There was a lot to catch up on with Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo upon his return from San Francisco. As reported earlier on this website by Alex D’Agostino, the Diamondbacks have made a host of roster moves,
Eduardo Rodriguez:
The biggest news was that of left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez heading to the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation. Lovullo said that he was told about Rodriguez having shoulder fatigue following his most recent start in San Francisco on Wednesday.
Pressed on whether the shoulder may have been bothering him for a longer period, considering the pitcher has struggled in three of his last four starts and has a 7.05 ERA, Lovullo seemed to hedge his response.
“I can’t really speculate on any of that,” Lovullo said. “I can offer that I’ve known E-Rod since he was 19 or 20 years old. He’s just a very tough, tough player. He has a tough mind, and he’s a grinder. It takes a lot for him to speak up. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been feeling this for a little while, but I’m just glad he finally spoke up when he did.”
Rodriguez had imaging done on the shoulder which revealed the inflammation. Lovullo said that the team already had a baseline on him from previous imaging they’ve had done with him over time, and it was very similar.
Ryne Nelson
Nelson will fill in for Rodriguez starting on Tuesday in Los Angeles. The pitch counts will be under control for the outing, likely in the 65-70-pitch range. Nelson was the team’s most effective starter over the second half of 2024, but has been working out of the bullpen as a long reliever for the first seven weeks of the season.
“We want to be really careful with this situation,” Lovullo said. “He’s built up. He’s built up to 45, 50, no problem. He went as much as 70 in the Burnes skip start, so we’re going to sit in that range for a couple and just be extra cautious.”
Justin Martinez
Martinez will throw in an Arizona Complex League game on Saturday. Lovullo said his velocity was up to 97-99 in his most recent throwing session. Asked if Martinez could be ready to travel with the team to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers on Monday, Lovullo seemed to indicate he might, provided all goes well after Saturday’s outing.
“I think anything’s possible. I think what we do is probably just discuss exactly how he felt, what’s the next best thing for J-Mart, and how does he plug in and be as strong as possible. We have plan A and plan B, and we want him back as soon as possible for sure, but he’s got to be right,” Lovullo said.
Lovullo also addressed his ejection on Wednesday with some humor and even indicated he is looking forward to seeing a breakdown video of him losing his mind.
