Diamondbacks Activate Merrill Kelly
The Diamondbacks have reinstated Merrill Kelly from the COVID-19 injured list. He’ll get the start this evening against the Dodgers, his first action in a month after he tested positive for the coronavirus. Tyler Gilbert was placed on the 10-day injured list with elbow fatigue in a corresponding move.
Kelly has been one of the D-Backs’ most reliable starters this year. While his promising 2020 campaign was cut short by thoracic outlet syndrome, the 32-year-old has bounced back and remained durable until his positive COVID diagnosis. Kelly has tossed 142 1/3 frames over 24 starts, working to a 4.30 ERA. He’s not missed many bats, but Kelly’s a great strike-thrower and has induced grounders at a roughly league average rate en route to solid production.
The final few weeks will offer Kelly an opportunity to make a handful of starts and hopefully demonstrate he’s returned to prior form after a month away. His contract contains an eminently affordable $5.25MM club option, which looks like a lock to be exercised. At that point, Kelly would become one of the offseason’s more notable trade candidates, with the Diamondbacks unlikely to compete next season. Plenty of more immediate contenders could use the affordable, mid-rotation stability Kelly brings and seem likely to be in contact with the Arizona front office over the winter.
To open space on the 40-man roster, the D-Backs recalled minor league reliever Kevin Ginkel and placed him on the major league 60-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation. The move officially ends his season, but Ginkel will pick up MLB service time and pay for the final few weeks. The 27-year-old has been up-and-down over the past three years, combining for a 4.72 ERA over 68 2/3 big league frames.
Diamondbacks Place Carson Kelly On 10-Day IL With Fractured Wrist
TODAY: Kelly has been placed on the 10-day injured list. Varsho and infielder Josh VanMeter were called up from Triple-A to fill the spots left open by Kelly and right-hander Kevin Ginkel, who was optioned to Triple-A yesterday.
JUNE 19: Diamondbacks catcher Carson Kelly suffered a fractured right wrist after being hit by a pitch from the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler in tonight’s game. Kelly was hit in the bottom of the second inning, and stuck it out for an inning before being replaced behind the plate by Stephen Vogt to begin the fourth.
Depending on the severity of the fracture, Kelly’s season could potentially be in jeopardy, and at the very least he is looking at a lengthy absence. Kelly already missed time back in May with a toe fracture, though that resulted in only a 10-day minimum stint on the injured list.
It makes for yet another down note for Kelly and the Diamondbacks during what has become a nightmarish season in Arizona. Kelly’s performance was one of the few bright spots, as he has a .260/.385/.460 slash line and eight home runs through 187 plate appearances. It was a nice bounce-back showing after a lackluster 2020 season for Kelly, who was acquired from the Cardinals as part of the Paul Goldschmidt trade in December 2018.
Between his solid 2019 numbers and this year’s breakout, Kelly certainly looked to be living up to his billing as the Diamondbacks’ catcher of both the future and the present. Arizona’s miserable season notwithstanding, it didn’t seem like Kelly (if healthy) was a realistic trade candidate, as GM Mike Hazen recently suggested that the D’Backs would look to settle upon an “anchor” group of core players as they reload and hope for better things in 2022. Kelly would seem to fit that billing, as he is controlled through the 2024 season.
While Kelly is out of action, the D’Backs would get a chance to give top prospect Daulton Varsho more of a look behind the plate. Varsho has only 56 games and 159 PA at the big league level over the last two seasons, with more of that playing time coming as an outfielder rather than as a catcher. Varsho and Vogt could potentially split catching duties while Kelly is sidelined, with Varsho also playing the outfield on days when Vogt is starting.
D-Backs Announce Pitching Roster Moves
The Diamondbacks announced a series of pitching moves. Heading onto the roster are lefty Robby Scott and righty Kevin Ginkel. The latter had to be added to the 40-man roster.
Clearing the 40-man spot was accomplished by designating Zack Godley for assignment, as expected. To procure an additional active roster spot, righty Taylor Clarke was optioned down.
Ginkel, 25, heads up to the bigs for the first time after an impressive showing in the upper minors this year. In 35 1/3 total frames on the season, he carries a 1.78 ERA with an eye-popping 16.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. Ginkel has allowed only 19 base hits.