PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks southpaw reliever A.J. Puk received an MRI on his left elbow on Monday, and the club is awaiting second and third opinions before moving forward.
Manager Torey Lovullo said on Tuesday he thought those opinions were coming from renowned surgeons Neal ElAttrache and Keith Meister. Meister just performed Tommy John surgery on Jordan Montgomery.
The D-backs placed Puk on the 15-day injured list on Saturday with left elbow inflammation, an alarming development for one of the club’s highest-leverage relievers.
“We want to just be very thorough, so that’s where we’re at,” Lovullo said.
Puk has been one of the most effective arms in the bullpen since joining the Diamondbacks at last year’s trade deadline. He began this season splitting save opportunities with right-hander Justin Martinez.
Through eight innings this season, Puk has a 3.36 ERA and 12 strikeouts. He threw 27.1 innings with a 1.32 ERA after coming to Arizona last year.
He underwent Tommy John surgery earlier in his career, back in 2018 with the Oakland Athletics.
The Diamondbacks made several changes to the look of their bullpen over the weekend, not only shelving Puk but sending down right-hander Bryce Jarvis and left-hander Joe Mantiply to Triple-A Reno.
Drey Jameson, Juan Morillo and J.P. Feyereisen now round out the bullpen, a group with Jalen Beeks as the lone lefty.
Justin Martinez, Diamondbacks bullpen updates
Martinez has not pitched since throwing back-to-back games at the Miami Marlins on Wednesday and Thursday, as Lovullo told reporters in Chicago over the weekend he had dealt with fatigue.
Lovullo said all indications are Martinez is ready to go for Tuesday’s series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays at Chase Field.
“With J-Mart, there was a little bit of body fatigue,” Lovullo said. “He just has been telling us and he’s being honest and that’s what we ask for. So he needed another day off, but all indications are that he’s ready to go.”
Relievers Kevin Ginkel and Kendall Graveman continue to make their push back to the club from the IL, as they have yet to make their respective season debuts.
Ginkel (shoulder) threw 24 pitches in an extended spring training game on Monday, and the next stop will be a rehab assignment. He will pitch for Triple-A Reno on Thursday. Whether or not he needs multiple outings during his rehab assignment is to be determined.
“We’ll get him through this next one and then reevaluate and see what’s going on,” Lovullo said. “It’s imminent. It’s coming. Just a matter of if it is one or two outings.”
Graveman (lumbar) threw a 25-pitch live batting practice session on Tuesday, and the next step will be an extended spring training appearance on Saturday.
Ketel Marte’s progress
Infielder Ketel Marte (hamstring) was one of the batters who faced Graveman during his live BP, sending Lovullo videos of his at-bats.
The next step in his progression will be baserunning, which he will begin later this week.
“All the targets that we want to hit with Ketel have been reached and we’re continuing to push them down field,” Lovullo said.
Marte started forward running late last week.
The 2024 NL MVP finalist has suffered a hamstring strain on April 4 at the Washington Nationals, and Lovullo previously gave a timeline for Marte to return in late April or early May.
“Just getting after it full speed and be able to recover the next day and probably play in back-to-back hot live games just to make sure that he’s okay,” Lovullo said would be the next steps if Marte gets through baserunning feeling good.
The Diamondbacks and Rays will match up at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday night. The game will air on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
