Old news
Diamondbacks are blowing through these pitchers
For the bullpen, Dbacks have Jameson, Jarvis, Kyle Nelson and Andrew Saalfrank in the minors, on the 40 man roster for the bullpen. Plus Graveman on injured list.
And Yu Min Lin as a starter in the minors.
Then there is the Trade Market at the end of July.
There is still enough depth to compete for a playoff spot.
I just want to acknowledge how thoughtful an organization like the diamondbacks are including a Tommy John surgery in their contracts for their pitchers.