Diamondbacks Rumors

Luke Weaver Diagnosed With Forearm Strain

By Jeff Todd | May 27, 2019 at 7:14pm CDT

Diamondbacks right-hander Luke Weaver has been diagnosed with a forearm strain, manager Torey Lovullo tells reporters including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter links). He’s set to receive a second medical opinion.

Lovullo says the organization is “very hopeful” that surgery will not ultimately be necessary. That statement could be read as an optimistic stance on the matter. But it’s obviously concerning that the injury is bad enough that surgery is being weighed on the spectrum of possibilities.

At this time, then, the outlook remains unclear. It’s unfortunate to see this malady crop up for the 25-year-old, who had been on an excellent run in Arizona since coming over in one of the most consequential trades in the organization’s history.

Weaver, 25, has thrown 62 1/3 innings over eleven starts, including the recent outing from which he was pulled with forearm tightness. He owns a 3.03 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9.

Ramped-up usage of his cut fastball has helped Weaver get more from his arsenal. In addition to boosting his swinging-strike rate a bit (10.6%), he’s getting more first-pitch strikes and chases on pitches out of the zone.

There are certainly some questions as to whether Weaver can maintain this level of output, but he and the D-Backs would love to have the chance to find out. Hopefully, he’ll be able to rehab through the injury without requiring an exceedingly lengthy absence.

It was already rather clear that the Snakes would need to fill in for Weaver for at least some time. With today’s diagnosis, though, there’s little question the club will need more than a spot start. Zack Godley could fill in, though he failed to hold onto his rotation slot to open the year. Perhaps the club will give Jon Duplantier his first crack at starting in the majors after giving him some relief work earlier this season, though the young righty has been walk-prone at Triple-A (6.9 BB/9) and isn’t being asked to handle a full starter’s workload (17 innings in six starts).

Diamondbacks Place Luke Weaver On 10-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2019 at 11:42am CDT

MONDAY: The Diamondbacks have placed Weaver on the IL, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. The team recalled righty Jimmie Sherfy from Triple-A Reno to replace him.

SUNDAY: Diamondbacks right-hander Luke Weaver left today’s start with what the team later described as right forearm tightness. As MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert notes, TV replays indicated that Weaver was opening and closing his right hand after allowing a Buster Posey single to begin the sixth inning. Weaver left the game after a visit from the team trainer. Manager Torey Lovullo was spare with further details, telling Gilbert and other reporters after the game that the team was still “gathering information” about the problem.

While it’s still too early to assess the nature of Weaver’s situation, any forearm problem is obviously of major concern given the specter of Tommy John surgery hanging over such injuries. Weaver has never faced any notable arm injuries in the past, aside from a fluky fracture of his non-throwing wrist as a minor leaguer in 2016.

Weaver was in the midst of another strong outing today, continuing what has been an impressive first season for the 25-year-old with the D’Backs. Weaver was arguably the key figure of the trade package (along with Carson Kelly, minor league infielder Andy Young, and a Competitive Balance Round draft pick) sent by the Cardinals to Arizona in the offseason for slugger Paul Goldschmidt, as Weaver is a former top-50 prospect controlled through the 2023 season who had already shown some promise at the big league level. Through 62 1/3 innings for the Diamondbacks this season, Weaver has delivered on that promise with a 3.03 ERA, and 9.82 K/9 against a 2.02 BB/9.

Losing Weaver for any significant amount of time would be a major blow to a D’Backs team that was keeping pace in the playoff hunt, just a game behind the Braves for the final NL wild card slot and 1.5 games behind Milwaukee for the top wild card slot. The strong efforts of Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, and Weaver atop Arizona’s rotation has helped cover up a much shakier performance from the last two starting spots, as Merrill Kelly has been inconsistent and the Zack Godley lost his job altogether after some early-season struggles. Rookie Taylor Clarke has pitched decently well as the fifth starter, and prospect Jon Duplantier could yet get a look in the rotation, though the Diamondbacks’ hopes for a midseason return from Tommy John patient Taijuan Walker were recently dealt a blow with the news that Walker had suffered a sprained shoulder capsule.

Arizona GM Mike Hazen recently said that the team was looking for starting pitching reinforcements, and that search will only intensify if Weaver is out of action. Given how the D’Backs have been trying to walk the line between staying competitive while also saying goodbye to some big names (i.e. Goldschmidt, and departed free agents Patrick Corbin and A.J. Pollock), a splashy trade for a high-end starter didn’t seem too likely. The parameters of a starting pitching acquisition could narrow even further if Weaver does need TJ surgery in a worst-case scenario, as losing Weaver for the season could also change the Diamondbacks’ perspective about buying at the trade deadline. With the Dodgers already out to a healthy lead in the NL West, the D’Backs surely aren’t going to sell the farm just for the coin-flip opportunity of the one-game wild card playoff.

Diamondbacks Designate John Ryan Murphy

By Connor Byrne | May 25, 2019 at 5:11pm CDT

The Diamondbacks announced Saturday that they’ve designated catcher John Ryan Murphy for assignment. His 25-man roster spot went to right-hander Taylor Clarke, whom the Diamondbacks recalled from Triple-A El Paso. Clarke started Arizona’s game in San Francisco on Saturday.

We may have seen the last of Murphy in Arizona, where he has played since the club acquired him from Minnesota for lefty Gabriel Moya in July 2017. Since then, Murphy’s just a .195/.243/.383 hitter in 299 plate appearances. The 28-year-old has taken 69 trips to the plate this season and slashed .177/.250/.419 with four home runs and a whopping 40.6 percent strikeout rate, though he has acted as the personal catcher for righty Zack Greinke. Murphy has caught all 11 of Greinke’s starts and graded as a plus pitch framer.

For the Diamondbacks, the decision to move on from Murphy shows they’re committed to giving more playing time to Carson Kelly, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Kelly, whom the team acquired from St. Louis in the offseason as part of the clubs’ Paul Goldschmidt trade, has come out of Yadier Molina’s shadow to perform well so far in 2019. He and Alex Avila will comprise the D-backs’ top two catchers going forward.

Diamondbacks Place David Peralta On 10-Day IL

By Jeff Todd | May 24, 2019 at 4:38pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder David Peralta on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. He’s said to be dealing with inflammation in his right AC joint.

Coming onto the MLB roster to fill in is outfielder Tim Locastro. He’ll join Kevin Cron, whose previously reported promotion is now official. To create an additional roster spot, the club optioned righty Jimmie Sherfy.

The 31-year-old Peralta has followed up on his strong 2018 showing with an excellent .309/.357/.524 slash in 2017 plate appearances this year. He has also been dealing with some shoulder problems of late. Evidently, the issue progressed to the point that it was decided he needed to take at least a brief respite.

Diamondbacks To Promote Kevin Cron

By Steve Adams | May 24, 2019 at 8:25am CDT

The Diamondbacks are promoting corner infield prospect Kevin Cron to the Majors, reports John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports (Twitter link). The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro had previously reported that the move was “on the verge” of happening.

Cron, 26, is the younger brother of Twins first baseman C.J. Cron. While he wasn’t a first-round pick like his older brother and didn’t even check in among the Top 30 prospects in Arizona’s system on the preseason rankings of MLB.com, Baseball America or Fangraphs, it’s become increasingly difficult to ignore the ludicrous numbers he’s posted with Triple-A Reno. It’s well known that the Pacific Coast League (Reno in particular) is a hitters’ haven, but belting 21 homers in 199 plate appearances is worthy of attention regardless of environment. Those 21 long balls lead all of Minor League Baseball.

The younger Cron brother has long been a productive hitter, but his offensive game has skyrocketed to new levels this season. Beyond the ridiculous home run count, he’s upped his walk rate from 8.2 percent in 2018 to 13.6 percent in 2019 while simultaneously cutting his strikeout rate from 22.8 percent to 16.6 percent. The result is a .339/.437/.800 batting line that looks like it was plucked straight out of a video game. Carrying that output over to the big league level, of course, is an entirely new task, but given the struggles that the Diamondbacks have had in scoring runs over the past couple of weeks, it’s understandable that they’ve decided to see if Cron is up to the challenge.

Arizona’s offense jumped out to a hot start in 2019, buoyed by strong early showings from Adam Jones, Christian Walker, Ketel Marte and others. Those three bats have fallen cold in recent weeks, however, as has the D-backs’ offense as a whole. Since racking up 26 runs in a three-game series in Colorado early in May, the Diamondbacks have scored 59 runs in 16 games — a much more pedestrian average of about 3.6 runs per contest. They’ve scored just 12 runs in total over the course of a current five-game losing streak that dropped them from possession of an NL Wild Card spot to a 2.5-game deficit in said race.

Cron can step in and give the struggling Walker (.148/.223/.259 in 60 PAs since that Colorado series) a breather at first base. He also has 600 innings of experience at third base, so he could slot in there on occasion and allow the versatile Eduardo Escobar to play shortstop or second base for a day — or simply give Escobar himself a break. The D-backs don’t have any interleague series on the schedule until June 7, but if Cron sticks on the roster they’ll have a DH spot to work with for a three-game set in Toronto that weekend as well.

Injury Notes: Tatis, Flores, Duffy, Wendle, Volquez

By Mark Polishuk | May 22, 2019 at 9:11pm CDT

The Padres were hoping that star prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. would return from the injured list as early as Friday, though manager Andy Green told reporters (including The Athletic’s Dennis Lin) that Tatis won’t play during San Diego’s upcoming six-game road trip. Tatis has been out of action since April 30 due to a hamstring strain, so he projects to miss a full month of games if he indeed won’t be back until May 31 (when the Padres host the Yankees) at the earliest.

Some updates on other injury situations from around the game…

Wilmer Flores was placed on the 10-day IL with a right foot contusion on Tuesday, though Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told media (including Arizona Sports 98.7 radio) that an MRI revealed Flores suffered a fracture. Ildemaro Vargas was called up from Triple-A to take Flores’ spot on the roster, and he’ll provide utility depth in the middle infield as second baseman/center fielder Ketel Marte now looks like he could receive more time at the keystone. Flores signed a one-year deal worth $4.25MM in guaranteed money last winter and has hit .281/.326/.398 over 138 PA for the Snakes, with much of that production coming in the last few weeks following an ice-cold start at the plate.
While on a minor league rehab assignment, Rays infielder Matt Duffy re-aggravated the hamstring injury that has kept him on the IL all season. (Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times was among those to report the news.) Duffy will be re-evaluated tomorrow. The infielder has been solid (.292/.354/.364 over 640 PA) since joining the Rays in August 2016, though he has appeared in just 153 games since that time, largely due to an Achilles injury that cost him the entire 2017 season.
In more positive news for the Rays, Joey Wendle told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that is no longer wearing a cast on his fractured right wrist. Wendle said he is “free to move forward as I can tolerate” any discomfort while beginning baseball activities, though he said he will be cautious in his process to try and avoid any setbacks. One can’t fault Wendle for wanting to be entirely ready in the wake of two lost months for the utilityman, as Wendle has played in only eight games this season due to his wrist fracture and an earlier hamstring injury.
Veteran righty Edinson Volquez has begun to play catch, Rangers manager Chris Woodward told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson and other reporters, as Volquez continues to make his way back from an elbow sprain. Volquez made just two starts for Texas before being placed on the injured list, and he even hinted at retirement should his injury be another UCL tear (Volquez has already undergone two Tommy John surgeries). Playing catch is a preliminary step, but nevertheless a good sign that Volquez may have avoided a more serious injury.

Mike Hazen: D-backs Will Likely “Look To Add” Starting Pitching

By Connor Byrne | May 19, 2019 at 8:43am CDT

The Diamondbacks’ starting staff has been a respectable unit this season, though the club hasn’t been able to find a capable fifth option to plug into a rotation that includes Zack Greinke, Luke Weaver, Robbie Ray and Merrill Kelly. Zack Godley has received ample rope this year, having racked up eight of the nine starts that haven’t gone to Greinke, Weaver, Ray or Kelly, but hasn’t come close to replicating his useful production from either 2017 or ’18. Godley turned in his latest unappealing performance of the year Saturday in a loss to the Giants, whose normally impotent offense chased him after totaling four earned runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Earlier this week, before Godley’s outing against San Francisco, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) that it would be “ideal” for the 29-year-old to regain form and lock down a rotation spot going forward. However, with Godley battling a velocity drop and ranking last in ERA (7.90), fifth worst in K/BB ratio (1.52) and 15th from the bottom in FIP (5.45) among 109 major leaguers who have thrown at least 40 innings this season, it doesn’t look as if the Diamondbacks can continue holding out for a resurgence.

Hazen, cognizant of Godley’s struggles, revealed in the wake of Taijuan Walker’s newest arm injury that Arizona will likely “look to add” starting pitching leading up to the July trade deadline. Hazen didn’t even close the door on a pursuit of free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel, per Piecoro, saying: “We’re going to look at starting pitching now, I would imagine, as we move forward. We’ll see how we get through this next brief period of time. And then I’m sure we’ll be looking at all options of starting pitching.”

Keuchel may finally end his holdout and sign somewhere once the first few days of June pass, given that a team would no longer have to surrender draft pick compensation for inking the qualifying offer recipient. But the longtime Astro might not be able to help a club for at least a few weeks after signing, considering he’d probably have to ramp up before returning to a major league mound, and could still score a payday outside the Diamondbacks’ comfort zone.

Whether or not the Diamondbacks land Keuchel or swing a summer trade for rotation help, it appears they’ll have to continue trying to make do with in-house possibilities for the time being. That could mean demoting Godley from the rotation – something the Diamondbacks already did earlier this season before reinstating him – in favor of one of their younger choices.

Promising prospect Taylor Clarke, the only other D-back to get a start this year, has impressed over a limited sample of work and is eligible for a recall after the team optioned him May 9. The 26-year-old Clarke has turned in ugly results with Triple-A Reno this season, though, which could give the big league club pause. On the other hand, fellow prospect Jon Duplantier has been Reno’s top starter and has held his own in Arizona across 12 innings as a reliever. Duplantier, 24, may be the team’s best hope right now to stabilize the back of its rotation. Either way, the 25-21 Diamondbacks are going to have to figure something out quickly in order to maximize their chances of earning a wild-card spot.

Taijuan Walker Diagnosed With Sprained Shoulder Capsule

By Jeff Todd | May 17, 2019 at 6:01pm CDT

Diamondbacks right-hander Taijuan Walker has been diagnosed with a sprained shoulder capsule, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (links to Twitter). He’ll be shut down from throwing for at least six weeks.

Fortunately, there was better news for veteran starter Zack Greinke, who also went in for an MRI. He’s said to have a clean bill of health. Greinke, who left his most recent start with abdominal tightness, will throw a bullpen session tomorrow and may avoid a trip to the injured list altogether.

Though the outlook could have been much worse for Walker, this new issue could make it tough for him to return to the MLB mound this year. The 26-year-old was making progress in his rehabilitation process after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year.

Now, the medical staff will be monitoring this new issue — which isn’t the first shoulder problem in Walker’s career — in addition to his elbow. He’ll need to fully restart his throwing program once he’s deemed ready, which will push his timeline back quite a bit even if he’s able to clear the remaining hurdles without any major setbacks.

Zack Greinke, Taijuan Walker Headed For MRIs

By Steve Adams | May 15, 2019 at 6:26pm CDT

The D-backs may have enjoyed a comfortable win this afternoon, but it’s quickly become a stressful day for the club and its fans due to a series of injuries. Zack Greinke and David Peralta both exited today’s game early, and The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan tweets that right-hander Taijuan Walker is slated to undergo an MRI after experiencing shoulder soreness in a rehab appearance in extended Spring Training.

The team announced during the game that Peralta departed due to tightness in his right trapezius muscle, while manager Torey Lovullo revealed postgame that Greinke will undergo an MRI on Friday after experiencing abdominal tightness. Greinke had cruised through 7 2/3 shutout innings before grimacing after a pitch in the eighth inning and calling a trainer out to the mound. He departed before throwing another pitch.

Any absence for Greinke would be significant for a D-backs club that is four games over .500, firmly in the NL Wild Card mix and still within four games of the NL West lead. His near shutout Wednesday dropped his season ERA to 2.78, and he’s complemented that mark with averages of 8.6 K/9, 1.1 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9. And although his velocity has continued to dwindle as he pitches into his mid 30s, Greinke has adjusted and served as a high-quality starter and workhorse in recent seasons; the 35-year-old tossed 410 innings between the 2017-18 regular seasons with near-identical ERAs of 3.20 and 3.21.

Fortunately, with regard to Peralta, Lovullo suggested that his outfielder will be okay with some treatment (Twitter link via Buchanan). The D-backs have an off day tomorrow, and to this point there’s been no mention of a possible IL trip for Peralta. Through 192 plate appearances, the 31-year-old is hitting .318/.359/.531 with six home runs, 16 doubles and a pair of triples — a strong followup to last year’s breakout 30-homer, .293/.352/.516 showing.

As for Walker, the setback is unsettling for an organization that hoped he’d eventually return to the rotation this summer. The 26-year-old right-hander is working back from 2018 Tommy John surgery and had progressed to pitching in a game setting. The fact that his shoulder is the problematic area suggests that there’s no immediate cause for concern in his surgically repaired elbow, though that’s not really any kind of consolation — particularly given that Walker has previously dealt with shoulder issues in his career.

NL West Notes: Tatis Jr., Giants, Godley

By Steve Adams | May 13, 2019 at 9:15am CDT

Though Padres fans are anxiously awaiting the return of Fernando Tatis Jr., it seems he’ll be down for at least another week. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Tatis is not yet even running at full speed. Yesterday was an off-day in the budding superstar’s rehab work, and there’s no definite timeline on his activation. The 20-year-old Tatis posted an outstanding .300/.360/.550 slash with six homers, five doubles, a triple and six stolen bases through his first 27 games and 111 plate appearances and helped fuel a surprisingly strong April for the upstart Padres. Since Tatis went down with his hamstring injury, San Diego has gone 6-7, though they’ve had a tough schedule that included a four-game set in Atlanta, three games hosting the Dodgers and three games at Coors Field.

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