How Does the Merrill Kelly Injury Impact the Diamondbacks?

With a rotation in flux due to multiple injuries the team is forced to dip deep into their pitching depth

Merrill Kelly flew back to Phoenix Sunday to be further evaluated for a Teres Major strain. That is a muscle that connects the Scapula to the Humerus (upper arm) near the shoulder. An image can be found at this link . While the team is officially hopeful Kelly can avoid an injured list stint, that seems extremely doubtful.

With Kelly unable to make his start yesterday, Slade Cecconi filled in and did a fantastic job, collecting his first Major League victory by going six innings and giving up just two runs. Cecconi certainly earned at least one more start the next time Kelly's turn in the rotation comes up on April 27th.

Kelly's is not the only injury in the starting rotation the team is dealing with. 5th starter Ryne Nelson was hit on the elbow by a sharp come backer April 18th and placed on the 15-day IL a day later with a right Elbow Contusion. The earliest he is likely to come back is May 4th or 5th against the Padres.

Newly signed free agent Eduardo Rodriguez has yet to throw a pitch this season due to a shoulder strain suffered late in spring training. While he is eligible to come off the 60-day IL on May 25th, Torey Lovullo indicated in a recent press conference Rodriguez is in fact out until at least June.

As of this writing, the starter for Tuesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals is still listed as TBD by the team. That spot in the rotation will be a question mark for at least the next couple of weeks. See table at bottom of article.

One option for tommorow's start would be to recall Tommy Henry. UPDATE: Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports on X that Henry is in St. Louis. He was recently optioned to Triple-A Reno due to poor performance. In four starts Henry threw just 18.1 innings, posting a 6.87 ERA. The team managed to go 2-2 in his starts however. Henry would only be eligible to return Tuesday if Kelly goes on the IL and Henry is the corresponding move. While the team has not yet made that official, Kelly is almost certain to be moved to the IL shortly.

Another option for Tuesday would be to give the start to Logan Allen. The left-hander had been stretched out in Reno to five innings 90 pitches in his most recent start there. Then he was called up last week and came in when Nelson was injured. Allen needed just 58 pitches to throw 4.2 innings of long relief.

If Allen gets the start, then look for the team to call up a reliever, most likely Andrew Saalfrank. The lefty is already on the 40-man roster and has been pitching much better of late, showing better command by not walking any batters over his last three outings.

Regardless of which option the team chooses for Tuesday's start, the D-backs rotation will continue to be in flux for the next several weeks at least. They have the potential for a formidable rotation on paper with Zac Gallen, Kelly, Jordan Montgomery, Rodriguez, and Brandon Pfaadt one through five.

That's not likely to materialize until June at the earliest however. Furthermore, it can't be assumed that Rodriguez and Kelly will be completely unaffected by their injuries once they do come back. The D-backs pitching depth will continue to be tested throughout the season.

D-backs Rotation Options April 22-May 5th

Jack Sommers