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Merill Kelly Underwent MRI For Teres Major Injury

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Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly was scratched from his start in San Francisco this afternoon, with Kelly telling Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that he’s suffering from an injury involving his teres major strain. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic adds that, per manager Torey Lovullo, Kelly has already undergone an MRI and is going to head back to Phoenix to be evaluated by team doctors. Piecoro adds that the club remains hopeful that the veteran hurler can avoid a stint on the injured list.

Missed time for Kelly would be a serious blow to the Diamondbacks’ rotation, which has already been without veteran southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez to this point in a season due to a lat strain. Losing Kelly, who sports a 3.26 ERA and 3.75 FIP over 67 starts dating back to the 2022 campaign, would compound the loss of Rodriguez and right-hander Ryne Nelson, who was placed on the injured list with a right elbow contusion last week. Kelly’s start this afternoon will instead go to right-hander Slade Cecconi, who posted a 4.33 ERA and 4.37 FIP in 27 innings of work for Dbacks last year.

If Kelly misses more than just today’s start, the club would likely need a fifth starter to go along with Cecconi, Zac Gallen, Jordan Montgomery, and Brandon Pfaadt. One possible option could be left-hander Tommy Henry, who has pitched 154 1/3 innings of work across 30 appearances with the Diamondbacks since his debut in 2022 but has generally struggled in those appearances. While he posted a roughly league average ERA of 4.15 with the club last year, he allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in just 18 1/3 innings across four starts in the majors this year and holds a career ERA in the big leagues of 4.84 with a 5.18 FIP.

D-Backs Recall Jordan Montgomery, Designate Jace Peterson

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve recalled Jordan Montgomery to make his team debut tonight against the Giants. Arizona also recalled outfielder Pavin Smith from Triple-A Reno. In corresponding moves, they placed starter Ryne Nelson on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow contusion and designated veteran infielder Jace Peterson for assignment.

Montgomery will take the ball opposite Blake Snell in the second game of their intra-division series. The southpaw officially signed with the D-Backs on Opening Day but agreed to an optional assignment to build into game shape. He started twice for Reno, allowing nine runs in 7 2/3 innings. While that’s clearly not the most impressive showing, his primary focus was building his workload. He threw 71 pitches in his start last Saturday. Montgomery’s contract stipulated that he’d be back in the majors no later than April 19, so the Snakes bring him up after a pair of rehab outings.

He joins Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly at the top half of the rotation. The D-Backs envisioned Eduardo Rodriguez holding a mid-rotation spot, but he’ll be out until at least late May because of shoulder issues. Brandon Pfaadt and Tommy Henry round out the starting five for now, as Montgomery steps into the spot which Nelson had been holding.

Nelson has allowed nine runs (eight earned) over his first 15 2/3 innings. The Oregon product has picked up 13 strikeouts and walked five. It was a slightly improved start relative to last season, when he pitched to a 5.31 ERA with a below-average 15.5% strikeout rate over 144 innings. A comebacker off the bat of Mike Yastrzemski got him in the throwing elbow last night, forcing him out of the game after two innings. It’ll cost him at least two weeks of action.

Arizona also makes a move on the position player side, almost certainly bringing an end to Peterson’s time in the desert. The D-Backs acquired him from the A’s in a deadline deal last summer. The versatile infielder was hitting .221/.313/.324 at the time. His bat slumped further after the trade, as he hit .183/.276/.258 without a home run in 41 games. Peterson didn’t play much of a role in the team’s pennant run and has gotten off to a very slow start in 2024.

The 33-year-old has collected just one hit, a single, in his first 22 at-bats. Since the D-Backs acquired him, Peterson owns a .157/.252/.217 slash line over 132 plate appearances. His recent production is a notable drop-off from the .243/.332/.376 mark which he managed for the Brewers between 2021-22.

That solid run in Milwaukee secured Peterson a two-year, $9.5MM free agent deal from Oakland. He’s making $5MM this year. The A’s agreed to pay $2MM as part of the trade, leaving the D-Backs on the hook for the remaining $3MM. That salary makes it a virtual lock he’ll go unclaimed on waivers. Peterson has more than enough service time to decline an outright assignment while retaining his entire salary, so the Snakes could simply release him within the next week. If he hits free agency, any team that signs him would pay him at the prorated $740K league minimum for whatever time he spends in the majors.

D-backs Select Logan Allen, Transfer Eduardo Rodriguez To 60-Day IL

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The D-backs announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Logan Allen from Triple-A Reno and transferred lefty Eduardo Rodriguez from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a roster spot. The Snakes also recalled righty Justin Martinez from Triple-A. Right-hander Luis Frias and left-hander Tommy Henry were optioned to Reno to creative active roster space for Allen and Martinez.

It’ll be the first big league action since 2022 for the 26-year-old Allen (not to be confused by the other left-hander named Logan Allen, who solidified himself in the Guardians’ rotation with a strong rookie campaign in 2023).

The older Allen also pitched for Cleveland previously, to make matters more confusing. He’s a former eighth-round draft pick who’s appeared in parts of four big league seasons, working to a combined 5.89 ERA in 96 1/3 frames between Cleveland, San Diego and Baltimore. In a dozen innings with Reno, he’s pitched to a 3.00 ERA with nine strikeouts, three walks and a 50% ground-ball rate.

The “60-day” term on Rodriguez’s IL stint is retroactive to his original placement and does not reset to today. While Arizona had hoped he’d only miss a month originally, the veteran southpaw recently experienced renewed shoulder discomfort during a throwing session and had his rehab program paused. In light of that setback, it’s not especially surprising to see him pushed to the 60-day IL. His original placement was retroactive to March 25, meaning he’s now sidelined through at least Friday, May 24.

With Rodriguez now shelved for another five weeks at least, Arizona’s rotation will consist of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Jordan Montgomery and Brandon Pfaadt in the top four spots. Montgomery has also yet to make his season debut but it scheduled to do so on Friday. Twenty-six-year-old righty Ryne Nelson currently holds the fifth spot, but he’s yielded eight runs in 13 2/3 innings this season and carries a 5.31 ERA in 157 2/3 frames dating back to last year. His grip on that rotation spot is not exactly iron-clad.

NL West Notes: Padres, Yankees, Soto, Montgomery, Treinen, Bryant

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As one might expect, December’s blockbuster Juan Soto trade between the Padres and Yankees took on several different permutations before the two sides finally agreed on the seven players involved.  The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that the Padres had interest in 17 different Yankees players before finally agreeing on a package of four pitchers (Michael King, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito, Drew Thorpe) and catcher Kyle Higashioka in exchange for Soto and Trent Grisham.  Clarke Schmidt and Chase Hampton were two of the other pitchers known to be considered when reports began to surface about the trade negotiations, and Heyman adds that the Yankees agreeing to include Thorpe instead of Hampton was one of the turning points in getting the deal done.

Though San Diego ended up taking a pitching-heavy mix of players, Heyman writes that the Friars also asked about such noteworthy position-player prospects as Spencer Jones, Roderick Arias, and George Lombard Jr.  Jones is a top-100 prospect and the 25th overall pick of the 2022 draft, and he has already drawn lots of trade buzz early in his pro career.  The Yankees have thus far balked at moving Jones, even in past talks with the Brewers and White Sox about Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease, respectively.

More from around the NL West…

  • Jordan Montgomery will likely make his Diamondbacks debut on April 18, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Alex Weiner of KTAR 92.3 radio).  Because he didn’t sign until just prior to Opening Day and therefore missed Spring Training, Montgomery started his D’Backs tenure in the minors in order to get some ramp-up work under his belt.  Montgomery got up to 71 pitches over 3 2/3 innings in a Triple-A start yesterday, and though he was tagged for seven unearned runs, Lovullo said Montgomery was just working out his fastball rather than worrying about on-field results.  It remains to be seen if Tommy Henry or Ryne Nelson will be removed from the rotation to make way for Montgomery, though if Montgomery is eased back into action, one of Henry or Nelson could speculatively be paired with the southpaw in something of a piggyback capacity for a turn or two through the rotation.
  • Blake Treinen threw to live hitters today, in the latest step of his recovery process after suffered a bruised lung over a month ago.  Treinen was hit in the chest by a line drive during a Spring Training game, and he told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) that a later MRI revealed two fractured ribs in addition to the bruised lung, though the reliever is now feeling pain-free.  Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that the plan is to have Treinen face live hitters twice more over the next week, and then begin a minor league rehab assignment during the week of April 22.
  • Kris Bryant wasn’t in the Rockies’ lineup today after making an early exit from Saturday’s game due to back stiffness.  Bryant collided with the right field wall while catching a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fly ball in the first inning Saturday, and remained in the game until being replaced in the bottom of the fourth.  Bryant is considered day-to-day and manager Bud Black said he was available to pinch-hit today if necessary, though given Bryant’s lengthy injury history, any sort of health issue will naturally cause some extra concern.

Brewers Claim Corbin Martin

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The Brewers have claimed right-hander Corbin Martin off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hogg adds that right-hander Kevin Herget was designated for assignment to make room for Martin on the club’s 40-man roster. The Brewers subsequently optioned Martin to Triple-A.

Martin, 28, was a second-round pick by the Astros in the 2017 draft and, after dominating the Double-A level of the minors in his first full pro season, garnered plenty of top-100 prospect buzz prior to the 2019 season, even making his big league debut early in the season. Martin’s rise was thrown off course by him undergoing Tommy John surgery midway through the 2019 campaign, but that didn’t stop Houston from packaging him alongside Seth Beer, JB Bukauskas, and Josh Rojas to acquire future Hall of Famer Zack Greinke from the Diamondbacks in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline that summer.

The right-hander’s career began to come off the rails once he arrived in Arizona, however. Martin missed the entire 2020 season while rehabbing from surgery and didn’t make his organizational debut with Arizona until May of that year. He struggled through 43 1/3 innings of work split between the major league level and Triple-A that year, posting a whopping 10.69 ERA in five big league appearances along with a 5.93 ERA in 27 1/3 frames with the club’s affiliate in Reno. Martin’s struggles continued in 2022 as Martin pitched to a 4.84 ERA and 4.59 FIP in seven appearances for the big league club. The righty spent the majority of the season in the minors before once again being shut down due to injury in August of that year.

That proved to be the last time Martin would pitch in the majors for the Diamondbacks. The right-hander missed the entire 2023 campaign after suffering a lat tendon tear in his right shoulder that ended up requiring surgery. He returned to action with the beginning of the 2024 season, but allowed a 9.00 ERA in three innings of work before being designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks last week.

Now with the Brewers, Martin will be reunited with Bukauskas as a potential bullpen option in Milwaukee, though the right-hander will begin his tenure with the club in the minor leagues. Given Martin’s previous prospect pedigree and impressive results when healthier earlier in his career, the Brewers are no doubt hoping they can tap into some of that potential Martin has flashed throughout his career now that he’s fully healthy. If he does enough to earn himself an opportunity in the majors, he’ll enter the club’s middle relief mix alongside the likes of Bryse Wilson and Thyago Vieira.

Making room for Martin on the Brewers’ 40-man roster is Herget, who was selected to the club’s roster earlier this week after signing with Milwaukee on a minor league deal last month. The 33-year-old ultimately did not make an appearance with the Brewers at the big league level, though he had posted 5 1/3 scoreless innings of work in Triple-A. After being drafted by the Cardinals in the 39th round of the 2013 draft, Herget bounced around the minor leagues before eventually making his big league debut with the Rays in 2022. He’s made brief cameos in the majors in each of the past two seasons with Tampa and Cincinnati, pitching to a combined 5.74 ERA and 4.56 FIP in 31 1/3 innings of work. The Brewers will now have one week to waive, trade, or release Herget.

D-Backs Pause Eduardo Rodriguez’s Throwing Program

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The Diamondbacks are pausing Eduardo Rodriguez’s throwing program after the southpaw reported continued lat tightness, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (video provided by Arizona Sports). It’s unclear for how long he’ll be shut down, but it represents a setback in his efforts to make his team debut.

Rodriguez suffered a lat strain during his fourth Spring Training appearance. He started the season on the 15-day injured list. The Snakes reportedly expected him to be sidelined for around a month, though this will surely push that timetable back. It’s an inauspicious start to his four-year, $80MM free agent deal.

Arizona viewed Rodriguez as the necessary upper mid-rotation arm to slot behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. He turned in that level of production for the Tigers a year ago, working to a career-low 3.30 ERA with solid strikeout and walk rates over 152 2/3 innings. While there’s still plenty of time for Rodriguez to meet the organization’s expectations, it seems likely he’ll at least be out of action into May.

Within weeks of Rodriguez’s injury, the D-Backs made a surprising late strike for Jordan Montgomery. Perhaps Arizona would have found the southpaw’s asking price (one year, $25MM with a vesting player option for 2025) too good to pass up in any case. That addition could take on added importance in the wake of this setback. Montgomery is building into game shape with Triple-A Reno and is expected to be called to the majors by the end of next week.

Gallen and Kelly are again off to excellent starts, yet the final three rotation spots have been a problem. Brandon Pfaadt isn’t in any danger of losing his job but is sitting on a 6.48 ERA through his first three starts. Tommy Henry has allowed 10 runs over 14 innings, while Ryne Nelson has been tagged for eight runs in 7 2/3 frames over his first two outings. One of Nelson or Henry seems likely to head to Triple-A once Montgomery is ready to step into the big league staff.

Jordan Montgomery Switches Agencies, Hires Wasserman

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Diamondbacks left-hander Jordan Montgomery has changed representatives, per Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The southpaw had previously been with the Boras Corporation but will now be repped by Joel Wolfe and Nick Chanock of Wasserman.

Montgomery, 31, was just a free agent for the first time in the most recent offseason. He was coming off a strong three-year run between the Yankees, Cardinals and Rangers, posting a 3.48 earned run average over 524 1/3 innings. He also added 31 innings in last year’s postseason with a 2.90 ERA, helping the Rangers win their first World Series in franchise history.

Coming into the offseason, MLBTR predicted the lefty for a contract worth $150MM over six years while other outlets were in a similar range. But the offseason free agent market ended up being weaker than projected. The latter half of the winter was defined by the various players who remained unsigned, with the so-called “Boras Four” being the headliners.

Montgomery, Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman, all repped by Scott Boras, were projected for nine-figure deals at the outset of the offseason. But the four of them lingered on the market past the start of Spring Training and each one eventually pivoted to some form of short-term deal. In Montgomery’s case, he signed a one-year pact with the Diamondbacks with a $25MM guarantee. There’s also a $20MM vesting player option for 2025, which is available to Montgomery as long as he makes 10 starts this year. He can also add $5MM more to the value of that option, $2.5MM at 18 starts and $2.5MM at 23 starts.

The southpaw is highly likely to return to free agency again this winter. Even if he unlocks that player option, he probably won’t trigger it unless he’s facing some kind of injury absence, since finding $20-25MM again shouldn’t be tough to do if he has a fairly normal season. He hasn’t yet made his debut with the Diamondbacks since he didn’t agree to terms with them until the end of March and is still getting himself in game shape. He tossed four innings in a Triple-A game on Sunday.

For his second go at free agency, it seems he’s looking for a different approach, hiring Wolfe and Chanock to handle his negotiations. While losing a notable client like Montgomery is tough for Boras, he still figures to play a prominent role in the coming offseason. Each of Bellinger, Snell and Chapman could be free agents again while Boras also represents star players heading into free agency for the first time such as Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso.

D-Backs Sign Kolten Wong To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed second baseman Kolten Wong to a minor league contract, as announced by their Triple-A team in Reno. He’ll head to the Snakes’ top affiliate.

Wong was in camp with the Orioles this spring. A .200/.294/.400 showing wasn’t enough to crack a competitive Baltimore infield. The O’s granted Wong his release rather than add him to the MLB roster after he triggered an opt-out in his minor league deal five days before the start of the season.

A veteran of 11 big league campaigns, Wong will try to get back to the majors in Arizona. The 33-year-old had suggested at the end of camp that he was unlikely to pursue minor league opportunities if he didn’t make the O’s roster. He has evidently decided to give things another go, likely in the hope of securing a bench role.

Wong doesn’t offer a ton of defensive flexibility. He has logged nearly 9000 innings at second base but has never started an MLB game at another infield spot. His outfield experience consists of 106 frames with the Cardinals eight years ago. Arizona has Ketel Marte locked in at second base but has dealt with injuries on the other side of the bag. Geraldo Perdomo suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee that required surgical repair. Top prospect Jordan Lawlar previously sustained a thumb issue that’ll cost him a few months. That leaves rookie Blaze Alexander and glove-first veteran Kevin Newman as the shortstop options in the majors.

While Wong probably won’t be considered for a spot on the left side of the infield, Newman’s promotion took an experienced infielder off the Reno roster. Wong is a two-time Gold Glove winner at the keystone, yet his defensive metrics have dropped off within the last two years. He remained an above-average hitter as recently as 2022, when he connected on a personal-high 15 homers with a .251/.339/.430 slash for the Brewers.

Last season was the worst of his career, as he managed just a .183/.256/.263 line in 87 contests between the Mariners and Dodgers. To his credit, Wong rebounded in a very brief sample in L.A. He had turned in a dismal .165/.241/.227 mark with Seattle before being released. After catching on with the Dodgers, he hit .300 with a pair of homers in 34 trips to the plate.

Diamondbacks Re-Sign Tyler Chatwood To Minor League Deal

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The D-Backs have brought back righty Tyler Chatwood on a minor league contract, according to an announcement from their Triple-A team. He joins the Snakes’ top affiliate in Reno.

Chatwood played with the D-Backs in 2023 as well. He’d signed a non-roster deal in early August and made five relief appearances before being released. The 34-year-old also spent some time in the Pittsburgh system last season. Before that, he’d pitched in Japan during the 2022 campaign.

A veteran of 10 big league seasons, Chatwood most recently appeared in the majors in 2021. He split that season between the Blue Jays and Giants, working 32 innings of relief. He allowed 5.63 earned runs per nine, partially offsetting a solid 26.2% strikeout rate with an elevated 14.5% walk percentage.

Chatwood has long struggled to throw strikes consistently. As a result, he has worked mostly in long relief since 2019 after beginning his career as a starting pitcher. Chatwood’s mid-90s velocity and flashes of both swing-and-miss and ground-ball upside have long intrigued teams despite his below-average control. He owns a 4.20 ERA in parts of eight Triple-A campaigns and can serve as multi-inning relief depth for Arizona.

Diamondbacks Designate Corbin Martin For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced this morning that they’ve designated right-hander Corbin Martin for assignment. Martin’s spot on the club’s 40-man roster will go to infielder Kevin Newman, whose contract has been selected to replace injured shortstop Geraldo Perdomo on the active roster as was reported earlier this morning.

Martin, 28, was a second-round pick by the Astros in the 2017 draft and is perhaps best known as one of the prospects Arizona acquired in the Zack Greinke trade at the 2019 trade deadline alongside first baseman Seth Beer, right-hander JB Bukauskas, and infielder Josh Rojas. What appeared at the time to be a strong return for the ace righty’s services proved to be underwhelming over time, as only Rojas made an impact for the Diamondbacks at the big league level. Now all four players acquired in the Greinke deal will no longer be a part of the Dbacks organization, unless Martin clears waivers and is assigned outright to the minor leagues.

The right-hander’s time with Arizona was fraught with injuries and ineffectiveness. Martin underwent Tommy John surgery shortly before being acquired by the Diamondbacks and as a result did not make his team debut until 2021, when he struggled to a 10.69 ERA (8.42 FIP) in 16 innings of work with the big league club. Those struggles were paired with additional injuries, as Martin spent the entire second half of 2021 on the injured list in the minor leagues. 2022 was more of the same as Martin pitched to a below-average 4.84 ERA and 4.59 FIP in seven appearances for the big league club and spent the majority of the season in the minors before once again being shut down due to injury in August of that year.

Martin’s struggles in a starting role and numerous injuries led the Diamondbacks to move him to the bullpen full time during Spring Training last year in an effort to keep the right-hander healthy, but those hopes were dashed just a month later when Martin suffered a lat tendon in his right shoulder that required surgery. Martin went on to miss the entire 2023 season. He’s made just two appearances at Triple-A Reno so far in 2024 and has allowed three runs on three walks and three hits (including a home run) in three innings of work while striking out three.

Moving forward, the Diamondbacks will have one week to waive, trade, or release Martin. It’s possible the right-hander’s previous prospect pedigree could earn him the interest of another club as a potential reclamation project, though his lengthy injury history and general ineffectiveness in the majors may keep rival clubs from dedicating a roster spot to the former top-100 talent. If Martin passes through waivers unclaimed, Arizona will have the opportunity to retain him in the organization as non-roster depth going forward. As for the club, the Dbacks still have the likes of Justin Martinez and Andrew Saalfrank available as depth options on the 40-man roster behind their current bullpen mix while Paul Sewald recovers from an oblique strain.

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