D-backs Seeking Second Opinion on Drey Jameson's UCL

Drey Jameson will be out for the foreseeable future, as the Diamondbacks are seeking additional medical opinions for what to do with his right ulnar collateral ligament. Today he was transferred to the 60-day injured list, but his absence could be longer depending on if he needs surgery to repair the damage to his UCL.

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo took responsibility for the injury:

"We asked a lot of him. We asked him to start, to get stretched out, then we put him in a bullpen situation when he made the team. Then we asked him to start again. We felt like we could do it one time, we triggered that one time, we felt like the indicators that he'd be fine. We're trying to piece together how it went wrong right now. I just had a brief conversation with him. He feels like there's something he could have done better, I feel like there's something I could have done better, everybody's taking responsibility. But ultimately it's on my watch and I don't like it, we need to figure out a way to prevent injuries for any of our guys."

Lovullo holds a consistent policy that any shoulder or elbow issue for a pitcher is an automatic removal from the game. When trainers visited the mound on Thursday they thought it was a hand cramp, something Jameson has experienced before and let him throw 12 more pitches. Lovullo expressed frustration and took responsibility for that situation occurring. When asked if the additional 12 pitches contributed to the injury, he said that the damage was already done before then.

Jameson began the season competing for a rotation spot in spring, then was moved to the bullpen. Injuries thrusted him back in the rotation, before getting optioned to Reno after three starts. After five starts in Triple-A, he was called back up to the big league roster to pitch out of the bullpen. His outings had been getting shorter, throwing no more than 35 pitches between June 3rd and June 23rd. In his last two outings, he threw 44 and 55 pitches.

"This one we need to take a look at, because of what we asked him to do" said Lovullo. "Start, relieve, start relieve."

While Jameson is on the mend, left-hander Tyler Gilbert will take his 40-man roster spot. With the D-backs planning on going with a bullpen game today, Gilbert may be asked to provide some length. Lovullo said they'd be comfortable stretching him out to as much as four innings, 45-50 pitches as a long reliever although he did not commit to using him beyond today.

Merrill Kelly continues to make steady progress in his rehab from a blood clot in his right calf that has kept him out since June 27th. The veteran right-hander threw a 26-pitch bullpen a couple days ago with no issues and will throw a four-inning, 60-pitch simulated game tomorrow. Lovullo did not rule out the possibility of a rehab start for Kelly before returning to action.