Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Diamondbacks Rumors

MLBTR Podcast: White Sox Ownership, Roman Anthony, And The Diamondbacks’ Rotation

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Do the Mariners need a left-hander in the rotation? (40:45)
  • What will the Braves do with the rest of the season and would they trade Chris Sale? (45:30)
  • With the Mets seemingly having too many young infielders, who stays and who goes? (53:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Outright Aramis Garcia; Scott McGough Elects Free Agency

By | at

The Diamondbacks announced a pair of roster moves this evening, as right-hander Scott McGough elected free agency while catcher Aramis Garcia cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A. Both players had been designated for assignment by the club last week.

McGough, 35, was a fifth-round pick by the Dodgers back in 2011 but didn’t make his big league debut until 2015 when he made six ill-fated outings as a member of the Marlins. He surrendered seven runs on twelve hits and four walks while striking out four across 6 2/3 innings of work for Miami and did not appear in the majors again for quite some time. After spending the next few years bouncing around the Marlins’, Orioles’, and Rockies’ minor league systems McGough caught on overseas with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yakult Swallows. McGough ultimately spent four seasons in Japan and pitched quite well out of the bullpen there with a 26.0% strikeout rate and a 2.94 ERA across his 236 Central League appearances.

That work was enough to catch the attention of the Diamondbacks, who signed him to a deal worth $6.25MM guaranteed over two years ahead of the 2023 campaign. That signing did not go over well. McGough was a below average reliever by the numbers in 2023, with a 4.76 ERA (93 ERA+) in 70 1/3 innings, but some peripherals like his 25.6% strikeout rate and 3.49 SIERA suggested he had more to offer. Unfortunately, those underlying numbers collapsed in 2024 as he posted a 7.44 ERA and a 6.04 FIP across his 26 appearances while striking out just 16.7% of his opponents against a 14% walk rate. The Diamondbacks made the easy decision to decline a 2025 club option on his services last winter, though they eventually re-signed him to a minor league deal in February. When added to the roster back in April, McGough posted a 6.43 ERA in seven innings of work while walking (six) more batters than he struck out (five). He now returns to free agency in the midst of his age-35 season in search for a change of scenery as he looks to try and salvage his season.

As for Garcia, the 32-year-old was a second-rounder by the Giants in 2014 who made his big league debut during the 2018 season, when he helped fill the void when Buster Posey’s season came to an abrupt end due to hip surgery. Garcia hit .286/.302/.492 (117 wRC+) across 19 games in his first taste of major league action, but he hasn’t hit a lick since. Garcia’s appeared in the majors for five different clubs since the start of the 2019 season, and in that time he’s hit just .192/.233/.282 with a 39 wRC+. Of course, that slash line comes across a sample of just 101 plate appearances in the big leagues as Garcia has been used primarily as a third-string catcher throughout his time as a big league option. Even so, there’s been very little over the years to suggest that he’s more than a depth option behind the plate for a big league club. That’s exactly how the Diamondbacks figure to use him going forward, as his outright means he can serve as non-roster depth behind the club’s primary catching tandem of Gabriel Moreno and Jose Herrera.

Diamondbacks Place Justin Martínez On IL With UCL Sprain

By | at

The Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves today. Right-handers Kevin Ginkel and Bryce Jarvis have been recalled from Triple-A Reno and the club has also selected the contract of right-hander Tayler Scott. To open spots for those three, righty Jeff Brigham has been optioned to Reno while righties Justin Martínez and Christian Montes De Oca have both been placed on the 15-day injured list. Martínez has a sprained right ulnar collateral ligament while Montes De Oca has right elbow inflammation. To open a 40-man spot for Scott, righty Cristian Mena has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

The news on Martínez is ominous. The righty called the training staff to the mound during last night’s appearance. It was later relayed to reporters that he was experiencing elbow tightness. A sprain, by definition, involves some stretching or tearing of the ligament. Per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, manager Torey Lovullo says Martínez is now set for a second opinion on his injury.

Whenever a pitcher’s elbow is injured, it raises alarm bells about a possible surgery and those concerns certainly appear to be warranted here. It should be pointed out that not all sprains necessarily lead to a operation. To pick one recent example, Mason Miller was diagnosed with a mild UCL sprain in May of 2023 and ultimately did not head to the surgeon’s table. However, it took him four months to get back on the mound, as he wasn’t reinstated from the IL until September of that year.

It may take a few more days to determine the prognosis with Martínez but it seems like it will be an unfortunate development regardless. The righty seemed to break out as one of the best relievers in the sport last year. He tossed 72 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks with a 2.48 earned run average. His 11.7% walk rate was certainly high but he struck out 29.5% of opponents and got grounders on 58.9% of balls in play.

The Diamondbacks believed in that breakout enough to lock up Martínez for the long term. He and the club agreed to a five-year extension in March that guarantees him $18MM, with two club options as well. Unfortunately, the first season of that deal has been a bit of a bust so far. Martínez already missed about three weeks due to some shoulder inflammation and is now back on the IL again with an even scarier diagnosis. He has only been able to throw 15 1/3 innings with a 4.11 ERA this year.

Martínez and A.J. Puk were supposed to be the two big weapons in the Arizona bullpen this year. Puk made just eight appearances before landing on the IL in mid-April due to elbow inflammation. He was later diagnosed with a flexor strain and transferred to the 60-day IL. His return timeline is unclear. Now it seems possible the Snakes may have to proceed without either of those hurlers for a while. They also put Kendall Graveman on the 15-day IL yesterday due to a hip impingement.

It’s the latest punch in what has been a bruising season for the Diamondbacks. They have lost starters Corbin Burnes and Jordan Montgomery to Tommy John surgery. Their bullpen has taken a number of hits. Some of their healthy pitchers have been underperforming. Though the Snakes came into the season with high hopes, they are now fourth in the National League West and 5.5 games back in the Wild Card race, a less than ideal time to be hemorrhaging key players.

If Martínez does have a serious injury, there would be one silver lining for the Diamondbacks in the long term. His extension has a conditional club option for 2032, valued at just $3MM. That would be triggered if he requires surgery or missed a certain number of days on the IL during the course of the deal.

While the club awaits for information there, they have to proceed with the business of the games on the schedule. They have added a number of arms to the active roster, which includes adding Scott to the 40-man. The 33-year-old Scott elected free agency last month after being designated for assignment by the Astros, which led to a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks.

He seemed to have a nice late-bloomer breakout with Houston last year, posting a 2.23 ERA over 68 2/3 innings. He struck out 25.2% of batters faced, though also gave out walks at a 12.4% pace. There was likely a bit of luck in that ERA, as his .230 batting average on balls in play and 84.9% strand rate were both to the fortunate side. ERA estimators like his 4.13 FIP and 4.04 SIERA pointed to some regression though still suggested he could be a capable big league arm.

The pendulum swing ended up being quite strong. He posted a 5.40 ERA through 16 2/3 innings to start this year. His .313 BABIP and 65.2% strand rate went to the other side of average as his strikeout rate fell to 20.5% and his walk rate climbed to 15.4%.

Since he’s out of options, that got him bumped off the roster and to free agency. Since landing with the D’Backs, he has thrown 3 1/3 scoreless innings for Reno. He may have a tenuous grasp on a roster spot, given his out-of-options status, but he, Ginkel and Jarvis will give the club three fresh arms after they used eight different pitchers to get through yesterday’s 11-inning game against the Mariners.

As for Mena, he just landed on the IL a few days ago with a shoulder strain. Lovullo said his absence would be measured in “weeks, not days.” Given today’s IL transfer, he will be ineligible for reinstatement until early August.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Place Kendall Graveman On 15-Day IL

By | at

The Diamondbacks announced that right-hander Kendall Graveman was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to June 8) due to an impingement in his right hip.  Righty Christian Montes De Oca was called up from Triple-A Reno to take Graveman’s spot on the active roster.

After missing all of 2024 recovering from shoulder surgery, Graveman’s 2025 debut was delayed until May 13 due to a season-opening stint on the 15-day IL due to a lumbar strain.  Graveman then posted a 2.45 ERA over his first 7 1/3 innings and eight appearances for the Snakes before he struggled through a brutal outing in Saturday’s 13-1 Arizona loss to the Reds.  Graveman was charged with six earned runs over just one inning of work, shooting his ERA up from 2.45 to 8.64.

It is fair to wonder if this hip problem was to blame for Graveman’s rough game, though some other red flags were there even before he took the mound on Saturday.  Graveman has more walks (five) than strikeouts (three) over 8 1/3 total innings, and his 30% grounder rate is well below the 50.9% career groundball rate Graveman had posted over his nine previous big league seasons.  His signature sinker is averaging 94.6mph, which is down from a 95.9mph average in 2023, though an early-season velocity drop isn’t unusual for a pitcher just coming back from a long layoff.

Unfortunately for Graveman, that nightmare against Cincinnati will represent his last game for at least a couple of weeks.  This latest trip to the IL can hopefully allow the veteran to fully put his health issues behind him, and an in-form Gravement would sorely help a struggling D’Backs bullpen.  Given how Arizona has a 31-34 record, Graveman (who is only signed through the 2025 season, with a mutual option for 2026) would be an obvious trade chip as a rental player if the Diamondbacks can’t get back into contention.

In other unwelcome news on the pitching injury front, righty Cristian Mena’s right shoulder strain is specifically a teres major strain, as manger Torey Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Alex Weiner and other reporters.  Mena was placed on the 15-day IL on Saturday, but Lovullo said Mena’s absence will be measured in “weeks, not days.”

The 22-year-old Mena made his MLB debut with one three-inning start with the D’Backs last season, and this year had allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings over three relief appearances.  Mena was a candidate for some turns in the rotation given all of the injury problems faced by Arizona’s starters, but the righty himself has now joined the IL for what might be a lengthy period of time.

Diamondbacks Select Kyle Backhus, Designate Aramis Garcia

By | at

The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Kyle Backhus from Triple-A Reno.  Catcher Aramis Garcia was designated for assignment in the corresponding move on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters.

Due to a suspended game on Friday, the D’Backs and Reds played a shortened version of a doubleheader on Saturday, and Arizona used five pitchers in a 13-1 loss in the full game of the twin bill.  Backhus will therefore join the roster as a fresh arm for the beleaguered D’Backs pen, and is now in line to make his Major League debut.

Though Backhus wasn’t drafted when his college career at Sam Houston State came to a close, he signed a free agent deal with the Diamondbacks in 2021 and has posted some solid numbers over five seasons in the Arizona farm system.  Pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen over the last four years, Backhus reached Triple-A for the first time in 2023, and might have reached the majors last season if injuries didn’t limit him to just 35 2/3 total innings in 2024.

Backhus has a 2.22 ERA and a 33% strikeout rate over 24 1/3 innings and 24 games in Reno this season — impressive numbers in any case, but even more noteworthy coming in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.  Backhus’ 9.2% walk rate is on the high side but it represents an improvement from the larger control issues that hampered Backhus earlier in his career.

This may be just a cup of coffee for Backhus in the majors, but considering how the Diamondbacks’ bullpen has struggled this year, there’s not much to lose in giving the 27-year-old more of an extended look.  Jalen Beeks is the only other left-hander in Arizona’s bullpen, so Backhus can add some more balance to the relief corps while A.J. Puk continues to be sidelined on the injured list.

Garcia’s contract was selected just yesterday, as the D’Backs wanted an extra catcher available since Gabriel Moreno was nursing a hand injury suffered in Friday’s game.  Moreno didn’t play Saturday but is ready to go in at least a backup capacity today, as per reporter Jody Jackson, so Garcia will now head to DFA limbo after a single game in an Arizona uniform.  That lone appearance means that Garcia has now appeared in six of the last eight Major League seasons, with only four of his 120 career games coming since the end of the 2022 campaign.

Garcia has hit .211/.248/.325 over 327 plate appearances during his journeyman career, and he landed in Arizona last November on a minors contract.  Garcia is out of minor league options, so the D’Backs had to designate him before trying to move him back to Triple-A, and he’ll be outrighted off the 40-man roster if and when he clears waivers.  Since Garcia has been outrighted in the past, he has the right to reject another outright assignment and instead become a free agent.

Diamondbacks Select Aramis Garcia

By | at

The Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, headlined by the club selecting the contract of catcher Aramis Garcia. Right-hander Cristian Mena was placed on the 15-day injured list to make room for Garcia on the active roster, while the transfer of right-hander Corbin Burnes to the 60-day IL following yesterday’s news that the veteran is set to undergo Tommy John surgery cleared a 40-man roster spot for Garcia. In addition, Arizona appointed righty Christian Montes De Oca to the roster as their 27th-man for today’s doubleheader.

Garcia, 32, was a second-round pick by the Giants back in 2014 but didn’t ultimately make his big league debut until the 2018 season. Garcia came up to the majors in August of that year to help back up Nick Hundley after Buster Posey underwent season-ending hip surgery. He got time in both behind the plate and at first base that year, slashing .286/.302/.492 across 19 games in his first cup of coffee with the big league club, though that solid 117 wRC+ came in a sample of just 65 plate appearances. Still, Garcia’s work in that first taste of the majors was enough to convince the Giants to continue rostering him for the 2019 campaign.

Unfortunately, his performance took a nose dive in that second stint as a big leaguer. He ultimately hit just .143/.217/.310 in 46 trips to the plate for the Giants that year. Despite that lackluster performance, Garcia was still in line to make the Giants’ 2020 Opening Day roster as the primary backup to Posey. That’s not how things worked out, however, as an offseason hip injury combined with the shortened 60-game campaign left Garcia sidelined for the whole year. The Giants ultimately cut the catcher loose following the 2020 season and designated him for assignment. He was claimed off waivers by the Rangers and then included in the swap that sent Khris Davis to Dallas and Elvis Andrus to Oakland prior to the 2021 campaign.

Garcia’s largest contributions in the majors came during the next two seasons. He hit .205/.239/.318 (56 wRC+) in 32 games with the A’s in 2021, but was ultimately cut from the team’s roster and signed with the Reds on a minor league deal. In Cincinnati, Garcia appeared in a career-high 47 games but hit just .213/.248/.259 with a wRC+ of 37 before getting claimed by the Orioles following the 2022 season. He bounced between the Orioles and Phillies organizations over the past two years but made just three appearances in the majors in that time before signing with Arizona on a minor league deal this past winter. Now, he’s back in the majors as a depth option behind the plate with a doubleheader scheduled today and primary catcher Gabriel Moreno day-to-day following a hand injury he suffered in yesterday’s game.

Making room for Garcia on the active roster is Mena, who is being shelved with a right shoulder strain. The right-hander has long been regarded as a talented but raw pitching prospect and was acquired from the White Sox in exchange for outfielder Dominic Fletcher prior to the 2024 season. Mena made his big league debut last year and surrendered four runs across three innings in his lone appearance, but this year he’s looked quite good with 5 2/3 scoreless innings of work and a 35% strikeout rate in a multi-inning relief role. Unfortunately, he’ll now need to wait to heal up to build on that success. For today, Mena’s spot in the bullpen will be offered to Montes De Oca, who has not yet appeared in a big league game but has a 4.07 ERA in 24 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A this year.

Corbin Burnes To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By | at

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo has informed members of the media that right-hander Corbin Burnes will undergo Tommy John surgery. Burnes will therefore miss the remainder of this season and possibly the entire 2026 campaign as well. Radio broadcaster Chris Garagiola was among those to pass the info along. Burnes is already on the 15-day injured list but will be transferred to the 60-day as soon as the club needs a roster spot.

The news is devastating but unsurprising. Burnes was pitching on Sunday when he called the training staff out from the dugout. He departed that game and the club later announced that he was experiencing elbow discomfort. He went for various medical opinions in the following days but it seems the worst-case scenario could not be avoided, so he’ll go under the knife. Given that Tommy John surgery usually requires 14 to 18 months of recovery time, Burnes is definitely out for the rest of 2025. A return in late in 2026 is possible but can’t be guaranteed.

Burnes is well known as one of the best pitchers in the sport. He won a Cy Young Award while pitching with the Brewers in 2021. He posted a 2.43 earned run average in 167 innings that year. He struck out 35.6% of opponents, only gave out walks at a 5.2% clip and got grounders on 48.8% of balls in play.

His results have backed up a bit since then but he’s still been excellent. Over the next three years, his strikeout rate continued to fall but it didn’t prevent his overall run prevention much. His ERA finished around 3.00 in each season from 2022 to 2024, even though his strikeout rate fell to 30.5%, 25.5% and 23.1% in those seasons.

He was one of the top free agents in the most recent offseason. MLBTR placed him second in the class, behind only Juan Soto, predicting Burnes could land a $200MM contract over seven years. He naturally fielded a lot of interest, with clubs such as the Orioles, Blue Jays and Giants among those who were connected to him most often.

In late December, he finally picked a new team. Arizona was a surprising destination since the club already had a number of rotation options and wasn’t heavily connected to the starting pitching market. But Burnes is an Arizona native and reportedly wanted to be close to his family, so the two sides made it work. The six-year deal guarantees Burnes $210MM, though with $64MM of that deferred into the next decade. It also affords him the opportunity to opt out after the 2026 season.

The Diamondbacks had made a number of investments in their rotation in recent years but this was the largest by far. Going into 2024, they gave Eduardo Rodríguez a four-year, $80MM deal and Jordan Montgomery also got a one-year, $25MM guarantee plus an easily-attainable vesting option.

Despite the heavy amount of investment in starting pitching, the Arizona rotation hasn’t been a strength. That was true even before this Burnes news, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently took a look at in a post for Front Office subscribers.

Losing Burnes for the rest of the year will only compound the problem. Montgomery himself required Tommy John surgery before the season started, so he’s already been out of action all year. Rodríguez has a 7.05 ERA in nine starts. He went on the IL in mid-May due to shoulder inflammation and was reinstated today.

Despite having one of the best lineups in baseball, the Arizona pitching has contributed to a fairly disappointing season so far. A recent four-game win streak has got them back to .500, but their 31-31 record still has them 3.5 games out of a playoff spot at the moment. They will have to try to climb back into the race without Burnes. Their current rotation consists of Rodríguez, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson. Kelly is having a good year but Gallen, Pfaadt and Rodríguez are all struggling. Nelson has been in a swing role and is only now taking up a rotation spot in the wake of the injuries.

With the club hovering around contention, decisions will have to be made about the club’s deadline plans. If they fall back in the standings, they have a number of impending free agents and could have a lot to sell. That includes Gallen, Kelly, Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor. Montgomery is also an impending free agent but naturally has no trade value since he’s out for the year. Though if the Snakes can hang in there, adding at the deadline could obviously be the move.

Those impending free agencies and the Burnes surgery will also lead to questions about the 2026 rotation. As of now, it consists of Pfaadt, Rodríguez and Nelson. There are some prospects who could potentially take up roles but it’s clearly a very different picture to the imperfect group they have now.

Turning to the Burnes opt-out, it now seems incredibly unlikely that he triggers it. Though he could come back late next year, that will likely be for a handful of starts at most. It would be hard for him to build up enough of a platform to turn down the four years and $140MM (with deferrals) left on the deal.

That’s a largely moot point for the future. For today, the takeaway is that it’s real bad news for the Diamondbacks. Subtracting Burnes blows a big hole in their rotation right now, while the club is trying to salvage the season, and into the long-term as well.

Photos courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas and Allan Henry, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Designate Scott McGough, Reinstate Andrew Saalfrank

By | at

The D-backs have designated right-handed reliever Scott McGough for assignment, the team announced. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to lefty Andrew Saalfrank, who has been reinstated from the ineligible list and optioned to the Diamondbacks’ Rookie-ball affiliate in the Arizona Complex League.

Saalfrank was one of four players suspended by Major League Baseball for one year after a league investigation revealed that the quartet had placed small-scale bets on Major League Baseball games while playing in the minor leagues back in 2020-22. Saalfrank, then pitching for the D-backs’ Low-A affiliate, wagered a total of $445 over 29 bets — four of them involving Diamondbacks games.

Saalfrank is eligible for reinstatement today, as are A’s righty Michael Kelly, Padres lefty Jay Groome and Phillies infielder José Rodríguez. None of the four bet more than $749 in total, and none were on the 40-man roster at the time their bets were placed.

That’s the key distinction for that quartet receiving one-year bans as opposed to former Padres/Pirates utilityman Tucupita Marcano, who received a lifetime ban (announced in conjunction with these four suspensions). Marcano wagered more than $150K on 387 bets involving MLB games while he was on a big league roster — including 25 bets on Pirates games while he was on Pittsburgh’s major league injured list (rehabbing a season-ending ACL tear).

Major League Baseball’s rules regarding gambling stipulate that “Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one year.” Players, umpires, club officials and league officials who place bets of “any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform” are subject to permanent bans. Further details on the investigation and its findings were provided in a league-issued press release last year at the time of these suspensions.

The 35-year-old McGough will lose his spot on the roster as a result of Saalfrank’s reinstatement, though he was clearly already on thin ice. Arizona originally signed McGough to a two-year contract in the 2022-23 offseason when he was coming off a strong four-year run in Japan. He logged a pedestrian 4.73 ERA in 2023 but did have some better underlying numbers, including a hearty 28.6% strikeout rate. McGough’s second year in Phoenix was a rough one (7.44 ERA in 32 2/3 innings), prompting the Snakes to decline a club option for 2025.

McGough and the D-backs eventually agreed to a minor league deal later in the offseason. He pitched well enough in an extremely hitter-friendly Triple-A setting — 13 2/3 innings, 3.95 ERA, 30 K%, 6.7 BB% — to get another big league look in mid-May, but he faltered in a quick seven-game trial run. McGough allowed five runs (6.43 ERA) and issued more walks (six) than strikeouts (five) before being optioned back to Triple-A Reno just a couple days ago. He hadn’t gotten into a game with the Aces before today’s DFA.

The D-backs will have five days to place McGough on waivers or trade him. The former seems likelier, given his struggles. Assuming he passes through waivers unclaimed, the D-backs can hold onto him as a depth piece by assigning him outright to Reno. McGough does have one prior outright in his career, so he’d be able to reject that assignment in favor of free agency if he’d prefer to again explore opportunities with other teams.

MLBTR Podcast: Jarren Duran Rumors, Caglianone And Young Promoted, And Pitching Injuries

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • If the Diamondbacks can’t climb in the standings, what does their deadline look like? (48:45)
  • As a thought experiment, if the Orioles were willing to listen on Gunnar Henderson, what teams would even have the pieces to pull off a trade? (54:10)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Corbin Burnes Placed On IL, Still Being Evaluated Due To Elbow Discomfort

By | at

June 3: Results on Burnes’ first wave of imaging were inconclusive, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. He’ll seek further testing and opinions to determine the severity of his elbow issue, and the club will have more information on his status later in the week. Per Jody Jackson of Arizona Sports, the further testing will include a visit to Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. As expected, Burnes was officially placed on the 15-day IL today with lefty Tommy Henry recalled as the corresponding move. Per Gambadoro, Nelson will return to the rotation with Henry to the bullpen.

June 1: Corbin Burnes made an early exit from the Diamondbacks’ 3-1 win over the Nationals due to what was described by manager Torey Lovullo as right elbow discomfort.  The right-hander had sailed through 4 2/3 shutout innings before allowing a two-out single to CJ Abrams in the top of the fifth, and a clearly upset Burnes then immediately motioned to the home dugout for a quick consultation with team trainers.

Post-game, Lovullo told reporters (including Arizona Sports) that Burnes will get an MRI tomorrow, and won’t join the Diamondbacks on their upcoming road trip to Atlanta and Cincinnati.  The pitcher himself also described his health situation to the media, saying his elbow started to gradually tighten up during the outing.

“It just got to the point where the tightness was just too much…didn’t feel like we needed to push any farther.  Hopefully we caught it early, hopefully it’s not bad, but we’ll see,” Burnes said.

More details will be known in the aftermath of the MRI, though it seems like Burnes will probably be placed on the 15-day injured list at least as a precaution.  This would be the first arm-related IL stint of Burnes’ durable career, as his two previous IL trips were due to Covid-19 (in 2021) and an oblique strain late in the 2020 season that kept him out of the Brewers’ brief playoff run.

After signing a six-year, $210MM free agent deal with his local team this past offseason, Burnes has mostly looked the part of a frontline ace in posting a 2.66 ERA over 64 1/3 innings.  However, his secondary metrics tell another story, as Burnes entered today’s start with a more modest 3.99 SIERA.  Burnes’ hard-hit ball rate and walk rate are both well below the league average, let alone the strong numbers in both categories that Burnes had posted over his previous seven Major League seasons.  Burnes’ whiff rate remains above the league average but also down from his 2024 total.

The right-hander’s signature cutter has been among the best pitches in baseball over the last few years, but Statcast’s Run Value metric indicates that the cutter has gone from a +17 in 2024 to only a +2 in 2025 since batters have been able to square up on the pitch with far more regularity.  Both Burnes’ cutter (95.3mph to 94.2mph) and his sinker (97mph to 95.6mph) have lost some velocity from last season to this campaign.

Even with these red flags, the bottom-line results have still been there for Burnes, and he has still been the most consistent member of Arizona’s underwhelming rotation.  MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently explored how the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff is again struggling, and undermining the efforts of the team’s powerful lineup.  Today’s win bumped the Snakes up to only a 28-31 record, and they are five games behind the Giants for both third place in the NL West and the final NL wild card slot.

Losing Burnes even for a fairly minimal amount of time would severely hamper the Diamondbacks’ chances of making up that ground, let alone making a late run at the Dodgers at the top of the division.  Eduardo Rodriguez is expected to return from the 15-day IL this coming week after a mid-May placement due to shoulder inflammation, but if Burnes is also sidelined, Ryne Nelson (who was headed to the bullpen due to E-Rod’s return) will likely be reinserted back into the starting five.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top